A Curse Love: Bound by Shadow

Chapter 8: Spiraling Descent

The quiet nights in Blackwood seem to carry a weight heavier than silence, a tension hanging in the air that seeps into my bones, growing heavier with each passing day. The curse is tightening its hold, suffocating and relentless, and I can feel it dragging me into the depths of something I can’t control. My bond with Luca has become a dangerous, twisting thing, full of need and fear and the constant threat of betrayal.

Hannah had warned me, warned that trying to break the curse wouldn’t be easy—or even safe. But desperation was becoming a constant companion, gnawing away at my resolve. I couldn’t sit back and let this curse consume us, not when I felt Luca slipping further from my grasp each day. I had to try, even if it meant risking everything.

---

The evening is dark, and the room where I’ve set up for the ritual feels almost claustrophobic. Candles flicker in each corner, casting long shadows that dance along the walls, illuminating the symbols I’ve drawn. I’m alone, clutching a piece of Luca’s worn shirt that I had swiped from his place, feeling its soft, faded fabric in my hands.

“Hannah said this would work,” I whisper, closing my eyes and exhaling a slow breath, repeating the words she taught me. Words meant to reach into the fabric of the curse, to tear at its seams. Yet, as I begin to chant, I feel something heavy in the air, a strange pressure that pushes against my chest.

But the ritual doesn’t end the way I expect. Instead of a release, a flash of pain sears through me, sending a flood of images into my mind. Dark, disjointed, flashing like broken scenes from a film reel. It’s Luca, but not the Luca I know—a younger, wilder Luca, his face twisted in rage and pain as he swings a fist at someone. Blood splatters across his face, his eyes fierce and unrecognizable.

I’m gasping, the image seared into my mind, and then another takes its place—Luca alone, his face hollow with despair, crumpled on the ground in an alley. My heart pounds as the vision fades, and I stumble, clutching the wall for support.

“What... what was that?” I gasp, my voice barely a whisper. The ritual was supposed to help, supposed to sever something, but now I can only feel the curse pulsing stronger, its weight wrapping tighter around my chest.

---

Later that night, I went to see Luca. I can’t shake the images from my mind, can’t get his haunted, broken expression out of my head. I don’t know if I’m looking for answers or just the comfort of his presence, but as I walk up to his place, I can feel my heart pounding, a mix of dread and anticipation.

I knock on his door, and when he opens it, his expression darkens instantly. He’s surprised, maybe even a little angry, but there’s something else too—a flicker of vulnerability that he quickly masks.

“What are you doing here, Amelia?” he asks, his voice low, guarded.

I swallow hard, trying to find the right words. “I... I saw something. Visions. Of you.”

His gaze sharpens, his jaw clenched. “Visions?”

I nod, feeling a rush of emotions that I can barely contain. “I saw... I saw you fighting. And then alone, broken. I don’t understand what’s happening, Luca. I don’t understand any of this.”

For a moment, he just stares at me, his face impassive, but I can see the conflict in his eyes. “I told you not to dig into this, Amelia. You should have listened.”

My frustration flares, and I step forward, my voice shaking. “I can’t just ignore it! You’re wrapped up in this curse as much as I am, and it’s tearing us apart. I thought maybe... maybe if I could understand...”

“Understand?” he interrupts, his voice cold and almost bitter. “You can’t understand what it’s like to live with this—this darkness inside, waiting to consume you. You should be running from me, Amelia, not trying to find excuses to stay.”

The intensity in his gaze is almost overwhelming, and I can feel the pull between us, strong and unyielding. Before I know it, I’m stepping even closer, my hand reaching out to touch his cheek, my fingers trembling. “I don’t want to run, Luca. I... I can’t.”

He looks down at me, his face softened by something I can’t quite name. Then, in a swift movement, he pulls me into his arms, his mouth finding mine with an urgency that makes my head spin. The kiss is rough, raw, like he’s pouring every unspoken word, every hidden fear, into this single moment.

I press closer to him, my hands winding into his hair as his lips trail along my jawline, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. His hands move to my waist, pulling me tighter against him, and I can feel the beat of his heart pounding in sync with mine, a steady, unrelenting rhythm.

He pulls back just enough to look at me, his eyes dark and filled with a desperate intensity. “This isn’t safe, Amelia. None of this is safe.”

“I don’t care,” I whisper, breathless. “I don’t care about safety.”

In that moment, everything else falls away. The curse, the danger, the doubt—it all fades as we cling to each other, as if we’re both drowning and the other is the only thing keeping us afloat.

He guides me back toward the bed, his hands moving with a newfound tenderness as he lays me down, his gaze locked on mine, searching, questioning. And then he leans over me, his touch warm and unhurried, as if savoring every second, every inch of space between us. His lips trace down my neck, sending shivers across my skin, and I can feel the tension coiling inside me, a fierce, almost painful ache that only he can ease.

When he finally meets my gaze again, his voice is a hoarse whisper. “Are you sure?”

I nod, reaching up to pull him down to me, my fingers slipping beneath his shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my touch. “Yes.”

He kisses me again, and this time there’s a tenderness there, something almost vulnerable, as if he’s letting me see a part of himself that he keeps hidden from the world. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying, like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing there’s no turning back.

As our clothes fall away, piece by piece, I can feel the weight of everything we’re carrying between us, the curse and the pain and the tangled, impossible pull that binds us. But for tonight, it doesn’t matter. Tonight, it’s just us, lost in each other, finding solace in the heat of our bodies and the quiet, unspoken promises that hang in the air.

---

Afterward, we lay together in the dim light, his arm wrapped around me as my head rested on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. I feel a strange sense of peace, as if for the first time, everything has aligned.

But even as I close my eyes, a flicker of doubt creeps in, a reminder of the curse and the betrayal that looms over us. I push it away, focusing instead on the warmth of Luca’s arms, on the rise and fall of his breathing, willing myself to stay in this moment, if only for a little while longer.

But somewhere in the quiet, I can feel the curse’s presence, dark and patient, waiting for the moment when it will tear us apart. And I wonder, for the first time, if we’ll ever truly be free from it—or if this bond between us is destined to be our undoing.