Cursed to Love

--- Prologue The blood-red moon hung low over the ancient forest, casting long shadows that twisted and writhed like restless spirits. The cold night air pressed heavily against Aria’s skin, but she felt nothing—no warmth, no fear, only the steady rhythm of her own heartbeat, trapped behind invisible walls. Since the moment she was born, Aria carried a curse older than the stars themselves. A merciless enchantment that forbade her from ever feeling love — or being loved in return. No smile could brighten her days, no touch could thaw the ice wrapped around her heart. She was a ghost in the world of the living, condemned to wander alone, unseen and untouched by any soul. Her magic was rare and wild, like a flickering flame fighting against a relentless storm. It frightened those around her, and the curse ensured no one dared to come close. She had learned to hide her pain beneath a mask of quiet defiance, but deep inside, a lonely ache gnawed at her very being. Tonight, beneath the crimson glow of the moon, something ancient stirred. From the shadows stepped a figure — tall, cloaked in darkness, with eyes that gleamed like liquid silver. He moved with a predator’s grace, his presence commanding and cold as the grave. Lucien, the vampire prince, heir to a kingdom built on blood and silence, guardian of a fragile peace between warring supernatural clans. Their worlds, so different and yet so dangerously entwined, collided in that moment. The air crackled with a tension neither fully understood, a spark of forbidden connection that defied centuries of hatred and fear. Lucien’s gaze bore into Aria’s soul, as if searching for something he dared not name. And in that fleeting instant, a thread of the curse began to unravel — fragile, trembling, and filled with both hope and doom. The night held its breath. For love, in a realm ruled by shadows and secrets, could be the most dangerous magic of all. Chapter 1: The Girl Who Couldn’t Love The cold rain fell in slow, relentless drops, blurring the edge of the forest like tears on a windowpane. Aria stood beneath the ancient oak, its gnarled branches stretching out like skeletal fingers against the bruised twilight sky. The world around her was muted, as if sound itself had been swallowed whole — except for the thundering beat of her heart, a solitary drum echoing in the vast silence. She closed her eyes and tilted her face upward, letting the wet chill soak through her dark hair and cling to her skin. It should have stung — the cold, the wet, the loneliness — but inside, she felt nothing. No warmth. No fear. Just the steady, aching void left by the curse that had defined her life. Aria had long ago stopped hoping for anything else. “Why do you linger here every evening?” The voice came from the shadows, soft and dangerous, like velvet wrapped around steel. Aria’s eyes snapped open. From the edge of the trees stepped a man — tall, with midnight-black hair that shimmered under the rain and eyes like polished silver, cold and piercing. His presence was impossible to ignore, like the air shifted wherever he moved. Lucien. The vampire prince. Her pulse quickened, but not from fear. Something deeper, something she hadn’t named yet. “I could ask you the same,” she replied, voice steady though her hands clenched at her sides. “You’re not meant to wander human forests at dusk.” He smiled, a small curve of lips that didn’t reach his eyes. “Neither are you.” She met his gaze evenly, refusing to let him see the spark of curiosity—and something dangerously like hope—that flickered beneath her surface. “Why are you here, Lucien? Watching me?” Her words were sharp, but inside, she longed for an answer she was afraid to hear. Lucien stepped closer, rain tracing the lines of his pale face. “Because you’re different. Not like the others. You carry magic. But more than that... I feel the curse.” Aria’s breath hitched. No one had ever said those words aloud. The curse—the invisible chain that bound her in solitude. “How could you possibly know?” Her voice cracked. “Because I’ve lived long enough to see what others cannot.” His gaze softened just enough to make her heart ache. “You are not alone in your suffering.” She wanted to believe him. Desperately. --- They stood there, two lost souls tethered by fate beneath the pouring rain. Aria wanted to scream, to run, to throw herself into the storm, but something rooted her in place. “Why come to me?” she finally whispered. “If you know my curse, why not just walk away?” Lucien’s expression darkened. “Because the curse is unraveling. I’ve seen signs—things only I can understand. And if it breaks, it could bring ruin to everything I’ve sworn to protect.” Aria’s heart thudded in her chest—hope tangled with fear. “Then help me,” she said. “Help me break this curse before it’s too late.” He hesitated. “It won’t be easy. The forces behind this curse are powerful, ancient... and ruthless.” “I don’t care,” she said, voice trembling but fierce. “I can’t live like this anymore.” For a long moment, they simply stared at each other beneath the rain, the sound of the forest whispering secrets around them. Then Lucien nodded slowly. “Very well. But know this—once we begin, there’s no turning back.” Aria swallowed her fear. “I’m ready.” --- As the storm raged around them, the first thread of a dangerous alliance was woven—two fates intertwined in a dance of shadows, magic, and a love neither dared to name. --- Meanwhile, in the shadows of the kingdom… Whispers spread through the dark halls of the vampire court. Eyes watched and waited. The fragile peace between clans trembled on the edge of a knife. A shadowy figure stepped forward, voice cold as ice. “The curse on the witch girl... it must remain unbroken. If it shatters, everything we’ve built will fall apart.” A low growl echoed. “Then we must stop her. No matter the cost.”