A Curse Love: Bound by Shadow

Chapter 2: Strange Visions

Settling into Blackwood was like trying to break in a pair of stiff, old boots—familiar enough on the surface, but full of aches and uncomfortable edges the longer I wore them. Days turned into a routine. I would wake up early to walk through the mist-covered streets, make my way to the library, and lose myself in the rhythm of cataloging dusty books and helping the rare visitor who ventured in. Evelyn kept her distance but always watched with that quiet, unsettling gaze, like she knew things about me that I hadn’t even admitted to myself.

But Blackwood wasn’t letting me settle in peacefully. The dreams started on my third night.

I dreamed of dark corridors that seemed to stretch forever, leading to rooms I’d never seen but somehow knew. A house with heavy curtains, dim and oppressive. I felt hands around my wrists, dragging me through those halls. There was pain, a bone-deep ache that pulsed through my body, but the face behind the hands stayed hidden, cloaked in shadows. And in the background, a voice whispered my name over and over in a tone filled with a chilling affection that left me breathless.

I woke up gasping, the sensation of those hands lingering, as though they’d been real.

Trying to shake it off, I threw myself into work the next day. I filed away the oldest books in the west wing, re-shelved history texts, and focused on the repetitive motions. But the more I tried to drown out the dream, the more details I remembered—haunting fragments of rooms and smells I couldn’t explain. By the time Evelyn announced she was heading out, my mind felt like it was fraying at the edges.

“Heading out?” she asked, her gaze lingering on me a bit longer than usual.

“Just a few more things to finish up,” I lied, managing a polite smile. “I’ll lock up after.”

Evelyn nodded slowly, like she was trying to read something in my expression. She hesitated before she spoke again. “Blackwood can be… unsettling, for newcomers. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

I forced a nod, though I could feel her words prickling under my skin.

Once she left, the silence wrapped around me like a thick blanket. I leaned against one of the old wooden desks, staring up at the vaulted ceiling and exhaling slowly, trying to let the quiet settle me. But as I closed my eyes, a flicker of something flashed behind my lids—a face this time, angry and contorted, though it dissolved before I could make out any details. I opened my eyes quickly, feeling a strange unease ripple through me.

I needed air, or maybe just the distraction of other people.

---

The only lively place in town seemed to be The Hollow, a cozy, dimly lit bar tucked into the corner of Blackwood’s main street. The place buzzed with quiet conversations and the smell of aged wood and whiskey, and I could immediately tell it was where the locals went to unwind. I found a seat at the bar, letting the murmur of voices fill the silence that had haunted me all day.

Before long, the bartender noticed me, flashing a grin as he made his way over. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with tousled dark hair and a lazy confidence that felt immediately comforting. “Well, hello there, stranger. You must be new,” he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

I laughed, grateful for the easy charm he exuded. “That obvious?”

“New faces stand out here. I’m Jared,” he said, setting a cocktail napkin in front of me. “And you must be…?”

“Amelia,” I replied, offering a small smile. “Just moved here for some peace and quiet.”

Jared chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re probably the only person who’d come to Blackwood for peace and quiet.”

“Why’s that?”

He shrugged, a sly grin playing at his lips. “Let’s just say Blackwood has its… quirks. But I’ll let you discover those on your own.”

“Well, that’s cryptic,” I said, laughing despite myself. Jared had a way of easing my nerves, like he was a perfect anchor in this strange new town.

I ordered a drink, and we fell into an easy rhythm of conversation. Jared was surprisingly funny, with a quick wit that made me forget, at least for a while, about the strange visions and the haunted air of Blackwood.

As we chatted, I couldn’t help but notice his eyes flicking to the door every so often, as if expecting someone. “Waiting on someone?” I asked.

“Nah, just keeping an eye out. You know, you might want to watch yourself around some of the locals,” he said casually, pouring another drink. “Especially Luca.”

The name sent a jolt through me, the memory of Luca’s intense gaze resurfacing unbidden. “Luca?” I tried to sound indifferent, but I could feel my heartbeat picking up. “I actually… met him at the library.”

Jared’s expression darkened slightly. “That figures. He’s always been drawn to that place. You’d be wise to keep your distance.”

I leaned in a little closer, unable to stop the curiosity gnawing at me. “Why? He seemed… intense, but not dangerous.”

Jared let out a low chuckle. “Luca’s got a past, let’s just say that. He’s not exactly known for his warm personality. Rumor is, he’s been in more than a few fights, some pretty bad ones.”

“He didn’t seem the fighting type,” I murmured, though even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t true. There’d been something in his gaze, an underlying darkness that had unsettled me as much as it intrigued me.

Jared leaned against the bar, his tone softening. “Luca’s an enigma, but trust me, it’s better that way. People who get close to him… let’s just say it doesn’t end well.”

The words should’ve been enough to scare me, but instead, they only fueled my curiosity. “What happened?”

He shook his head, a faint smile touching his lips. “Nothing you need to worry about, Amelia. Just stick to people who don’t bring storms with them, yeah?”

I nodded, though my mind kept wandering back to Luca, his haunting eyes, the warning he’d given me that first night. And then, like Jared could read my thoughts, he asked, “You're still thinking about him, aren’t you?”

I hesitated, feeling a faint blush creep up my cheeks. “He’s… hard to ignore.”

Jared laughed, a low, warm sound. “You wouldn’t be the first to think that. But trust me—whatever pull you’re feeling? It’s only trouble.”

I forced myself to laugh, brushing it off, though the strange magnetic pull I felt toward Luca only seemed to grow stronger with Jared’s warning. It was like knowing a fire was dangerous but being unable to keep from reaching toward it. The thought followed me all the way home, lingering like smoke in my mind.

---

That night, I fell into a restless sleep, my mind tangled in images of Luca and Jared, of shadows and laughter and dark corridors. But the dream was sharper this time, more vivid. I was back in the hallway, with those same heavy curtains and oppressive silence. I moved through it, my heart pounding as if I was being chased.

Then, suddenly, I was no longer alone.

Luca stood in front of me, his face shadowed, his eyes intense as they held mine. He reached out, his hand brushing against my cheek, and I felt a rush of heat, of longing so strong it nearly overwhelmed me. I could feel his breath against my skin, his gaze searing as though he could see every hidden part of me.

He leaned in slowly, his lips ghosting over mine, and I felt myself sinking into him, into the electric current that seemed to hum between us. His mouth met mine, soft and rough at once, and the darkness around us seemed to close in, thickening, pressing against us.

I woke with a start, my heart racing, the echo of his touch still warm on my skin.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to steady my breathing. The dream had felt so real, more real than anything else in my life lately. I could still feel the sensation of his lips on mine, the weight of his gaze. It was absurd—one fleeting encounter shouldn’t be haunting my dreams, shouldn’t be filling me with a heat I couldn’t shake.

But as much as I wanted to brush it off, something about Blackwood—or maybe just Luca—had rooted itself deep in my bones. I felt drawn to him, pulled by a connection I didn’t understand.

And though Jared’s warning echoed in my mind, telling me to keep my distance, to avoid whatever trouble Luca carried, I knew one thing: I wasn’t ready to turn away. Blackwood was a place where people came to bury things, but I was starting to wonder if it was where I’d find something I’d been missing all along.

The visions, the strange sense of familiarity, and now Luca—they all felt intertwined, like pieces of a puzzle I was only beginning to see. And despite everything, I couldn’t deny that part of me wanted to go deeper, to uncover whatever secrets Blackwood—and Luca—were hiding.