I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “So… you’re saying… there’s no magical curse on you? Nothing placed on you by a witch or an enemy?”
“Not really,” he said quietly. “No spell. No chains of fate. Just me. My beast. And the blood it craves.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. The weight of his words pressed down on me until I thought I might break under it.
“Wow,” I whispered. My voice trembled. “So what this means… is that you just have to learn to control your beast.”
For the first time since his confession began, he barked a laugh. A real one, but bitter. “Control? Emilia, my beast cannot be controlled. I’ve spent my entire life trying. Nothing works. Rage. Chains. Blood. Nothing holds it back. Nothing stops it.”
I shook my head. “That’s not true.”
His brows rose.
“I calmed it down
