Prisoners Of Love
img img Prisoners Of Love img Chapter 4 The Test
4
Chapter 6 Shadow in the Wall img
Chapter 7 The Forest of Broken Oaths img
Chapter 8 The Triad Strikes img
Chapter 9 The City of Ashes img
Chapter 10 The Sleeper Beneath img
Chapter 11 The Fractured Paths img
Chapter 12 The Choice of Chains img
Chapter 13 Caer'Zareth img
Chapter 14 The Weight of Ashes img
Chapter 15 The Covenant of Embers img
Chapter 16 The Shard of the End img
Chapter 17 The Dawning War img
Chapter 18 The Dawning War II img
Chapter 19 Ashes Whispers img
Chapter 20 The Forgotten Below img
Chapter 21 II img
Chapter 22 Shadows Rising img
Chapter 23 The Gathering Storm img
Chapter 24 Echoes of the Gate img
Chapter 25 The Hollow Fla img
Chapter 26 Shadows of the First Flame img
Chapter 27 The Seed of Remem img
Chapter 28 Whispers Beneath the Heartwood img
Chapter 29 The Shadow Warden img
Chapter 30 The Mirror of the First Flame img
Chapter 31 The Eye That Sees Within img
Chapter 32 The Convergence of Flames img
Chapter 33 Ashes and awakening img
Chapter 34 Ashes of Memory img
Chapter 35 The Echoing Path img
Chapter 36 Whispers before the Storm img
Chapter 37 The Gathering Storm img
Chapter 38 Shadows of the Past img
Chapter 39 The Hollow Star img
Chapter 40 Embers and Echoes img
Chapter 41 The Breathing Earth img
Chapter 42 Bones of the World img
Chapter 43 Nine Flames img
Chapter 44 The Song Beneath Stone img
Chapter 45 The Thread of the Forgotten img
Chapter 46 The Weaver's Offer img
Chapter 47 Threads of Rebellion img
Chapter 48 Fire Beneath the Spine img
Chapter 49 A Spark in the Silence img
Chapter 50 The Scars That Remember img
Chapter 51 Embers of the Past img
Chapter 52 Echoes of Tomorrow img
Chapter 53 II img
Chapter 54 Threads of Destiny img
Chapter 55 The Loom of Futures img
Chapter 56 The Tapestry Unfolds img
Chapter 57 Embers of Unity img
Chapter 58 The Flames of Tomorrow img
Chapter 59 The Dreaming Crystal img
Chapter 60 The Harmonies Reborn img
Chapter 61 The Hollow Accord img
Chapter 62 The First Whisper img
Chapter 63 When Echoes Walk img
Chapter 64 Seeds of the Storm* img
Chapter 65 The Silence Between img
Chapter 66 Memoryfire War img
Chapter 67 A World Rewritten img
Chapter 68 The Vault of the Nameless* img
Chapter 69 The Vault of the Willing Forgotten* img
Chapter 70 The Vault of the Stormborn img
Chapter 71 The Price of Memory img
Chapter 72 Threads of Fate img
Chapter 73 Allies in the Shadow* img
Chapter 74 The First Clash* img
Chapter 75 Echoes of the Forgotten img
Chapter 76 Threads of Destiny img
Chapter 77 The Loom's Trial img
Chapter 78 Threads of Fire* img
Chapter 79 The City That Forgets img
Chapter 80 The Second Crown img
Chapter 81 The Gathering Storm* img
Chapter 82 Beneath the Bones* img
Chapter 83 The Flame Rewritten* img
Chapter 84 The Road of Names* img
Chapter 85 When the Earth Remembered img
Chapter 86 The Crown Reforged img
Chapter 87 The Turning Flame img
Chapter 88 The Flame That Chose* img
Chapter 89 When Silence Walks img
Chapter 90 The Song Beneath the Stone* img
Chapter 91 The Memoryforge img
Chapter 92 Ashes and Inheritance* img
Chapter 93 When Stones Speak img
Chapter 94 The Memory Before Light* img
Chapter 95 When the Stars Begin to Blink* img
Chapter 96 The Binding Flame img
Chapter 97 The Flame That Remains* img
Chapter 98 Echoes of the Flame img
Chapter 99 Bound in Truth img
Chapter 100 The Trial of Fire and Flesh* img
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Chapter 4 The Test

Liana didn't eat.

She pushed the food tray away after Eva brought it, unable to stomach anything. Her thoughts were too tangled. The dream was still fresh in her mind - the one where she stood on a cliff, holding the dagger. Where Damian, younger and bleeding, had called her by a name she didn't recognize... and yet, it had felt like hers.

She was losing her grip on what was real.

Or maybe, reality was only just starting to show its true face.

Then came the knock.

No lock this time. The door opened freely, and Damian stood on the other side, dressed in black again - simple, sharp, untouchable.

"Come," he said.

"Why?" she asked, not moving. "So you can watch me glow again?"

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't rise to the sarcasm. "You asked what I wanted from you. You'll get your answer. Now."

She hesitated.

Her heart screamed don't trust him, but her mind whispered, if you don't find the truth, this will never end.

Liana followed him through the hall.

---

The room he led her to was not like the rest of the house.

It was circular, stone-walled, ancient. The air smelled of dust and candle wax. Symbols were etched into the floor in a perfect ring. In the center was the same pedestal from before - and on it, the dagger.

But this time, three small glass bowls sat beside it. One was empty. One held what looked like ash. The third - glowing blue liquid.

"What is this place?" she asked, voice hushed.

"The Sanctum," Damian replied. "It's been sealed for generations. Only blood of both lines can open what's buried beneath."

She frowned. "Both lines?"

"The Blackthorn and the Cruz lines. Yours and mine."

Liana's throat tightened. "You mean... this whole thing, this feud, is about blood?"

Damian's expression darkened.

"My ancestor, Lucien Blackthorn, forged the blade using blood from the Cruz family - from her. Elena. He thought it would protect us. But instead... it turned on us. She turned on us. She stole it and sealed it away. It's been dormant ever since. Until you."

She shook her head, backing away. "No. This is too much. You talk about curses, blood magic, past lives... What do you want me to do, exactly?"

"I want you to choose."

She froze. "Choose what?"

He gestured toward the pedestal.

"Touch the dagger again. But this time, will it to obey you. If your blood still holds the seal Elena placed... the circle will open."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you'll keep dreaming of a life you don't remember. Keep feeling a weight you don't understand. And this -" he pointed to the mark near her collarbone "- will burn more each day."

She looked down.

The crescent moon shimmered faintly through her skin.

Her hand trembled as she stepped forward.

She had to know the truth. If she didn't, she'd never escape. Not this mansion. Not her own mind.

She closed her eyes... and touched the dagger.

---

White light exploded from the blade.

But this time, she didn't pull away.

Pain burned through her arm, but she held on.

The symbols around the stone circle ignited one by one, a chain reaction of ancient power. The floor shook. A low hum vibrated through the walls.

And then, the dagger melted into her hand - not as fire, but as memory.

---

She saw everything.

Elena, standing in the very room.

Lucien Blackthorn, smiling gently.

Their hands together over the blade as it was forged.

But the happiness didn't last.

Elena discovered the price: the blade was made to control life. Her life. Their bond.

So she ran.

She hid the blade inside time itself.

And she swore - her bloodline would never serve theirs again.

---

Liana gasped as the vision faded.

She dropped to her knees, chest heaving.

Damian was beside her in seconds.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head.

"I saw her. I was her. She loved him. But he... he betrayed her. Bound her soul to that dagger."

Damian stared at her, stunned.

"She wasn't evil," Liana whispered. "She was trying to save herself."

He said nothing for a long time.

Then, in a low voice: "So the Blackthorns were wrong."

"Yes," she said. "But she was wrong too. She ran. And people died for it."

They looked at each other.

For once - no rage. No fear. Just two people standing at the edge of truth.

Liana stood up slowly, eyes on the glowing symbols surrounding them.

"What happens now?" she asked.

Damian gave a faint smile - the first real one.

            
            

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