The Cursed Bloodline

nce. The thought of the curse spreading and devouring not only me but everyone I cared about mad

had to

aking in at the corners of my thoughts. I could feel it-the pull, the whispering, the scraping on the surface o

Claim wha

draw of the forest just beyond these walls. I wanted to let it take me, to

by the time the early light filtered through the drapes. My eyes were covered by dark circles, and my b

happening to me. And maybe, just maybe, he could help me figure out how to save my mother. After

he questioned, hi

as, help me grasp what's going on. "All of it." He seemed to contemplate this for

y m

oads. It wasn't long before he turned down a narrow path, barely visible through the overgrowth, and we stopped near a clearing deep

l we came to a tiny meadow. In the center, half obscured by foliage and vines,

I inquired, my tone ba

"This is one of the binding circles. Generations ago, the town's founders created these places to hold ba

couldn't explain. The symbols looked familiar, like fragments of so

the land itself. That's why your family has always lived her

ce. It had been a cage, built around us by people who wanted to keep the curse

n before. "These stones have held the curse back for generations, but

as I met his gaze. "W

the curse breaks free, it won't just affect you or your family. It will spread thr

t of it settling on my shoulders. "If I ca

he curse is old, older than any of us. It's been waiting, bidin

ated and powerless. "So what am I

wn," as though the statement were u

ther into this nightmare. But I had to know if it mean

though seeking clarification, he inhaled deeply and turned back to the stones.

r those connections. You'll have to isolate y

a blow. "You mean... leav

only way to keep them safe. The curse can't spr

ible, like cutting out a part of myself. But the memory of my mother's eyes, cold

gh the silence. Both of us tensed, turning toward the noise. I felt that

his body tense. "Stay behind m

movement between the trees. My heart pounded as I re

lf. My

ed, trying to make sense of what I wa

ng as he met my eyes. "It's beginning,"

rs-golden and fierce, almost identical.

another had already been claimed, it meant we were out of time. T

f each other, stared back at me with a cold, predat

awned, and I barely whispered the wor

my f

ifying intent, I knew this was only the