The forest was a different world under the cloak of midnight. Shadows danced with secrets, and the wind whispered warnings that only the cursed could hear. Lioras moved ahead silently, his hand firmly gripping Amara's as they weaved through the ancient trees. Her pulse throbbed with every heartbeat, not from fear this time—but from something far more dangerous: anticipation.
"What exactly are we looking for?" she whispered.
"The Oracle of Fire," Lioras said without glancing back. "She's the only one who can tell us how to break the curse that binds you—and me."
Amara's breath hitched. "You're cursed too?"
He stopped, turning to face her, eyes glowing with something ancient. "I was marked the day I touched you, Amara. The curse doesn't just affect the victim. It latches onto the heart that dares to care."
Amara was speechless. Her fingers trembled in his, but she didn't let go. Not now. Not when the truth was finally unspooling like threads of fate. "So what happens if we don't break it?"
"You die," he said softly. "And I burn."
Silence stretched between them, brittle as a spider's web.
"I won't let that happen," she said fiercely.
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Then let's find the fire before it finds us."
They reached a clearing where the moonlight spilled like silver ink across a circle of blackened stones. Smoke rose from the center—not fire, but steam, hissing from cracks in the earth.
"This is it," Lioras murmured. "She's here."
As if summoned, a flicker of flame rose from the center, twisting and growing into the shape of a woman cloaked in heat. Her hair was fire itself, licking upward in waves, and her eyes burned like coals.
"Children of ash and prophecy," the Oracle said, voice layered in echoes. "You dare come before me?"
Amara stepped forward, ignoring the heat pressing against her skin. "We need to break the curse."
The Oracle's gaze raked her. "The Curse of the Broken Flame is not a game. It is blood. It is betrayal. You are bound by ancient sins."
"I didn't choose this," Amara snapped.
"Nor did he," the Oracle countered, her gaze shifting to Lioras. "Yet here you stand, tangled in each other's fate like fire and smoke."
Lioras stepped beside Amara. "Tell us what we must do."
A pause. The flames around the Oracle dimmed slightly.
"There is only one way to sever a curse forged in love and hate: the Offering of Shadows."
Amara's brow furrowed. "What is that?"
"You must enter the Veil of Shadows together. If your bond is true, you will survive. If not…" The Oracle's voice dropped. "You will be consumed."
Amara's heart thundered. "What's in the Veil?"
"Your deepest fears. Your darkest truths. A mirror that shows the soul… unfiltered."
Lioras turned to her. "I'll go. With you. Through everything."
Amara met his eyes and nodded. "Then we go."
The Oracle gestured, and a rift opened in the ground—a glowing crevice of midnight and mist.
"Step into the truth," she said. "And pray your hearts are not hollow."
The Veil was like stepping into a dream soaked in nightmares. Cold fog swallowed them, and the world became soundless. Shadows loomed, twisting into familiar shapes.
Suddenly, Amara stood alone.
"Lioras?" she called, spinning.
A voice answered—but it wasn't his. It was her own… twisted and cruel.
"You think he loves you?" the shadow-Amara mocked. "You're just a cursed girl. A problem to be solved."
When they opened their eyes, they were back in the forest. The Oracle stood before them, her flame now soft and gold.
"You did not break the curse," she said.
Amara's heart sank.
"But you changed its shape," the Oracle continued. "Your love bent its rules. Now, the curse no longer kills. But it binds. Be warned—your souls are now fused. Should one fall into darkness, so shall the other."
Amara and Lioras glanced at each other.
"We'll carry that risk," he said.
The Oracle nodded once. "Then go. The war of curses and kingdoms has only begun."
Later, back at their temporary hideout, Lioras sat beside Amara under the stars.
"You scared me back there," he murmured.
"You weren't exactly calm either," she teased, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I meant… what I saw in the mirror. A world without me in yours. I don't want that."
"You won't have to," she whispered. "Because from now on… we fight as one."
Lioras leaned in and kissed her, the stars burning hotter above them. But somewhere in the dark… another presence stirred. Watching. Waiting.
And the real curse was only just beginning.