The silence that followed Evelyne's choice was deafening. The dagger, once a symbol of finality, now felt like a question mark in her palm. The shadows that had coiled around Kael dissipated, retreating into the darkness like predators denied their prey.
Kael exhaled, his emerald eyes still locked onto her, unreadable. He didn't thank her. He didn't move. He simply watched.
The first bride, however, did not hide her fury. Her form flickered violently, as if the decision itself had fractured her essence.
"You think trust will save you?" she whispered, her voice raw with something close to grief. "You don't understand what you've done."
Evelyne turned to her. "Then tell me."
The first bride's gaze darkened. "The curse is bound in blood, in sacrifice. It demands payment. If you won't take his life, it will take something else."
A chill swept through Evelyne's spine. "What does that mean?"
Before the first bride could answer, the castle itself trembled. A low hum, like the sound of a thousand whispers merging into one, filled the chamber. The walls groaned, as if awakening from a long slumber. The air thickened with unseen force.
Kael's expression hardened. "We need to leave. Now."
But the first bride raised her hand. "It's too late."
The moment the words left her lips, the ground beneath them cracked. A jagged fracture ran through the stone, spreading like veins of black ice. From the shadows, figures began to emerge—half-formed, twisted, their faces frozen in expressions of agony.
Evelyne's breath hitched.
The lost souls.
They had been watching. Waiting. And now, denied their vengeance, they were coming for her.
Kael swore under his breath. "Run!"
Evelyne didn't hesitate. She turned, bolting toward the archway that led deeper into the castle, Kael at her side. The air behind them grew thick with the presence of the dead, the weight of centuries pressing against her skin.
The first bride didn't follow. She only watched as Evelyne fled, her expression unreadable. "You have sealed your fate," she murmured.
And then, as the darkness swallowed the chamber whole, she was gone.
TheCastle'sWrath
Evelyne didn't look back.
The whispers grew louder, crawling into her mind, threatening to drown her in sorrow that wasn't her own. Her vision blurred. The corridor twisted around her, the castle itself shifting, trying to trap her within its grasp.
"Keep going," Kael urged, grabbing her wrist and pulling her forward.
They ran. Through halls lined with shattered mirrors, past doorways that led to nothing but darkness. The castle was alive, its very bones rejecting her choice.
And then—
A door. Heavy. Ancient. Its frame carved with symbols that pulsed faintly with light.
Kael yanked it open and shoved her inside, slamming it shut behind them.
Silence.
Evelyne's breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. The room was small, circular, with a single window overlooking the storm-ridden sky. At the center stood an altar—its surface cracked, as if something had been violently removed from it long ago.
Kael leaned against the door, his expression grim. "That was reckless."
Evelyne turned to him, her heart still racing. "I had to know."
His jaw tightened. "And now you do. The curse won't just let us go. It will demand something in return."
She stepped closer. "Then what do we do?"
Kael's gaze flickered to the altar. "We find another way."
Outside, the castle groaned, the storm howling through its hollow bones. The shadows would come for them again.
But for now, in this moment of stolen time, Evelyne had made her choice.
And there was no turning back.
TheWeightof a Curse
The moment of silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken truths.
Evelyne placed a hand on the altar's cracked surface. A pulse of warmth traveled up her fingers, startling her. "What is this place?"
Kael hesitated before answering. "This was where the curse was sealed. My mother used this altar to bind my fate to the castle." His gaze darkened. "To trap me in time."
Evelyne swallowed. "Then maybe we can undo it here."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Kael's lips. "If it were that simple, I would have done it long ago."
She narrowed her eyes. "You never tried, did you?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned toward the window, watching the storm outside. "There's a price for breaking the curse. One I was never willing to pay."
Evelyne stepped beside him. "But now?"
His emerald eyes flickered to hers, something unreadable in their depths. "Now, I don't have a choice."
The words sent a shiver through her.
The castle trembled again, a sharp warning. The lost souls were still searching, still hunting.
She turned back to the altar. If this was the heart of the curse, there had to be something here—some way to reverse what had been done. Her fingers traced the symbols etched into the stone, ancient and worn.
And then she saw it.
A small indentation at the center of the altar. A place where something had once been placed—perhaps a relic, a stone, a key.
"What was here?" she asked.
Kael's expression darkened. "My heart."
Evelyne's breath caught. "What?"
He exhaled slowly. "My mother didn't just curse me. She took my heart—bound it to the castle, so that even in death, I could never be free." He looked down at his chest, almost absentmindedly. "That's why I haven't aged. Haven't changed. I exist, but I do not live."
Evelyne stared at him, realization dawning like cold fire in her veins. "Then… if we find your heart—"
"The curse might break," he finished, voice hollow. "Or it might kill me."
The weight of his words settled heavily between them.
Evelyne clenched her fists. "Then we find it."
Kael let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You make it sound easy."
She met his gaze, determination burning in her chest. "I didn't come here to take the easy way out."
A flicker of something passed across his face—something dangerously close to hope.
The castle groaned again, its patience thinning.
They didn't have much time.
Evelyne turned toward the door. "Where do we start?"
Kael hesitated only a moment before answering.
"The crypts."
ADescentIntoDarkness
The crypts lay beneath the castle, a place untouched by time, buried beneath centuries of sorrow.
The path was treacherous—narrow stone steps winding downward into the abyss, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and decay. Torches lined the walls, their flames flickering against the cold.
Kael walked ahead, his posture tense. "Stay close."
Evelyne followed, her heart hammering. Every step felt like a whisper in the dark, an invitation to whatever lay hidden in the shadows.
As they reached the bottom, a massive iron door loomed before them. The markings on its surface were the same as those on the altar.
Kael pressed his palm against it. The metal shuddered.
Then, slowly, the door creaked open.
Beyond it, darkness stretched endlessly.
Evelyne swallowed hard.
Somewhere in this abyss, Kael's heart was waiting.
And so was whatever was guarding it.
She gripped the dagger at her side.
The curse would not let them go without a fight.
And she was ready.