THE NIGHT THE CURSE BREATHED
The forest held its breath.
Branches trembled even though no wind touched them. Shadows thickened on the ground, pooling like ink at Nara’s feet as she and Kael stood at the edge of the ancient ridge—the same ridge where Kael’s father had once tried to break the curse.
The place where everything had gone wrong.
Nara swallowed hard. “It’s reacting to me again.”
Beside her, Kael’s jaw tightened. “It’s reacting to your bloodline. And the closer we get to the Veil, the stronger it will become.”
He was trying to sound steady, controlled, unshakeable. But she could feel it—the curse stirring under his skin like a sleeping beast waking.
His aura crackled, wild and unstable.
Nara stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm. “We do this together. You’re not facing
