Chapter 4 The Curse Unveiled

The flames hissed, spitting gently in the quiet of the cottage, but their warmth failed to check the chill seeping into Lyra's chest. She stood motionless, her own heart thudding, Kael's words weighing on her like a shroud.

The bond... whatever it is... brought me to you.

She couldn't breathe. A part of her wanted to run, to pretend the strange twist of fate that brought this damn man-this prince-into her world didn't exist. But another part, a part she'd never been able to resist, drew her in.

The same part that had reflexively reached out to rescue him in the storm.

"You need to leave." Kael's voice broke through her thoughts, low and hoarse. He was sitting on the edge of the rug now, his head tilted, eyes filled with an intensity that she couldn't quite place.

Lyra blinked, feeling a sudden sting in her throat. "What?"

"Leave," Kael repeated, his gaze unwavering. "Stay away from me, or you'll bring doom upon yourself."

The words were like icy water, putting out the warmth she had felt in his presence mere moments before. Her stomach twisted, but she didn't step back. Instead, she moved forward a step, her brow furrowed. "Why? What are you saying?"

"I am cursed," he said to them, each phrase heavy with bitter import. "Not as you would think. It's not simply the change, the metamorphosis from man to beast. It's. something darker, deeper."

He stood, the cloak she had thrown around him slipping from his shoulders. His gaunt, tall form blocked the space between them as he stood up. Lyra's heart pounded, but she steeled herself to hold her position, to meet him eye to eye.

"Tell me," she commanded. "Tell me everything.".

For a long while, Kael did not speak. His eyes drifted over to the fire, and then to the window, where the moonlight kept lighting the snow outside. The air in the room became more oppressive with his silent words.

"Bred under the Moon Court's blood," he began slowly, as though choosing each word carefully. "A prince, yes. One bound by a prophecy-one that I could not dispel." He paused, the weight of those words hanging in the air like a stone.

"Centuries past, my father-king of Moon Court-placed a curse upon our house. He incurred the wrath of the gods, defied them, and in his hubris, he got punished. So did we."

He stared at his hands, like they didn't belong to him.

The curse tied us all-every firstborn son of the Moon Court-through the blood of wolves. We were forced to live, destined to become beasts every hundred years. And with that change came a terrible cost. We would have one chance to know true love-true, eternal love-before the moon rose for the final time.

Lyra's breath was trapped in her throat. She drew nearer, the pounding of her beat in her ears. "What if you don't find it?

"Doom," answered Kael clinically. "I shall be a wolf forevermore. A beast trapped in man's form, condemned to roam the earth to eternity. My spirit will decay. And at death, I will not return, but disappear into the darkness."

His voice trembled on the final word, and Lyra saw the unadorned pain in his eyes. She felt it-a pain so deep, it seemed to be from another life, another time.

"Do not let me be a part of that," Kael pressed on, voice low but imperative. "This curse-it will tie you to me, one way or the other. You get too close, you love me-" he cut himself off, as if the words were too oppressive to say.

"I won't make you do that. I won't. The curse will kill you, too. I won't allow it."

His chest heaved with the effort of what he was saying, and Lyra couldn't help but feel the tug of something old and powerful between them. Something that had already begun to bind them together in ways they did not understand.

"I will never leave you," Lyra assured him, her voice firm, although her mind seethed with uncertainty. "I care not for the curse, Kael. I-"

You should care," he interrupted, his voice frigid. "You have no concept of what it's like to be bound to me. It's not just my life that will be lost. The curse will drag you down into darkness, draw you under with it, and we'll both perish in the end. You will be trapped in my fate, and I will never be free.".

She swallowed hard, stepping closer, though a part of her warned her to turn away. He reached for her, his hand trembling as it brushed her cheek, and she couldn't help but lean into the touch, even as a part of her screamed that this was dangerous.

"I won't let that happen," she said softly, almost to herself. "We'll find a way to break the curse together."

Kael pulled his hand back tightly, a desperation passing over his face. "No. You don't understand. It's too dangerous. The curse is so ancient, and no one has ever been able to shatter it. If you try, you'll only be pulled into the same destiny that traps me. There's no way out for you."

Lyra balled her fists at her sides, fighting against the tide of emotion that rose up in her. "I don't care what you think. I care about you, Kael. And I won't turn from you because of some old curse."

She reached out to him again, but Kael retreated, his expression unyielding.

"Then you're a fool," he snarled, his voice cracking with emotion. "I won't allow you to risk your life for me. You don't understand what you're saying. If you stay, if you truly stay, you'll be drawn into this with me."

Lyra's heart ached. The words were harsh, but the anguish beneath them was real. He didn't want her to get hurt. But she wasn't going to let fear govern.

"I know what I'm saying," she said softly but firmly. "And I'm not going anywhere."

For a long moment, Kael just stood there, staring at her with a look that was part disbelief, part sorrow. Then, his shoulders slumped in resignation.

"Then it's your doom, too," he whispered.

And in that moment, Lyra knew, without doubt, that she was already too far along. No curse-no matter how powerful or old-could ever keep her from loving him.