THE HEIRS OF THE CURSED

Elena’s POV The dream always started the same way. I was barefoot in a forest that never ended, silver light spilling over the ground and making every leaf look like it was glowing. The trees felt familiar in a way that never made sense, like I had walked through them before but couldn’t remember when. Someone was waiting for me. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there. “Come here…” His voice was soft enough to make my chest hurt. He never called me Elena. He used another name every single time, and the moment I opened my eyes it was gone. I pushed through the trees trying to reach him. He stood just outside the light, tall and still, close enough that I should have seen his face. My fingers almost touched him before a wolf howled and the whole dream shattered. I sat up in bed with my heart racing. Same dream. Same ending. Same empty feeling where the name should have been. I’d been having it since I was little, but lately it felt heavier, like something on the other side was finally looking back. Downstairs the smell of bread was already rising, mixed with the sound of cupboards opening and closing. I put on the moonstone pendant and went down. Mum was at the stove. She smiled without looking up. “Morning.” “Morning.” She glanced at me. “Sleep okay?” I almost told her about the dream. The words sat right there on my tongue, but then I saw the dark circles under her eyes and I couldn’t do it. “Yeah,” I said. “Fine.” I shouldn’t have said that. We ate in silence as usual, though today it felt a little off. When I reached for my cup, her eyes went to the pendant. She reached toward it, then stopped and pulled her hand back. “Mum?” “It’s nothing.” She smiled too quickly. “It looks nice on you.” She turned away, but not before I saw her fingers brush her own throat. Something about that made me uneasy. After breakfast I went looking for a recipe book. The cupboard was a mess of old notebooks and boxes. When I moved some of them aside, a photo album slid out. I hadn’t opened it in years. Baby pictures, school photos, birthdays. Then I turned a page and stopped. There was an empty space where a photo had been removed on purpose. The corners were still tucked under the plastic. I stared at it until my hands felt cold. “Mum?” She appeared in the doorway. I held the album up. “Did he really never want me?” I was talking about my father, the man who walked out on us and never looked back. She went still for a moment, then came and sat down. “Some people aren’t meant to stay,” she said quietly. She said it softly, but it felt like she was closing the door on me again. This time I didn’t let it go. “That’s not an answer. You always do this. I’m twenty-four. I deserve more.” Her shoulders tightened. For a second I thought she might actually speak, but instead she took the album, closed it, and stood up. “Not today, Elena.” The way she said it made my chest feel tight. I wanted to keep going, but the look on her face told me the conversation was over. By the time I opened the café, the town was already moving. I tied my apron and stared at the empty station beside mine. Serena, my best friend and the only other person who worked here with us, had been sick for a week. The silence without her felt wrong. Near the register was an old photo from last summer’s festival. Serena had flour all over her face, Ethan was laughing so hard he was almost falling out of his chair, and I was in the middle trying not to smile. The three of us had been friends since primary school. They were the only people I could really count on in this town. Ethan had been away for work for a while now, and looking at the picture made the café feel even quieter. Lunch brought Maya Collins and Brooke. Maya’s eyes found me immediately. “Oh look who we have here. Twenty-four and still serving coffee. Some people are just meant to serve their whole lives.” They both giggled. The words landed harder than usual. This time I didn’t let them sit. “At least I’m useful,” I said. “Unlike some people who only know how to talk shit.” Her smile slipped for a second before she recovered. They took their drinks and left. Late afternoon the café went quiet in a strange way. One by one people stopped talking and turned toward the front window. A black SUV sat across the street, its windows too dark to see through. It didn’t idle. It just waited. Someone near the counter whispered, “Blackwood.” Another voice cut him off. “Not here.” The car pulled away after a minute, but the air stayed tight. I looked at Mum. She hadn’t moved. Her face had gone pale, and she watched the empty street like something might come back. For a second she looked properly afraid. She caught me watching and tried to smooth her expression, but it was too late. I walked over. “Who is Blackwood?” “Nothing.” “Don’t lie to me. You looked terrified.” She turned away and started wiping a counter that was already clean. The silence that followed felt heavier than shouting. When we closed, she checked every lock twice, then checked them again. I watched her. “You’re scared.” She didn’t deny it. She just looked at me for a long moment, then said, “Go upstairs, Elena.” I was about to turn when the front door handle rattled hard. Both of us froze. The door shook again, then burst open. Three men came in, and one of them locked the door behind him. Mum pushed me behind the counter. “Get out of my café,” she said. The biggest one looked at her, then at me. His eyes stopped on the pendant around my neck. He didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at it. Mum grabbed a knife from under the counter. The man closest to her moved fast, hit her arm, and the knife fell. He shoved her hard against the wall. Things crashed to the floor. I ran at him. The third man caught me by the arm and slammed me against the counter. Pain shot up my back as he held me there. “Stay still,” he muttered. I tried to push him off, but he was too strong. Across the room Mum was still fighting, but she was losing. The big man walked toward me slowly, his eyes fixed on the pendant. The man holding me pressed harder against my chest until I couldn’t get enough air. My vision started to blur at the edges. Then the pendant went suddenly, painfully hot. The man holding me jerked back with a sharp curse, staring at his hand like it had been burned. He looked at me with wide eyes, like he couldn’t understand what had just happened. A deep howl tore through the night, strong enough to make the windows shake. All three men went completely still. Real fear crossed the big one’s face. He jerked his head toward the exit, and they left fast, the door banging shut behind them. I slid down to the floor, coughing hard. Mum was next to me in a second, her hands shaking as she held my face. “Elena. Are you hurt?” I shook my head, still trying to breathe. The pendant was still warm against my skin. Mum pulled me against her. She was trembling. “They found us,” she whispered. “They finally found us.” Outside, the howl came again, and the windows shook a second time. I didn’t know if the danger had left or if it was only getting worse.