Nora's POV
The dark creature slithered through the broken window like living smoke.
I screamed and grabbed Dominic's arm. He pushed me behind him immediately, his body a shield between me and whatever that thing was.
"What IS that?" I choked out.
"A Shade," Mrs. Winters said calmly, like monsters crashed through her shop every day. "They feed on souls. Particularly souls bound by blood magic and curses. Your uncle has been sacrificing Kane women to keep them satisfied for five generations."
Uncle Marcus was still on the floor, sobbing. "I had no choice! When I was twenty, a Shade killed my parents. It told me the deal—one Kane woman every generation before age thirty-five, or it would slaughter the entire bloodline. Men, women, children. Everyone."
"So you became a murderer," Dominic's voice was ice and fury. "You killed my MOTHER."
"To save YOU!" Marcus screamed. "Don't you understand? If I hadn't, the Shades would have killed you as a baby! Killed me! Killed everyone with Kane blood! I made a deal to protect our family!"
"By feeding them innocent women?" I couldn't stay quiet anymore. "My PARENTS—you killed them too! Why? They weren't Kane women!"
Marcus's face twisted with guilt. "Your mother was pregnant with you. The Shade smelled it—smelled the power in you. It wanted you dead before you could grow up and break the curse. So I... I had to make it look like an accident."
My knees went weak. "You murdered my parents because of me?"
"Because you're special, Nora." Mrs. Winters touched my shoulder gently. "Your bloodline is ancient. Your grandmother is an Oracle. Your mother had the gift of Sight. You carry magic in your veins—the kind that can rewrite destiny itself. The Shades knew that. Marcus knew that. And they all wanted you dead before you could fulfill your purpose."
"What purpose?" I whispered.
"Breaking the curse permanently. Not just for Dominic, but for every family the Shades have enslaved with blood deals." Mrs. Winters gestured at the creature still hovering by the window. "That's why I guided you both here. Why I sent those messages. Why I showed Dominic the future in his note three days ago. Because tonight is the only night in a hundred years when the veil is thin enough to end this."
The Shade hissed, and more shadows poured through the broken window. Three, four, five of them. The temperature in the shop dropped twenty degrees.
"How do we stop them?" Dominic demanded.
"You can't," Marcus said bitterly. "I tried for forty years. The only thing that stops them is feeding them what they want."
"No." Mrs. Winters shook her head. "There's one other way. The True Bond."
She looked at me and Dominic. "You two share something rare—a soul connection that predates this lifetime. You've loved each other across multiple lives. That kind of love, freely given and accepted, creates power the Shades can't touch. But—" She paused. "It requires absolute commitment. A binding. Marriage, in the old magical sense."
My heart stopped. "Marriage?"
"Right now. This instant. With me as witness." Mrs. Winters's eyes were serious. "You bind yourselves together—mind, body, and soul—and the curse breaks permanently. The Shades lose their hold. Everyone goes free."
"But?" Dominic asked. "There's always a but."
"But if you bind yourselves and one of you dies, the other dies too. Instantly. No exceptions. You'll be connected for life—and death." She looked between us. "It's a permanent choice. Forever, in every sense of the word."
The Shades were getting closer, circling like sharks.
"We just met—" I started.
"You've known each other for two years," Mrs. Winters interrupted. "And in past lives, you've known each other for centuries. Your souls recognize each other. That's why the attraction was instant. Why the connection is so strong. Why you're both willing to die for each other already."
She wasn't wrong. I'd felt it from the first day—that pull toward Dominic that didn't make sense.
"If we don't do this?" Dominic asked.
"The Shades keep killing. Marcus keeps sacrificing women. The curse continues forever." Mrs. Winters's voice was gentle. "Or I can send you both home right now. Erase your memories of tonight. Let you live separate lives. Safe, but apart. Never knowing what you could have been."
I looked at Dominic. Really looked at him.
This man who'd been cruel to protect me. Who'd driven across the city when I was in danger. Who'd confessed his love in a car while driving toward monsters. Who'd put his body between me and a Shade without hesitation.
"I know this is crazy," Dominic said quietly, his eyes locked on mine. "We barely know each other in this lifetime. But Nora, I've felt like I've known you forever. Like I've been WAITING for you. And if binding myself to you permanently is what it takes to keep you safe, to end this nightmare—" He took my hands. "I'll do it. Right now. Forever."
My heart hammered. "What if I die? You'd die too."
"Then we die together." He said it like it was simple. "I'm thirty-four. According to the curse, I don't have much time anyway. At least this way, I'd die having actually LIVED. Having loved you. Having been loved by you."
Tears burned my eyes. "This is insane."
"Completely," he agreed. "So? Will you marry me, Nora Chen? Magically, permanently, for all eternity? Knowing we just met, knowing it's crazy, knowing we might die?"
The Shades were ten feet away now. Mrs. Winters raised her hands, holding them back with golden light, but I could see her straining.
"Decide NOW," she gasped. "I can't hold them much longer!"
Uncle Marcus was shouting something about being fools, about how we'd doom the family, about how the deal was the only way.
But all I could see was Dominic.
This impossible, infuriating, beautiful man who'd somehow become everything in the space of one insane night.
"Yes," I said. "Yes, I'll marry you."
Dominic's face broke into the first real smile I'd ever seen from him—full of joy and relief and love so bright it hurt to look at.
Mrs. Winters slammed her staff on the ground. "Then by the power vested in me by time itself, I bind these souls! Dominic Kane and Nora Chen, you are now one! Sealed across all lifetimes, all dimensions, all possibilities!"
Golden light exploded from her staff and wrapped around us like chains made of pure sunlight. I felt it sink into my skin, into my bones, into something deeper than blood.
I felt Dominic. Not just physically, but FELT him. His emotions. His thoughts. His soul pressing against mine like two puzzle pieces finally clicking together.
"Oh," I whispered. "Oh my God."
"I feel you," Dominic breathed. "Nora, I can FEEL you. Everything."
The golden light shot outward and slammed into the Shades.
They SCREAMED—a sound that shattered the remaining windows and made my ears bleed.
Then they exploded into ash.
All of them. Gone in an instant.
Uncle Marcus stared in shock. "No. NO! The deal—the protection—"
"Is OVER," Mrs. Winters said firmly. "The Shades are banished from this bloodline. Forever. No more sacrifices. No more deaths. No more curse."
She looked at Marcus with pity. "You're free too, Marcus. Free from the guilt. Free from the deal. But you'll have to live with what you've done. That's your punishment."
Marcus collapsed, weeping.
Dominic pulled me close, and I melted into him. We were both shaking, both overwhelmed, both processing that we'd just gotten MARRIED to break a curse and banish monsters.
"Are you okay?" he whispered against my hair.
"I married my boss to fight shadow demons," I said shakily. "I'm processing."
He laughed—actually laughed—and it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.
Mrs. Winters cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt the newlywed moment, but we have a problem."
We both turned to look at her.
"Vivienne," she said grimly. "She disappeared during the binding. She's not just a jealous coworker. She's a Shade in human form—planted in your company years ago to watch you both. To make sure the curse continued. And now that you've broken it—" She paused. "She's going to be very, very angry."
My phone buzzed.
Text from Vivienne: "Congratulations on your magical wedding, lovebirds. Shame about what's going to happen at tomorrow's office party. PS - I still have those photos. And I'm going to make sure EVERYONE sees them. Including your grandmother, Nora. The Oracle who's been hiding in plain sight. See you at 5 PM. Don't be late. ;)"
I showed Dominic and Mrs. Winters the text.
"The office party," I whispered. "She's going to attack at the office party."
"With everyone there," Dominic added. "All our coworkers. Innocent people."
Mrs. Winters nodded grimly. "Shade-human hybrids are rare and dangerous. She can walk in daylight, blend with humans, and she's had years to plan revenge. Tomorrow at that party, she'll try to kill you both publicly. Make it look like an accident. Or worse—possess others to do it for her."
"Then we don't go," I said firmly.
"If you don't go, she kills Jasmine," Mrs. Winters said gently. "She texted that threat to make sure you'd come. She's already watching your friend. Already planning."
Dominic's jaw tightened. "Then we go. But we go prepared."
"How do you prepare for a Shade-human hybrid?" I asked.
Mrs. Winters smiled mysteriously. "With gifts, of course. It IS a Christmas party."
She walked to her back room and returned with two boxes.
One red. One white.
"Open them tomorrow before the party. Not before. They're timing-specific." She handed the red box to Dominic and the white one to me. "Trust me. You'll know what to do when the moment comes."
We left the shop ten minutes later—married, bonded, and carrying mysterious gift boxes.
As we got in Dominic's car, I looked at my new husband.
"So," I said. "This is the weirdest first date ever."
He laughed and kissed me—properly this time, not the desperate curse-breaking kiss from earlier, but soft and sweet and full of promise.
"Tomorrow we face a monster at a Christmas party," he murmured against my lips. "Tonight, I'm taking my wife home and making sure she knows exactly how I feel about her. No curse. No fear. Just us."
"Your wife," I repeated, testing the words. "That's going to take some getting used to."
"You have forever to get used to it." He smiled. "Because Mrs. Kane, we're bound for eternity now. Soul-bonded. Till death takes us both at the exact same moment."
"Romantic," I said dryly.
"I try." He started driving. "So. My place or yours?"
"Yours," I decided. "Mine's getting evicted tomorrow anyway."
"Not anymore. First thing Monday, I'm paying off your debt and buying you a new apartment. In a safe building. With actual security."
"Dominic—"
"Nora. We're married. What's mine is yours. Including my billions. Get used to it."
I stared at him. "Did you just say billions? Plural?"
"Did I forget to mention I'm one of the richest men in Manhattan?" He grinned. "Surprise, wife."
I started laughing. Couldn't stop.
We'd fought shadow monsters, broken a curse, gotten magically married, and now I was finding out my new husband was a billionaire.
This was my life now.
"What's so funny?" Dominic asked.
"Everything. Nothing. Just—" I took his free hand, felt the soul bond hum between us. "Twenty-four hours ago, I was a broke assistant who hated her boss. Now I'm a soul-bonded billionaire's wife preparing to fight a Shade at an office party."
"Life comes at you fast," he agreed.
My phone buzzed again.
Jasmine: "WHERE ARE YOU? Are you okay? Someone tried to break into my apartment this time! Police are here! CALL ME!"
The smile died on my face.
"Vivienne's escalating," I whispered.
Dominic's hands tightened on the wheel. "She won't touch Jasmine. I promise you that. We're going to end this tomorrow."
"How?"
He looked at the red gift box sitting in the backseat.
"I guess we'll find out when we open these boxes."
We drove through the night toward his penthouse, toward whatever tomorrow would bring, toward a Christmas party that would either save everyone or destroy us all.
Married less than an hour, and already facing death together.
Some honeymoon.