Spellbound Heart🌸❤️

CHAPTER 3: THE DJINN’S GAMBIT : Cursed bargains, skin-deep secrets, and a kiss that costs too much

Liora stared at her reflection in a rain barrel, the snow-white streak in her hair glowing like a betrayal.

"It’s just the beginning," Kael muttered, tightening the straps of his pack. "Next, you’ll forget your favorite color."

She whirled on him. "What was yours?"

His pause was answer enough.

The Codex snickered in her satchel. "He forgot purple—the color of his mother’s eyes."

Kael’s jaw clenched. "Shut it."

Liora touched his wrist. "We’ll get it back."

He looked at her hand like it was both a lifeline and a noose.

The djinn’s den hid in plain sight—a spice stall in the Night Bazaar, where the air smelled of cardamom and regret.

The djinn herself was all edges and amusement, her teeth filed to points. "Ah. The runaway prince and his stray."

Kael slammed a dagger into the counter. "We want the curse broken."

"You want many things." Her gaze slid to Liora. "She tastes like peaches and panic. Delicious."

Liora leaned in. "What’s your price?"

The djinn plucked a hair from Liora’s white streak. "A memory. Your first kiss."

Kael snarled. "Pick another."

"No." The djinn smiled. "That’s the one he gave you."

Liora’s breath caught. What?

The ritual required them to kneel inside a ring of salt, foreheads pressed together.

"Focus on the memory," the djinn crooned. "Or I’ll take more."

Liora squeezed her eyes shut—but all she saw was Kael’s mouth, a hair’s breadth from hers.

Then—

The memory unfolded:

A younger Kael, bare-chested in a moonlit courtyard, pressing a rose into her hands.

Her laugh. His whisper: "Steal something better."

His lips brushing hers—

Then *nothing. A black void** where the memory should be.

She gasped back to the present, her mouth burning.

The djinn howled with laughter. "Oh, this is priceless! You already paid me for this!"

Kael looked sick. "You bargained with her?"

Liora grabbed his shirt. "What did you do?"

The Codex hummed. "Ask him where his scars came from."

In their rented attic, Kael peeled off his shirt.

"Every scar is a memory I traded," he said, tracing a jagged line over his heart. "This one was your name."

Liora reached out—

Their hands met, and the world split.

Kael, screaming as the djinn carved into him.

The Hollow King’s voice: "Bring me the girl, or I’ll take her memories too."

Kael’s whisper: "Take mine instead."

She wrenched free, tears scalding her cheeks. "You idiot."

He caught her face. "Worth it."

The Codex purred. "Now kiss."

The door exploded.

Rasha stood there, her knives dripping. "The Guild’s here. And they’re not after him."

She pointed at Liora.

"They want you."