The night air shimmered with magic.
Amara stood on the balcony of the crystal tower, her gown flowing like liquid silver in the wind. Below, the entire kingdom of Eldoria had gathered under the rare Blood Moon, a celestial event that hadn't occurred in centuries. Legends whispered that under its crimson light, any bond sealed—by love or blood—would be unbreakable.
Her heart pounded in her chest. The decision she was about to make could change everything.
Behind her, Lioras entered the room silently, his presence a storm cloaked in stillness. "You're not ready," he said quietly, his voice low with concern.
"I have to be." Amara didn't turn around. "The curse grows stronger. I feel it every night. The pain... the visions… Lioras, I saw myself destroying Eldoria."
He walked to her, placing a hand on her waist and turning her gently to face him. "You are not your curse, Amara."
Tears shimmered in her eyes, reflecting the Blood Moon's light. "But what if I become it?"
"Then I will become your salvation," he whispered.
Amara stared into his eyes—those storm-gray eyes that had haunted her long before they met. "We don't even know if the pact will work. They say it demands blood... and love."
Lioras didn't hesitate. "Then take both from me."
"What?"
He pulled out a blade—silver laced with dragonbone, ceremonial and forbidden. "My blood, and my love. Seal the curse to me. Let it burn through me instead."
Amara stepped back. "Lioras, that could kill you."
"Then I die knowing I saved the woman who saved me."
She slapped the blade from his hand, tears spilling freely now. "You stupid, stubborn—beautiful idiot."
He smirked. "That's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me."
Amara's laugh cracked like thunder in the air, raw and emotional. She grabbed his collar and kissed him fiercely—more than passion, more than fear. It was desperation wrapped in destiny.
As they parted, breathless, she said, "Then we do this together. No sacrifice. No blood alone. Just us."
They turned together and stepped toward the altar at the balcony's center. The crowd below began to chant the ancient words passed down through the generations. The sky deepened to a blood-red hue, and the stars blinked out one by one.
Amara and Lioras joined hands, their magic crackling in the air like lightning.
"Say the vow," he whispered.
"I, Amara Elenora of Eldoria, vow my heart and soul to Lioras Duskbane, breaker of my chains."
"And I, Lioras Duskbane, cursed son of the void, vow my life and power to Amara Elenora, light of my darkness."
A beam of red moonlight struck them, and their joined magic ignited into flames that roared upward into the sky. The curse howled, a scream that shook the stars themselves, before it was sucked into the swirling vortex between them.
Amara gasped, clutching Lioras's hand tighter as pain surged through her chest—and then, silence.
The curse was gone.
Or… at least, that's what they thought.
But deep within Amara's soul, a new whisper stirred.
Not pain. Not fear.
Power.
As the crowd roared in celebration and fireworks lit the sky, Amara and Lioras clung to each other, unaware that a new chapter of their destiny had just begun. A darker force had watched the ceremony… and smiled.
Far beyond Eldoria, in the land of Ashmere, a sorceress awoke from centuries of slumber. Her eyes snapped open. "The Blood Moon Pact has been made. It's time."
The true curse had only just begun.