Cursed by Shadows

Chapter 2: A Bargain with Fate

Lyra

The chill in the room deepened long after Dante left, as though he’d stolen all the warmth with him. I couldn’t shake the feeling of his gaze on me—the way he’d seen straight through the armor I’d spent years perfecting. The way he’d made me feel exposed and yet… alive.

I hated it. Hated how easy it was for him to unravel me with nothing more than a look. I didn’t need anyone. I didn’t need him. I couldn’t afford to.

With a sigh, I picked up the bucket of soapy water and moved to the next room. The monotonous work helped ground me, forcing my mind back to the present, where I was nothing but a servant. A wolf-less omega with no family, no power, and no future. Dante had been wrong. I belonged exactly where I was.

I scrubbed harder, trying to push him from my mind. His name alone unsettled me. His presence was a reminder of how far I’d fallen, how powerless I truly was. But beneath that fear… something darker stirred. Something dangerous.

A spark of hope.

His words echoed in my mind, refusing to leave me in peace: *“I can help you reclaim what’s yours.”*

I didn’t trust him. I couldn’t. But there was a part of me, a traitorous part, that wanted to believe him. The part of me that had spent every night dreaming of vengeance. The part that whispered maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth.

The heavy thud of boots in the hallway yanked me from my thoughts. My heart jumped into my throat as two familiar voices drifted toward the open doorway—Lady Callista and her eldest son, Marcus.

“... And you’re certain she’s gone?” Marcus asked, his voice low but unmistakable. The eldest of the Veridan family had always been arrogant, dripping with a sense of entitlement that made my skin crawl.

“I told you, Marcus,” Callista replied, her voice sharp and clipped. “The girl is dead. No one from that family survived. The council ensured it.”

I froze, breath caught in my throat. They were talking about me. About the lie that had kept me safe for years—the lie that had buried me alive in this household, forcing me to become a shadow.

But hearing it spoken aloud, with such certainty, made the fire inside me burn hotter.

They were wrong.

They thought they’d erased me, destroyed me along with the rest of my family. But I was still here, biding my time, waiting for the right moment to strike. Every day spent scrubbing their floors, wearing rags, and pretending to be invisible had only made me stronger. The Veridans would pay for what they’d done. Every last one of them.

I clenched the rag in my hands, my knuckles white as I listened to them pass by, unaware of the girl they believed was long dead.

The moment they were gone, I let out the breath I’d been holding and dropped the rag into the bucket. My heart pounded in my chest, rage and fear battling for dominance inside me. I wanted to scream, to rip something apart, but I couldn’t. Not yet. I had to stay patient, to keep my head down just a little longer.

But Dante’s offer rang louder in my mind now. *“I can help you.”* Maybe… maybe I didn’t have to wait anymore.

---

Later that night, long after the rest of the household had gone to bed, I slipped out of my room and made my way through the dimly lit corridors, my heart pounding in my chest. I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going, but my feet seemed to know. I had to find him. I had to at least hear what he had to say.

The moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the courtyard as I stepped outside. The cold air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. My mind was too focused, too driven by the need for answers. For a way out.

I didn’t have to search for long.

Dante stood by the fountain in the center of the courtyard, his silhouette sharp against the pale light of the moon. He turned as I approached, his expression unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—something that told me he’d been expecting me.

“I knew you’d come,” he said softly, his voice a low rumble in the quiet night.

I stopped a few feet away from him, arms crossed tightly over my chest. “You don’t know me,” I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt.

“No,” he agreed, “but I know what it’s like to be trapped.”

I looked away, my gaze falling on the rippling water of the fountain. “I’m not trapped.”

“Aren’t you?” His voice was quiet, but it cut through me like a blade. “You’re hiding in a house that doesn’t see you. You’re working for people who think you’re dead. You don’t even have your wolf.”

The mention of my wolf made my chest tighten. That loss was still a raw wound, one I hadn’t allowed myself to confront in years. I had no idea what had caused it, but I knew it was tied to the curse that had ruined my family.

“I’m surviving,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

“Surviving isn’t the same as living, Lyra.” Dante stepped closer, his presence overwhelming as it had been earlier that day. “You want more than this. You want your life back.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “And you think you can give it to me?”

His gaze was steady, unwavering. “I can give you the tools. But you have to be the one to take them.”

For a long moment, I just stared at him, weighing my options. I didn’t trust him, not completely. But there was something about him, something that called to me. Maybe it was the way he seemed to understand what I’d been through, or maybe it was the quiet strength in his voice. Either way, I couldn’t deny that I needed help. And he was offering it.

“What’s the catch?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.

Dante’s lips curved into a faint smile. “No catch. I want to help you because I believe you deserve a chance to take back what’s yours.”

“And what do you get out of it?”

“Let’s just say… I have my own reasons for wanting to see the Veridans fall.”

His answer was vague, but I didn’t press him. I had my own reasons for wanting revenge, and I didn’t need to know his.

For now, all that mattered was that he could help me. And that was enough.

I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. “Alright. I’m listening.”