The Cursed Bloodline

easy silence, as if speaking would somehow summon him back. My mind raced, tangled in the stranger's chilling promise that the curse was "only delaying th

as that? And how did he lea

dark force that bound our family to this land. I thought he was long gone... I hoped..." She looked at me, her expression heavy with

led. "Waitin

se wasn't just punishment-it was a bond. A pact that created a guardian, bound to the land and the curse. It

ing, choosing me. My fear turned to something darker. "So it want

se is centuries old. It's grown beyond revenge; it's turned into something th

curse-something to run from, to break away from-was sh

a legend-a ritual that could sever the bloodline's conne

flower. "This ritual was written by the first ancestor who tried to escape the curse. It requires the blood of the c

en if I'm brave enough to do t

ll find it, Mia. Whatever it

kening in the room.My stomach fell at the sight. Eyes, hundreds of

e house," I murmured, m

jaw cl

ut the window. "They're not your parents. They're others. Generations of

ng to break the curse, we n

punch. "They're h

g you to the forest.We are eager. We must begin th

but I held my groun

of admiration, but he didn't waste ti

my head. "I can't just wait, Grandma. If ther

trembling. "Be careful, Mia. Remember who yo

as we crept through the forest. My pulse thudded with every step, feeling the weight of unse

earing, an eerie calm se

ging to my grandmother. "We must act here, right now, if we

y, the shadows surrounding us appeared to get darker.re

still, charged, l

, his eyes solemn. "The ritua

he air just as I was cutting.od from the cursed-just a drop. After that, you'll need

up, and I saw mov

tion. But he wasn't alone. My parents stood at his side, their

nd him as he raised his knife

a centuries-old bond with a drop of blood and a few words? The curse has clai

re within me, hot and wild.

you want. The curse has chosen you. You are bound to it.

mehow brimming with emotion. My heart twisted, torn between terror and t

and urgent. "Mia, focus. If you let

nger spoke, his words striking like venom. "Why fight it, Mia? All you're doing is delaying the inevitable. Your family ha

doubt. What if he was correct? What if all of this battling was pointless? But th

ce quivering but adaman

liar force flowed through me, giving me a sense of power and clarity that I had never experienced before. But then the

ross the clearing. "Did you reall

golden eyes locked on mine. I could see something human flic

stronger than before, luring me forward. The stranger's voice filled the ai

elt the curse settle deep within, whisperin