A Curse Love: Bound by Shadow

Chapter 11: The Final Choice

The night air is thick and unmoving as I stand alone in the center of the ritual circle, heart hammering painfully against my chest. The moon above casts a pale glow on the stones around me, illuminating symbols that look more ancient, more sinister than they ever have. This is it—the final step, the last thread of the curse that holds Luca and me in its twisted grip. My hands shake as I reach for the ritual knife Damon had left, the cool metal heavy with the weight of my decision.

I force myself to focus, closing my eyes as I begin to speak the words Hannah taught me, words meant to sever, to unbind. Each syllable feels like tearing open an old wound, one that never fully healed. In my mind, I see Luca’s face, his haunted eyes, the way he’d looked at me tonight as though he were being torn apart from the inside. I grit my teeth, reminding myself that this is for the best, that walking away is the only choice left.

But then… the air shifts.

I open my eyes, a cold rush of realization flooding me as I feel him near. “Amelia,” he calls softly from behind me, his voice carrying both anger and desperation. I turn, heart pounding, to find Luca standing just outside the circle, his face partially hidden in shadow but his expression raw, intense.

“No,” I whisper, taking a step back. “Luca, you shouldn’t be here. I have to finish this.”

He steps forward, crossing the line into the circle, as if my words mean nothing to him. His gaze pierces through me, and I feel myself start to unravel under the weight of it. “Do you really think I’d just stand by and watch you tear us apart?” he asks, his voice low, trembling with barely contained emotion. “After everything we’ve been through?”

I swallow hard, unable to look away. “I have to break the curse, Luca. I have to set us free, no matter the cost.”

“But at what cost, Amelia?” He takes another step closer, his face softening as he reaches for me. I feel his hand graze my cheek, his thumb tracing a line over my skin, gentle but unyielding. “Do you think breaking the curse will change how we feel? You think you can just cut ties and walk away?”

I close my eyes, feeling his touch ignite every nerve, the ache that I’ve tried so hard to ignore roaring back to life. “If we don’t do this, it’ll destroy us,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I can’t keep living in your shadows, Luca. The darkness, the pain—I can’t carry it anymore.”

He doesn’t let go. His hand slips to the back of my neck, fingers pressing gently, as if he’s trying to ground me, to remind me that he’s still here, still breathing, still fighting. “Then let me carry it alone,” he murmurs, voice cracking. “You don’t have to bear my darkness, Amelia. I just… I need you. With me. Not because of some curse, but because… I can’t imagine my life without you.”

The sincerity in his eyes leaves me breathless, paralyzed. He’s broken, yes, haunted by whatever memories have left scars on his soul. But underneath all of it, there’s a vulnerability I’ve only glimpsed, a fragility he hides from the rest of the world but somehow trusts me to see.

“Luca,” I whisper, feeling tears well in my eyes. “We can’t… It’s too late.”

His thumb brushes away a tear as it slips down my cheek. “It’s not too late. Not if you don’t want it to be.”

I want to believe him, to fall into his words, but the weight of the curse, the darkness that’s plagued us both, makes me hesitate. I look down, clutching the ritual knife, the final act just inches away from being complete. One last sacrifice, one final break, and I can be free.

But as I raise the knife, Luca’s hand closes over mine, stopping me. “Don’t,” he says, his voice a soft command that sends a shiver through me. He’s so close, his face inches from mine, and I feel my heart pounding harder, torn between the need to pull away and the desire to let him anchor me.

“I don’t want you to do this, Amelia. I can’t let you walk away.” His voice is raw, breaking, each word laced with something between pleading and fury. His other hand finds my waist, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us. His warmth seeps into me, grounding me, making me question every decision I thought I’d made.

Before I can respond, his mouth crashes against mine, and I feel myself unravel, the ritual, the curse, everything slipping away. The kiss is fierce, desperate, filled with a longing that’s deeper than any curse could ever bind. His hands are rough as they trace the curve of my spine, pulling me closer, as if he’s trying to fuse us together, to make sure I can’t escape. And in that moment, I don’t want to.

I respond in kind, letting every pent-up emotion pour into the kiss, the anger, the hurt, the love I’ve fought so hard to ignore. His hands slide under my shirt, fingers grazing my skin, igniting trails of fire with every touch. My fingers knot into his hair, pulling him closer, losing myself in him, in the way he feels, the way he tastes, everything that’s Luca.

The night air feels colder as he lowers me gently onto the soft grass within the circle, his weight pressing against me, grounding me. His lips trace a line down my neck, and I shudder, clutching him tighter as his hands slide along my sides, his touch firm but reverent. “Amelia,” he breathes against my skin, his voice filled with a desperation that mirrors my own.

We cling to each other as though we’re the only lifelines in a sea of uncertainty. His hands move slowly, tracing every inch of me as if he’s memorizing it, leaving no part untouched, no part unloved. And I realize, in that moment, that this is more than just passion. This is an unspoken goodbye, a final act of surrender, a reminder of what could be if we weren’t bound by fate’s cruel games.

“Don’t leave me,” he whispers, his voice barely audible, a plea that makes my chest ache. His fingers intertwine with mine, holding me so tightly it’s as though he’s afraid I’ll slip away. “Please, Amelia.”

I close my eyes, feeling the tears slip down my face, knowing that this might be the last time I’ll feel his heartbeat against mine, the last time his touch will remind me of all the reasons I stayed, despite the darkness. I pull him closer, burying my face against his shoulder, clinging to him as if he’s the only thing tethering me to this world.

“Luca,” I murmur, my voice choked with emotion. “I love you.”

The words are like a release, a surrender that I can’t take back, even if I tried. His arms tighten around me, his face buried in my hair as he trembles, his own silent response filling the space between us.

But as the dawn begins to break, casting a faint light over the trees, I know that the curse may be gone, but the scars it’s left will remain, etched into both of us, shaping who we are, who we’ll become. I feel the hollow space that its release has left, an emptiness that neither of us knows how to fill.

He pulls back, his face etched with both longing and pain, his fingers tracing a line down my cheek as though committing my face to memory. “We’ll find a way,” he murmurs, his gaze intense, filled with a determination that tugs at my heart. “No matter what, we’ll find a way.”

I nod, though a part of me isn’t so sure. The curse is gone, yes, but at what cost? And as I look into his eyes, I know that we’re both left shattered, two halves of a broken whole, trying to piece together something that may never truly fit.

But for now, in this quiet dawn, we hold each other, letting the silence settle around us, as if it’s all we have left.