Elara's POV
I wake up screaming.
Pain tears through my body leftover agony from training with Kaelen's dragon fire all night. Every nerve feels like it's been set on fire and frozen at the same time.
A servant rushes in, her eyes wide with fear. Miss! Should I fetch the King?
No, I gasp, forcing myself to sit up. I'm fine. Just... nightmares.
That's a lie. The pain is real. My body absorbed so much dragon fire last night that it's still processing it, still transforming all that raw power into something I can use.
The servant looks doubtful but leaves.
I drag myself out of bed and splash cold water on my face. In the mirror, I barely recognize myself. My eyes have a faint silver glow now like Kaelen's. And when I lift my hand, I see tiny flickers of white light dancing across my palm.
The magic is changing me.
I'm changing me.
A knock on the door. Elara? It's Kaelen. We have training.
Give me five minutes, I call back.
You have three. We're running out of time.
Right. Two days left until Morganna's deadline.
I dress quickly and meet Kaelen in the hallway. He looks as exhausted as I feel, with dark circles under his silver eyes.
Did you sleep at all? I ask.
Did you?
Touché.
He leads me through the citadel to a room I haven't seen before a massive library that smells like old paper and magic. Books line every wall from floor to ceiling.
First real lesson, Kaelen says, pulling a thick book off a shelf. Understanding what you are. Magic comes from the soul. Most people generate it naturally, like breathing. But you... He sets the book down and turns to face me. You're different. Show me what you did in the East Wing. Call up the magic you absorbed.
I close my eyes and concentrate.
Nothing happens.
I try harder, reaching inside myself for that well of power I felt last night.
Still nothing.
I can't, I say, frustrated. It's there I can feel it but I can't make it come out.
That's because you're trying to generate magic like a normal person, Kaelen explains. But you don't generate. You consume. Try this instead.
He pulls a small dagger from his belt. The blade is black and covered in strange symbols that hurt to look at.
This is soaked in death magic, he says. It would kill a normal person the moment they touched it. But you're not normal.
He holds it out.
I hesitate. Are you sure about this?
Trust me.
I take the dagger.
The moment my fingers touch the metal, curse magic explodes into my hand. It rushes up my arm like ice water in my veins, trying to reach my heart and stop it.
But my body knows what to do.
My absorption power activates automatically. The curse magic gets sucked in, dissolved, transformed into something clean and pure.
The black blade begins to glow. The symbols fade. Within seconds, I'm holding an ordinary, clean dagger.
Incredible, Kaelen breathes, stepping closer. His eyes are bright with excitement. You're not just absorbing the magic you're purifying it. Transforming curse energy into pure energy.
Is that good?
It's more than good. It's... He runs a hand through his hair, clearly struggling to find words. Do you understand what this means? Three hundred years of curse magic fills this citadel. Every wall, every stone, every breath of air is saturated with death. But if you can cleanse it all...
Then the curse loses its power, I finish quietly.
Exactly.
For the next few hours, Kaelen brings me cursed object after cursed object. A mirror that drives people mad. A ring that drains life force. A book that kills anyone who reads it.
One by one, I touch them. One by one, my power devours the curses and leaves the objects clean.
Each time, I get faster. Stronger. The magic flows through me more easily, like I'm learning a new language and the words are finally starting to make sense.
You're growing more powerful, Kaelen observes, watching me cleanse a cursed necklace. At this rate, you could absorb all the curse magic in the citadel within days.
And then I'd be the most powerful magic user alive, I say.
Our eyes meet across the table.
Something electric passes between us. Recognition. Understanding. And something else something dangerous that makes my heart beat faster.
Kaelen steps back abruptly. That's enough for today. You need to rest.
We only have two days left
And you'll be useless to anyone if you burn yourself out. His voice is sharp, but I hear the concern underneath. Rest. Eat something. I'll come find you this evening for the next session.
He leaves quickly, like he's running from something.
I stand alone in the library, surrounded by books and cleansed objects, wondering what just happened.
Well, well. So you're the tribute who survived.
I spin around.
A woman stands in the doorway beautiful, with silver-streaked hair and eyes that are kind but somehow see right through me. She wears simple healer's robes.
I'm Lyris, she says, walking into the library with a warm smile. Half-dragon, half-human. I work as the palace healer. And you, my dear, are causing quite the stir.
I am?
Oh yes. The servants are calling you the Curse Breaker. The guards are placing bets on how long you'll survive. And the King... Her smile turns knowing. Well, the King hasn't looked at anyone the way he looks at you in over three hundred years.
My face heats up. We're just working together. Trying to break the curse.
Of course you are. Lyris links her arm through mine like we've been friends for years. Come on. Let me show you around the citadel properly and tell you all the things the King won't.
She leads me through corridors I haven't seen, chatting about the history of the fortress, the different wings, and the best places to hide when you need to think.
But I can tell she's building up to something.
Finally, as we reach a beautiful garden that somehow grows despite the volcanic heat, Lyris stops.
I need to tell you something, she says, her voice turning serious. About the curse. About what it really does.
Kaelen already told me. Anyone he cares about dies.
That's true, but incomplete. Lyris sits on a stone bench and pats the spot beside her. The curse doesn't just kill people. It corrupts them first. It finds what they love most and twists it into something dark. Makes them hurt the people they're trying to protect.
Cold dread settles in my stomach. What are you saying?
I'm saying that Kaelen's first wife yes, he was married once didn't just die from the curse. She went mad first. Started seeing enemies everywhere. Tried to kill him three times before the curse finally took her life. Lyris's eyes are sad. His younger sister didn't just get sick. She became so paranoid she locked herself in a tower and starved rather than risk the curse spreading through her to others.
Why are you telling me this?
Because I see the way you two look at each other. I see the connection forming. And I need you to understand: the curse doesn't just punish love with death. It punishes it with corruption. With madness. With becoming everything you hate.
My hands clench into fists. I can absorb the curse. I can protect myself.
Can you? Lyris asks gently. You've absorbed curse magic from objects, from attacks. But emotional curse magic the kind that targets feelings and connections that's different. Deeper. More insidious. It doesn't attack your body. It attacks your soul.
Then what am I supposed to do? Stay away from him? We need to work together to survive Morganna!
I know. That's what makes this so tragic. Lyris stands and places a hand on my shoulder. Just... be careful. Don't let yourself care too much. Don't open your heart too wide. Because the moment you do
The curse will corrupt me, I finish quietly.
Or worse. It will make you corrupt him.
She leaves me alone in the garden with those terrible words echoing in my head.
I sit there for a long time, trying to process everything.
The sun is setting when I finally stand to go back inside.
That's when I see it.
A flower in the garden that wasn't there before. Black petals. Roots that pulse like a heartbeat.
And growing from its center a piece of paper.
With trembling hands, I pick up the note.
The handwriting is elegant. Familiar.
Dear Elara,
By now, Lyris has told you about emotional curse corruption. Good. You should know what's coming.
But here's what she didn't tell you: it's already started.
Every moment you spend with Kaelen, every training session, every look, every touch the curse is learning. Adapting. Finding the cracks in your absorption magic.
You think you're getting stronger? You're getting corrupted.
That silver glow in your eyes? That's not power. That's the curse taking root.
In two days, when you come to me at midnight, I won't need to force you to surrender. You'll do it willingly. Because by then, you'll realize the truth: you're not the hero of this story.
You're the monster.
Tick tock, granddaughter.
Love, Morganna
P.S. - Don't believe me? Look in a mirror tonight. Really look. And see what you're becoming.
The note burns to ash in my hands.
I run back to my chambers, my heart pounding.
I burst through the door and rush to the mirror.
At first, I see nothing different. Just me. Tired, scared, but still me.
Then I look closer.
And I see it.
Dark veins spreading beneath my skin. So faint I almost missed them.
The same dark veins I saw on the servants Morganna tried to kill.
The same dark veins that mark curse corruption.
I'm not just absorbing the curse.
It's absorbing me.
A scream builds in my throat
And that's when someone grabs me from behind.
A hand covers my mouth. An arm wraps around my waist.
Don't scream, Corvus's voice whispers in my ear. And don't fight. I'm here to save your life.
He spins me around. His silver eyes are urgent, desperate.
Morganna was right about one thing, he says quickly. The corruption has started. In two days, maybe less, you'll be completely under the curse's control. You'll walk right into her trap and hand her everything she wants.
Then what do I do? I gasp.
You let me cut the connection. He pulls out a knife that glows with strange blue light. This blade can sever magical bonds. If I use it on you now, it will cut your link to both the curse and to Kaelen. You'll lose your absorption power, but you'll be free. Human. Safe.
And everyone in the citadel dies when I can't fight Morganna.
Better them than you.
I stare at the glowing knife. At the salvation it offers.
And I realize I have to make an impossible choice.
Stay powerful and risk corruption.
Or become powerless and watch everyone die.
What's it going to be? Corvus asks. You have about ten seconds before Kaelen senses I'm in your room and comes to kill me.
The knife glows brighter.
My reflection shows those dark veins spreading.
And somewhere deep inside me, something hungry whispers: Take the power. Keep the power. You need the power.
Ten seconds to choose.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.