Verveville's Curse

Chapter8

Kael’s Pov

The weather reflected the mood of Aetheria, gloomy, unforgiving, eternal darkness. A veil of thick clouds curled above the mountain, painting the whole of Aetheria in a dull grey.. And yet, the moon still shone through,watching, pale.

A soft tap on my shoulder, that’s what it felt like,her light. The goddess’s presence, or perhaps maybe a cruel trick of fate. I looked up at her with quiet a bitterness.

“What’s your plan, goddess?” I whispered. “Are you even there? Listening? Watching me ruin her life like this? Watching me make an enemy a part of me?”

Surely she planned this. Surely there was some grand divine logic to all this, some divine game that I’d never understand. I dropped my head, rubbing a hand across my jaw, pacing up and down my chamber.

Then, a knock came in, sharp and measured.

“Come in,” I muttered, barely glancing at the door.

Kaida entered with her usual calmness, the scent of dried herbs and lavender trailing behind her. Her silver braid glittered under the moonlight

“It’s time,” she said simply. “Everything is ready at the shrine.”

“Already?” I asked, tension tightening across my shoulders.

She nodded. “Yes. Come on, brother.”

Her voice was steady, but I knew her well. This cost her something too. We were not just Alpha and Seer, we were siblings. Bound in blood, bound in war. I could only let my guard down around her. With Kaida, I didn’t need to pretend to be the unshakable Alpha.

I sighed, walked towards the mirror, and stared at my reflection. Clean lines, black cloak, boots laced with purpose but inside, a war raged, twisting and turning but my face gave nothing away. I had learned long ago how to show only what I wanted.

“Fair enough,” I muttered to the man in the mirror, then turned and followed Kaida into the night.

The shrine was built deep into the mountain’s heart. Aetheria’s oldest place. Withan ancient stone veined with wooden roots. it was carved from black stone that glistened. The air oozed old magic wrapped in silence so thick it felt like time had stopped.

In the center of the shrine, Willow was laid upon a stone altar

She looked smaller here, she looked fragile, stripped of her crown. Her torn wedding gown still clung to her in ruin, the bloodstains still faint on the torn edges of her gown. Gone was the warrior that fought in Verneville. The warrior of Verneville was gone. What remained was something breakable.

The moonlight through the circular space above her, soaking her in silver. Her lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling in soft, unconscious breaths. It was like watching the final exhale of a dying identity.

Kaida stepped to her head, calm as ever, engulfed in a magical trance, her palms glowed lightly. The symbols she had drawn on the floor flickered to life, circles within circles, ancient words scribbled in salt and ash spinning slowly around the altar in circles of power.

I stayed near the edge of the shrine, watching, not interfering. This was it, I had made my choice.

“Let memory break where blood was spilled,” Kaida began, her voice low, smooth, and echoing. “Let the past sleep where it cannot be woken.”

Willow stirred under her hands. A breath caught in her throat, and then another

Above us, the moon dimmed slightly, like it too was mourning.

I stepped forward without realizing. Axel, stationed by the far wall, didn’t move. But his arms were crossed, his fists clenched. He said nothing. But I could feel it, the storm behind his silence.

Kaida’s eyes slid shut. Her voice took on the rhythm of an ancient language

The ancient symbols she’d carved in salt began to rise from the floor, glowing a silver colour. They swirled into the air above Willow’s heart, then began to twirl downward, pulling themselves into her chest like smoke. The scent of burning herbs filled the shrine, sharp and bitter.

“A soul unbound,” Kaida chanted, her voice growing deeper. “A name unwritten. Let her wake anew.”

The salt burned to white flame, encircling the altar, rising briefly like cold fire, and then it was..

Gone.

The silence that followed was thunderous.

Kaida stumbled slightly, catching herself on the altar. Her breaths were shallow. Her hands trembled

“She won’t remember,” she said, voice hoarse but steady. “Not her name, not her crown, not the fall, not you.”

Not me.

I stared at Willow, no, not Willow anymore. Just… a sleeping vessel. No Verneville. No war. No vengeance.

And the weight of it nearly crushed me.

Something twisted inside my chest, raw and sharp, like a sharp blade scraping bone. I had done this. I had kept her alive only to strip her clean of who she was. My enemy. My prisoner. And now… my responsibility.

Axel spoke behind me, his voice quiet, almost respectful.

“So… what now?”

Kaida looked at me. Her voice was gentle, but serious.

“She’ll need a story, a purpose, a name, a new identity”

I stepped closer. The scent of herbs lingered on her skin. Her hair, once wild and royal, now limp against the stone. She was still. But she wasn’t empty. She was waiting

My throat tightened.

I should have let her die with Verneville. Let her rest among the ashes of her kingdom.

But instead, I gave her a new one. Built on silence and stolen truth.

My hand hovered near her face but I didn’t touch her.

“Lylah,” I whispered. Just like the night and mystery. “That’s her name now.”

Axel shifted behind me. I didn’t turn to look at him.

I kept my gaze on her, on Lylah. The woman who had once cursed my name in battle. The woman whose life I had destroyed. The woman who now lay before me like a clean slate.

Not with peace, but with a burden I wasn’t sure I had the strength to carry.

I was the Alpha of Aetheria.

And now, she was mine to protect.

Even if she never remembers me.

Even if she never forgives me.

The curse her mother left behind still coiled in my chest. The weight hadn’t lessened.

And maybe it never would