Let's dive into Chapte
It was strange, really.
How quickly fear fades when something worse takes its place.
I should have been terrified after the shadow's warning—after hearing that voice whisper through my bones—but all I could think about was her.
Virelya.
And the way she looked at me before we tore apart again.
Not like I was a threat. Not even like I was her salvation.
Like I was a promise she didn't want to make.
---
By morning, the entire estate was buzzing.
Royal carriages had arrived.
Golden banners fluttered from the spires. The air shimmered with formal enchantments. Nobles milled about in tailored robes, dripping with jewelry and fake smiles.
Virelya was being summoned to court.
Not for judgment.
For politics.
They wanted her visible. Wanted to remind the realm that she was still "loyal"—still contained. Still wearing her thorned tiara like a pet beast in a gilded cage.
I saw her from a distance in the grand hall.
She looked the part.
Expression unreadable. Dress flawless. Voice like snowfall.
Everyone bowed. Everyone whispered behind her back.
"Frostborn witch."
"She'll crack any day now."
"She cursed her mother. Just like they say."
I stood there, fists clenched.
Because they didn't see it.
The girl who saved a child's soul in secret. The girl who rebuilt broken instruments with trembling hands. The girl who flinched when I said I wasn't afraid.
They didn't see her.
But I did.
And that was the problem.
---
I made it two hours before I cracked.
I found her in the sunroom, alone—where they put her during breaks so no one had to "endure her presence too long."
She sat at a table set for one, staring at untouched tea.
"I'm surprised you're here," she said without looking up.
"I'm surprised you're not setting this place on fire."
That earned me a faint smirk. "Not today."
I sat across from her without asking.
She raised an eyebrow. "We're in public."
"I know."
"You're risking rumors."
"I know."
Her gaze narrowed. "Why?"
Because I couldn't not.
Because the more I stayed away, the worse it hurt. Because pretending I didn't care was starting to feel like a lie.
Because she wasn't what they said.
I didn't say any of that.
Instead, I poured her tea.
And the moment our fingers brushed over the cup—the curse surged.
Hard.
Like something inside me snapped loose.
A shiver rolled down my spine. Not pain. Not quite. But intensity.
Virelya flinched, pulling her hand back like I'd shocked her.
"You shouldn't have done that," she whispered.
I looked around. The air had changed. The sun outside had dimmed. Shadows thickened at the edges of the room.
Then—
Glass shattered.
The window behind her exploded inward with a violent crack. We both ducked as shards rained across the table.
Screams echoed down the corridor.
Guards rushed in, drawing swords.
But it wasn't an assassination.
It was magic.
A pulse of raw, uncontrolled chaos. And it came from us.
From the curse.
---
We were separated immediately.
The stewards blamed a magical malfunction. The nobles were told it was a warding issue. Virelya vanished from public view. I was confined to my wing.
But I knew better.
It was a warning.
The curse wasn't just between us now.
It was spilling.
Feeding off our connection. Lashing out at the world the closer we got.
I spent hours pacing my room, trying to make sense of it.
And then—
A knock.
Soft. Hesitant.
I opened the door and froze.
It was her.
She looked like a storm in human form. Hair loose. Gown wrinkled. Eyes burning with things she didn't want to name.
"You need to leave," she said.
"Not happening."
Her jaw clenched. "You think you're helping me? You're not. You're making it worse."
"You're the only one who's ever said my name like it matters."
She flinched.
I stepped closer.
"The curse hurts when I'm near you," I said. "But it hurts worse when I'm not."
"Don't say that," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Because I feel it too."
Silence.
Her hand rose—hesitated—then touched my chest, right over where the curse lived.
No explosion this time.
Just heat.
Connection.
Agony and comfort twisted together in something I couldn't name.
Her voice broke. "I don't want to fall in love with you."
"Then don't."
"But I already am."