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🩸 Crimson Moon Oath
A Fantasy Romance by Chizzy
Chapter Eleven – The Heart of the Curse
The capital loomed before them—a city of ghosts and ashes. Once called the Kingdom of Elarion, it now stood broken under a sky of crimson. The air hummed with old magic, thick enough to taste. Every stone seemed to breathe with the memory of blood.
Avaline tightened her cloak around her shoulders as they crossed the cracked bridge that led into the city. The once-golden spires had crumbled into gray dust. Statues of kings and queens stood half-buried in ivy, their faces carved with sorrow.
Kael's voice was low. "This was the last sanctuary before the fall. The queen's court burned the night the oath was made."
"Oath?" Avaline asked.
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. "The Crimson Moon Oath—the pact that tied blood to moonlight. It was meant to save us from extinction."
Lycian gave a dark laugh. "And instead, it cursed every living thing that carried her name."
They walked deeper into the ruins. Each step echoed off the marble streets. Shadows twisted along the walls, moving even where the light did not. Avaline's pulse quickened. The closer they came to the heart of the city, the heavier the bond pressed inside her chest.
It wasn't just connection anymore—it was hunger.
Every breath she took carried the taste of Kael's stillness and Lycian's fire. When they drew near her, her body responded as though some hidden instinct had woken. The air crackled between them.
At the end of the street stood what remained of the royal hall. Its doors hung open, one broken from its hinges, revealing the dark throne room beyond.
Kael paused at the threshold. "She made her oath here," he said. "Selara—the queen whose blood you carry."
Avaline stepped forward. Her fingers brushed the cold stone of the doorway. The world flickered—then changed.
For a heartbeat, she wasn't standing in ruins anymore. The hall shone with silver light, banners fluttering high above. People knelt before a woman crowned in moonfire. Her hair was white as frost; her eyes, glowing violet.
Avaline gasped. The vision broke, leaving her trembling.
Lycian caught her arm. "What did you see?"
"The queen," she whispered. "She looked at me—as if she knew who I was."
Kael moved closer. "The oath is remembering. That's how it begins."
The temperature dropped. Mist rolled through the doorway, curling around their feet. A voice, soft as silk, drifted through the hall.
You have returned, my blood.
Avaline froze. "Did you hear that?"
Kael drew his blade, crimson eyes scanning the shadows. "We all did."
The mist swirled, gathering into a shape—an echo of a woman. Her form shimmered, made of light and memory. The queen.
"Selara," Kael whispered.
Her voice was gentle but laced with sorrow. "I left the oath behind to protect the balance. But it has found new vessels."
Her gaze fell on Avaline. "You carry my curse, child. And through you, both the night and the wild seek redemption."
Avaline swallowed hard. "Then tell me how to end it."
Selara's expression softened. "You cannot end it without paying the same price I did. The oath demands love… and loss."
Lycian took a step forward. "No more riddles. What do you mean?"
"Two hearts bound by one soul cannot coexist beneath the Crimson Moon," Selara said. "One must be broken for the other to live."
Kael's knuckles whitened on his sword. "You're saying she has to choose."
Selara's gaze never left Avaline's. "No, vampire. I'm saying she must sacrifice. Choose neither, and the curse will devour all three."
The vision began to fade, her voice lingering like a dying wind. Only through the blood of love can the moon be stilled.
Then she was gone.
Silence filled the throne room.
Avaline stood motionless, tears welling in her eyes. "Every road leads to loss," she whispered.
Kael reached for her, then stopped himself. "You are not her. You can break what she began."
"And if I can't?"
"Then I'll burn the moon itself before it takes you."
Lycian's jaw clenched. "You talk as if dying for her would fix anything."
Kael turned on him, anger sparking. "Would you rather watch her fade while we stand useless?"
Lycian's fists tightened. "I'd rather fight fate than surrender to it."
The tension between them burned hot, heavy, almost violent. The bond inside Avaline flared, feeding off their emotions—pulling them all closer.
"Stop!" she cried. The air cracked around her, a pulse of raw magic blasting through the hall. Both men stumbled back.
Avaline's eyes glowed faintly, silver and red intertwined. "I can't lose either of you," she said, her voice trembling. "But if you keep fighting, fate won't have to choose. I'll lose you both."
Kael's anger faded into quiet sorrow. Lycian looked away, guilt softening his features.
The three of them stood in the heart of a ruined kingdom—bloodline, curse, and destiny woven too tightly to tear apart.
Outside, the Crimson Moon rose higher, spilling light across the city's broken towers.
Avaline turned toward it, her voice barely a whisper. "Then maybe the only way to end the curse… is to change what the oath meant in the first place."
Kael frowned. "What are you saying?"
"That if it was born from love and loss," she said, "then maybe it can be undone by love without loss."
Lycian gave a quiet, almost broken laugh. "That sounds like hope."
Avaline met his gaze. "Maybe it is."
And though none of them could see it yet, somewhere deep within the ruins, the dormant magic of the Crimson Moon stirred—responding to the heartbeat of a girl who refused to choose between light and shadow.
To be continued...