The Cursed Bloodline
grasped my grandmother's arm, bracing myself
s riveted on me. There was a flash of something familiar in them, something beyond instin
d back to the house, my heart pounding. A roar tore through the n
oor once we entered. My head racing, I sank aga
my shoulder and pulle
, and she's been-what? Livi
hts. "Is that... really her?" She did not meet my gaze. Inst
wolf, but my legs finally obeyed
g a wave of nausea roll over me. "
ecrets clear on her face. "The curse consumes, Mia. It takes everything-your humanity, your memories
opping heavily into the pit of my stomach. "So tha
gnore. "Not if we stop it. The curse doesn't have to run its full cours
that my mother had simply... left me. You resist the urges. To think she'd been out there all these years,
voice barely a whisper. "Did she... di
ought it with everything she had. But the curse is clever, Mia. It plays on your weaknes
hand in hers as she reached across the table. "Just as I'm tel
posed to do? Just pretend like nothing's happening? Because this.
olve. "You have to try. Do you understand? You must stay away
than anything I had ever encountered. I felt as though I had been starving all my life, and after tasting it, I was unsure of h
f us made
and force. At last, my grandmother got up and walk
t of suspicion in her voice. "Elias." My heart r
, allowing Elias to step inside. His face was tense, his da
he could even speak. "I s
hought as much." He turned to my grandmother, a hint o
e two of them. "Why didn't you tell me what I w
use knowledge can make the curse stronger. Fear feeds it. You need
ed to accept that my mother's some... some curs
mpathetic. "You don't have to end up like her, Mia. That's why
rse's mechanism," he stated in a steady, composed tone. "It goes beyond bloodlines. You are bound by the curse to the forest, to something old and... pe
ep, trembli
Control is what the curse seeks." It will push and test you. It will cause you to doubt everything, including your re
to keep it at bay. Rituals, However, you must promise us, Mia-you must promise
caping my lips. Something went between us,
through. Even though I really wanted to trust him, I couldn't g
s that can weaken its hold. "There's something else you sho
creeping over me.
full control, it won't stop at you. It will spread,
ok, my heart racing as I tried to g
ntrol it, Mia... you could be the start of something far w
s creeping closer, the whispers growing louder. This wasn't just about me or m
aze, I could see the g
here to make sure, if I lost control, he'd