Cursed to love you

thick. Heavy with s

ow it. I

e

gold, and the way she tilts her head-like she's studying me-fills my chest with an icy dread. This isn't

velvet, but sharp enough to tear through m

-the woman who's not supposed to exist in this lifetime

" I finally manage to say

lf. I can feel the chill of her aura, and it sinks deep into my bone

Lucien gave me. The one I've started to be

. "I see you're

s. She knows. So

voice almost tender. "But I need you to under

ns. "What do yo

few inches from mine. "Your soul.

n't move. There's something in her gaze, something that

voice low, almost a purr. "The moment you remember

ith you?" I spit the word

u won't go willingly. That's

through the room. I gasp as the force knocks me off my feet, sending me crashing int

my eyes agai

still feels..

ring on my finger glows faintly, and I can feel

haze of panic and conf

ri

ci

with intensity, but there's something else there, something darker. H

eathless. "The woman in white

nto the room, his footsteps slow and deliber

," he says, voice ho

"How can I believe you when ev

The man who has failed time and again. "I've tried to stop her, Aria. I've tried to

nt from me?" I as

aning. "She's been hunting you for centuries. Sh

hy? Wh

ecause you're the key. You hold the po

a beat. "How do

ely a whisper. "And every time, I've failed to save you. But this time..." He meet

oward the sound. The window shatters, glass raining down like a storm, a

he says, her voice lilting wit

rising. "I won't let

dy for whatever comes next. "Aria, listen to

tightly. "I remember...

as if surprised by my defiance. "You think you can

feeling the power of the ring coursing through my

er, my voice shaking with a

air thick with energy. The woman in white

nough of yo

moment

yes wide with shock and awe, but there's no time to explain. I feel the weight of ce

I can relea

ld goes

-

ve been out, but when I

empty. The w

o is

the ring. It's warm against my skin. But I can't sense

in my ears. My pul

rtment feels... wrong. Lik

n in white. No hint of her

pens, slow and crea

guarded. He looks at me, and there's a

he asks, his voic

er, my hands trembling. "

his voice steady. "But she'

she said I coul

ying to you since the beginning. S

is words. They sink in

," I whisper. "You said

swer. "I will help you, Aria. But you need to u

," I say, my voice thick.

ken. "I won'

lips, the lights flicker again

eart leaping

man in

's

time, we'