The days after the curse broke were oddly silent.
The wind around the old estate no longer howled like the cries of the forgotten. The shadows no longer whispered. For the first time in years, the house simply... rested. It breathed with a strange kind of peace, like it too had been released from the pain it held.
Aria spent her days wandering its long, echoing halls. Every room held memories — not just of the brothers who had lived there, but of their pain, their joy, their childhoods stolen and now returned in fragments.
She found a box under Caleb's bed — inside, a notebook filled with sketches of magical sigils, pages of failed protection spells, and a single letter addressed to her, never sent.
> "If you're reading this, Aria, I probably didn't make it to say goodbye."
"But know this — we never stopped loving you. Even when the curse made us cold, distant, or angry — it wasn't us. I promise, it wasn't."
"You were always our light. The only thing we wanted to protect. If you can, finish what we started. Set us free."
Aria folded the letter carefully, tears dotting the paper. She had set them free. But what remained?
At night, she could still hear faint laughter — like echoes in a well. Sometimes, she swore she saw three shadows pass behind her in the hallway. Not haunting… just watching. Protecting. Her brothers were gone, yet somehow, they hadn't left.
Then, something unexpected happened.
On the seventh night after the curse broke, Aria was drawn into a dream — but it was no ordinary dream. It was vivid, heavy, alive. She stood in the same chamber where the final battle had taken place, but it was restored — no bones, no decay, just pure starlight cascading down stone pillars.
A figure stepped forward. It was not her brothers — but a woman dressed in robes of silver and gold, with hair like flowing water and eyes that glowed with ancient power.
"Aria Elira Vey," the woman said. "You have awakened the sacred legacy of your bloodline."
Aria's voice trembled. "Who are you?"
"I am Eleneth," she said, "First Warden of Light. Long before the curse was born, I stood watch over the balance between light and shadow. Your family, long ago, were guardians too. The curse corrupted them — but you... you have restored the flame."
Aria felt warmth surge through her body. "Is it over?"
"No," Eleneth said, not unkindly. "You have broken the first chain. But deeper forces now stir — awakened by your light. The world beyond this estate is darker than you know."
"But my brothers—"
"They will not return in body," Eleneth said. "But their souls are now part of something greater. You carry them with you. You are no longer just their sister — you are their legacy."
The dream ended with a pulse of light, and Aria awoke with a new mark on her palm — a glowing sigil in the shape of three stars.
---
The next morning, Aria stood at the edge of the forest. The house behind her had grown quiet — peaceful. But ahead, in the distance, the wind carried a different sound. Not cries, not curses — but a calling.
She tightened her gloves, pulled her cloak around her, and whispered, "I'm ready."
And with one last glance behind her, she stepped into the unknown — not just as a girl who broke a curse, but as the beginning of something far greater