POV: Amara
The moment the council doors slammed shut behind us, I knew it wasn't over.
They'll come for me, I said softly, my fingers gripping Rahel's arm without meaning to.
They already have, he replied grimly. We have minutes, maybe less. He didn't explain further. Just grabbed my hand and pulled me down the corridor. We ran.
Torches blurred past. The air thickened. Voices echoed in the distance. The wolves were howling again but this time, the sound was sharp. Focused. They've turned the entire lower pack against us, Rahel muttered.
My lungs burned. But… Elias. He's an alpha, he won't let them…
Rahel cursed. Elias tried. He stood up in the council chamber, argued for you. They silenced him. Stripped his voice with binding salts. They want you dead, Amara. They think you'll bring ruin.
I blinked. Maybe I will. Rahel stopped so suddenly I nearly slammed into his back. He turned to face me in the dark hall.
I didn't run with you to debate that, he said. I ran because they were going to kill you. Right there. No trial. No truth.
Then why didn't you let them? I demanded. Why didn't you let me die?
He stared at me. His silence was thunderous. Before I could ask again, the sound of running feet echoed from behind us.
Go! Rahel shoved open a hidden door that groaned on old metal hinges. We ducked into a tunnel carved from old stone and moss, the scent of ancient earth filling my nose.
We ran in silence until the cold grew sharper, the air thinner, and the walls opened into a chamber half-swallowed by the forest.
The Moon Temple. Or what remained of it. Half of it had caved in, the columns broken, ivy creeping up the walls. But even in ruin, the space shimmered faintly, like something divine had once breathed here and never fully left.
Rahel closed the stone door behind us and set a glowing crystal on the ground.
They won't track us through holy ground, he said. But you're not afraid of it, I whispered, watching how easily he moved through the ruined sanctum.
He didn't look at me. Afraid? No. I was born here. What?
This was the place I took my first breath. My mother gave birth to me in this temple before the war.
I stared at him. Your bloodline is sacred. It was, he said bitterly. Before they turned me into the weapon of the gods.
We sat in silence near the crumbling altar. I tried not to shake. Every time I closed my eyes, I could hear them wolves howling. Vampires whispering through the trees. Everyone wanted me dead.
But one thought wouldn't leave me. Rahel, I said, voice small, why didn't you let me die? He turned his head, but didn't meet my eyes.
I don't know. That's not an answer.
He stood, pacing like a caged wolf. You think I understand what's happening to me? I haven't slept in two nights. Every time I close my eyes, I see you standing in flames. You die, and the world burns. You live, and the world burns slower.
I swallowed. So I'm a curse either way.
Maybe, he growled. But I couldn't just watch them end you. Not like that. Not when I… I don't even know you yet.
Something cracked in my chest. You think I'm scared of dying? I whispered. I was ready. I wanted them to do it.
His eyes snapped to mine. Don't say that.
I'm saying it. Because this whatever I am it isn't living. I'm hunted, hated, haunted by dreams that don't make sense. I'm not the girl I was a week ago, Rahel. I'm not even sure I'm human.
Neither am I, he said softly. That doesn't mean we give up. I didn't reply. I couldn't.
That night, I slept in a corner of the ruined temple, curled up against the stone. Rahel kept watch, silent, like a shadow that breathed.
And I dreamed again. This time, I was standing in the middle of the Moon Temple, but it was whole, glowing with silver light. Rahel knelt before me, wounded, bleeding, but still powerful. I was crying sobbing as I pressed a hand to his chest.
I'm sorry, I whispered in the dream. This was never supposed to happen.
You cursed me, dream-Rahel said, voice cracked and broken.
I didn't mean to, I said. I only wanted to save you.
The vision shattered. I woke up gasping, my heart were racing in my heart, and I found Rahel staring at me from across the temple.
You dreamed again, he said quietly.
I nodded.
What did you see?
I… I think I cursed you.
He tensed. What?
In the dream. I was crying. I said I was sorry. I said I didn't mean to. That I was trying to save you.
He crossed to me, kneeling. You've never seen that memory before?
No.
Rahel's jaw folded. Then it's starting.
What is?
The curse awakening. Memories from a past life… or someone else's. It's what happens when the blood of the first curse stirs. Do you think it's me? I asked. The original curse?
No, he said. I think you're the continuation. Before I could ask what that meant, the stone door behind us groaned open.
Rahel was on his feet in seconds, a blade in hand. But the figure that stepped through wasn't a wolf. It wasn't even a vampire.
It was Mira. Her hood was soaked from rain, her boots muddy, but her face was lit with something between terror and awe.
I found you, she whispered. Then her eyes met mine. You don't know who you are, Amara. But I do.
My breath caught. Then tell me. She stepped closer. You're not just part of the curse. You're the lock and the key. Rahel growled. What does that mean?
Mira ignored him. Her eyes were only on me. There's a reason your dreams feel real. A reason you keep waking up with marks that shouldn't exist. It's because your soul isn't new. It's been reborn.
I've lived before? I whispered.
Yes. And every time, you've died before the curse could be broken. But this time… this time something changed. He marked you.
Rahel stepped between us. I didn't choose that.
It doesn't matter, Mira said. The gods did. And now that the bond's complete, she's awakened the final seal.
What seal?
The one keeping the real monsters asleep, Mira said grimly. The gods aren't dead, Amara. They're dreaming. And you… You're the dreamer's blood.
Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath us. Rahel grabbed my hand. What did you do?
I didn't do anything!
Mira's eyes went wide.
Oh no, she breathed. They found us.
Outside, dozens of footsteps thundered in unison. Then a howl split the night long, sharp, and not wolf. Something colder. Something undead.
Rahel cursed. Vampires. They shouldn't be this close to holy ground, Mira hissed.
They don't care anymore, Rahel said. They want her power. They'll burn this temple to ash if they have to.
I stumbled back. What do we do?
Mira drew a blade from her coat. We fight.
Rahel glanced at me. Unless, he said darkly, you're ready to embrace what's inside you.
I stared at him. You mean the curse?
No, he said. The god inside it. And as the shadows poured into the temple and the walls began to shake, I realized something horrifying.
I wasn't just cursed. I was a chosen.