Verveville's Curse

Chapter20

Axel’s POV

By morning, my resolve was colder than the air outside.

Kaida was still asleep, curled against my chest like she hadn’t watched me burn the night before. I brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead gently before sliding out of bed.

I didn’t want to wake her.

Not because I wanted peace, but because I needed space. Space to think. Space to breathe. Space away from her soft voice always reminding me to be kind.

Kindness was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

I pulled on my tunic, strapped my blades to my waist, and headed down the hall. The castle was quiet too quiet. The kind of silence that usually came before something snapped.

At the end of the corridor, a guard leaned lazily against the stone archway.

“Where is she?” I asked flatly.

The guard blinked. “The girl?”

I nodded once.

“She went to the stables. Said she wanted to see the horses.”

My jaw twitched., Alone, Again.

I walked away before he could offer anything else. I didn’t want excuses. I didn’t want reasoning. I just wanted to see what she was doing. I wanted to catch her slipping to see if any part of her remembered who she truly was.

Because no one forgets everything. Not completely.

Not if they were truly a threat once.

Kaida’s POV

When I found him again, Axel was pacing the edge of the stable like a wolf about to pounce.

“What are you doing?” I asked, folding my arms, heart already sinking.

“She’s talking to the horses.”

I raised a brow. “You sound surprised.”

“She’s not talking like someone admiring an animal. She’s whispering. Like they understand her.”

I stepped beside him, peering into the wide wooden arch that opened toward the paddocks. And there she was Lylah, crouched beside one of the younger stallions, her palm gently on its neck.

Her voice was too soft to hear, but her face was serene. The stallion didn’t flinch. Didn’t shy away. In fact, it bowed its head toward her, as if it… respected her.

“She’s kind,” I said, my voice almost a sigh. “Why does that scare you so much?”

“Because it’s not earned,” Axel snapped. “It’s not real. She’s a stranger in a borrowed home. And you’re all too eager to forget what she came from.”

I turned to him, my voice sharp now. “And you’re too eager to punish her for things she doesn’t even remember. For things she might not have even chosen.”

He looked at me, jaw tight. “You think memory changes blood?”

“No,” I whispered. “But maybe kindness does.”

We stood in silence.

Then the horse whinnied, and Lylah turned toward us. Her eyes caught mine first, and then Axel’s.

And gods if she was pretending, she was the best actress I’d ever seen.

There was no malice in her. Just wonder.

Willow’s POV

I saw them standing there, Kaida and Axel. She looked concerned, as always, her kindness worn like a second skin. But him?

He looked like he wanted to bury me in the stables. He looked like he wanted to snap my neck and chew my bones

I stood slowly, brushing hay from my hands, and approached them.

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to be here without permission. I just…”

“You felt drawn,” Kaida finished gently.

I nodded.

Axel didn’t say anything. Just stared. And that stare…it chilled me.

Like he wasn’t seeing me, but something I couldn’t name. Like he was seeing a sort of evil in me

“Do you remember anything when you touch them?” he asked suddenly.

I blinked. “What?”

He took a step closer. “The horses. The wolves. The trees. Do they bring anything back?”

I looked at Kaida. She was frowning, subtle but present.

“No,” I said. “Just feelings. Familiarity, maybe.”

Axel studied me like that wasn’t enough.

“I’m just trying to help her adjust,” Kaida said, her hand brushing my arm, protective. “She doesn’t need an interrogation.”

He glanced at her then at me and turned without a word, disappearing into the fog-covered trees.

Kaida’s POV

He was unraveling.

The more she stayed, the more Axel became a man I barely recognized. Not because he was cruel but because he was scared. I hadn't seen him this worried and upset in a long time. I hadn't even seen him like this

And Axel only ever got cruel when he was terrified.

I watched him disappear down the path, fists clenched at his sides.

And then I looked at Lylah, soft, confused, unsure.

The very picture of innocence.

But innocence was rarely the full truth in Aetheria.

I tightened my grip on her arm and gave her a gentle smile.

“Come,” I said. “Let’s get you something warm to drink.”

As we walked back toward the keep, the weight of the situation settled upon me. The air felt thick with tension, as if something was about to break. The silence between us was broken only by the crunch of our boots on the gravel path.

I glanced at Lylah, studying her profile. Her skin was pale, her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her eyes darted nervously from side to side. She was a puzzle, a mystery that I was determined to solve. But the more I learned about her, the more questions I had.

And as we walked, I felt it again, that shift in the air. A subtle change, a tightening of the atmosphere. It was a premonition, a warning that something was coming. Something big, something dangerous.

And Lylah, with her forgotten past and careful smile, was right at the heart of it. I knew, with a certainty that settled deep in my bones, that our lives were about to change forever. The calm before the storm was over, and the tempest was about to break. I just hoped we would all survive it.