Chapter 1 Prologue

Prologue

"No!"

Ravenna's scream tore through the silence like shattered glass, as she watched the love of her life collapse, his throat slit and his blood staining the earth beneath him.

Her knees went numb.

The cold stone beneath her bare feet bit into her skin, grounding her in a reality too cruel to accept. Trembling, her fingers twitched as if trying to reach him one last time, though her arms were bound and her body drenched in blood. Her vision blurred, and tears cascaded freely down her cheeks.

Then came the voice.

Calm. Mocking. Cruel.

"It's alright," King Thrain drawled as he stepped forward, his lips curled into a cruel smirk. "You will join him soon."

His large, gloved hand seized her by the jaw, forcing her to meet his eyes those cold, merciless eyes that held not a flicker of remorse.

"You're a bastard," she spat, venom dripping from her voice, "a coward!"

His grip tightened, making her jaw ache, drawing a sharp hiss from her lips.

But even through the pain, she didn't look away. Her voice fell to a broken whisper, fragile, yet laced with fury, "I curse you.

Thrain only chuckled, unaffected. Blood clung to her like a second skin, trickling down her arms, soaking the ground.

"I CURSE YOU!" She roared. "YOU, ANYONE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH WILL DIE! THIS CURSE WILL BE PASSED TO YOUR SON AND YOUR SON'S SON UNTIL THE LAST OF YOUR BLOODLINE. IT'S A CURSE OF A SCORNED LOVER".

Thrain burst out laughing before he released her face, shaking his head as if pitying her foolishness.

"Burn her," he ordered, turning away. "Burn them all."

The guards surged forward.

They dragged her like a ragdoll across the stone, her torn gown trailing behind her, smeared with blood and ash. She had lost everything: her family, her friends, and the only man and the only man she had ever fallen in love with.

She no longer fought. She no longer begged.

They tied her to a tree, once ancient and sacred, now twisted into a funeral pyre.

The torch was lit. The flames rose. The smoke danced like black serpents into the sky.

Ravenna's screams rang through the forest, wild, primal, agonizing. Her skin blistered, her body engulfed in the merciless flames.

But her eyes, oh, her eyes remained open.

As the fire consumed her, Ravenna's mind echoed with the memories of her lover's warm touch and the promise of a future that would never be.

The flames fueled her rage as her curse hung in the air, burning with vengeance. It etched itself into the fabric of fate.

King Thrain watched from a distance, his smile fading as her screams grew louder, but he didn't turn away. The forest itself seemed to tremble, as if it felt the weight of Ravenna's curse.

Ravenna's voice had finally silenced, the fire died down, leaving behind the lingering sense of darkness.

The curse had been spoken.