The Taste of Seduction

"I did it!"

"You did," Austin said, a proud smile on his face. "Your mother if she saw you would be so proud that you came this far with your quick progress."

"Oh… my mother…" she didn\'t know why, but tears started forming in her eyes. "You\'re right. If she\'s here, she surely would have said the same, right?"

"She will," Austin replied, giving a tap on her shoulder. "And as your mentor, I am proud of you."

Meredith looked at Atlas and Marcus next. With a smile on their faces, Atlas pulled her into a big embrace, proud of his woman.

"I\'m proud of you, Meredith. So proud of you."

"Thank you," she thanked him, breaking from the hug to look at Marcus. "I guess… we start with the ritual the following night."

"Of course," he replied, a painful smile coming to his face as he was reminded of that. "You did great, Meredith. Your training paid off. Your efforts boosted them up."

With that, the group went back inside of the palace. Austin decided that they have to talk about the preparations for the ritual such as the candles, the pentagram, and the like so that they are already prepared for the following evening for the ritual to take place.

***

On the night of the full moon, Meredith stood in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by candles and herbs. She closed her eyes and focused her energy, feeling the power of the moon coursing through her veins.

They decided to undergo the ritual in a bigger and wider space compared to the garden where they trained. In Austin\'s palace, there is a maze almost as big as a forest and in the middle of the maze is this wide clearing where they prepared everything for the ritual.

The wind blew, the leaves dancing around them. Atlas was at the side with Austin, watching as things unfold before them.

The Fae King himself told him that they have to trust Meredith that the ritual will work. They should be the only ones in the middle and they\'ll only meddle if they see signs of it failing.

Meredith looked at Marcus who was standing before him. "Ready?" she asked, the man nodding at her as they started the ritual.

"Ready."

She turned her body to look at all of the candles that surrounded them in the circle. With a wave of her hand and with the magic Austin taught her, the candles lit up as she followed the trail with an open palm of her hand.

The moment she returned her gaze on Marcus, she told him the next step. He followed her without hesitations, the ritual going smoothly so far.

"Lie down on the innermost circle."

He did as he was told. He lay his back down on the ground where Meredith drew the pentagram with pulverized rocks mixed with moonlight potion. The moment he closed his eyes, Meredith raised her hand and on the other, was a blade made with goblin silver.

She winced a bit when she slit a small part of her palm for her blood to drip on the pentagram. She then walked around Marcus, making sure that drops of her blood dripped on the triangle\'s three circles found in the pentagram.

The moment she stopped walking and stopped by the head of Marcus, the whole circle lit up, illuminating his body. She stood still for a few seconds, the man slowly drifting off to sleep with the help of the ritual.

Atlas and Austin watched from afar. With awe plastered in the eyes of Atlas, he couldn\'t help but think of the change she went through since the training.

He always knew that she was a strong woman, but he felt a bigger sense of pride knowing that in her own ways, she further became strong in her own ways.

The ritual continued on. The moment the light illuminating Marcus slowly disappeared, Meredith only put her hand down when it was completely gone. She then looked up to see the full moon, the woman closing her eyes for a moment as she recalled what Austin taught her for the ritual.

She was told that she has to do this alone and that he will only step in if something risky happened. He cannot conduct the ritual as well as only her and her mother can do it.

Meaning, if she fails tonight, they would have to wait for the next full moon.

She couldn\'t afford to fail—not tonight.

Meredith opened her eyes. She then turned her body to walk towards the marble table behind her. With the herbs gathered from Austin\'s palace\'s potion room yesterday, she got every leaf of what was needed, putting it inside of the mortar.

Austin taught her that the potion that she needed to brew would help in weakening the magic that protects the soul tie. Once she drinks it, it will take effect while she focuses on Marcus\' subconscious and then she\'ll know what to do next once she sees the signs.

She asked what the signs are and he just shrugged at her yesterday, saying that only she\'ll be able to see and know from gut-feeling. From then on, she would have to rely on herself and see the signs.

She\'d have to strongly trust herself.

She then got the pestle and then pounded the herbs until it was liquified. She then mixed it with another moonlight potion that was already brewed by Austin, Meredith drinking it all in one go.

It tasted bad, but she had to brush it off. After she drank it, she went back to Marcus and continued the next parts of the ritual with the strong desire not to fail. She knew to herself that she\'d be successful.

She\'d just have to focus and not lose her control.