Page 179 of Castings & Curses

I uttered the final words of the spell, and the silver pendant glowed bright, resonating with the power of my magic. A triumphant smile danced on my lips as I held the charm to the morning sun, watching it catch the light and shimmer in response.

Later, under the protective and encompassing shade of the forest, I presented the charm to Cristian. His expression of surprise as he watched the pendant flicker in the sunlight was priceless.

“Sage,” he began, his eyes reflecting the same sparkle that the charm held, “what is this?”

“A gift,” I finished for him, intertwining my fingers with his. “I want you to have this. A charm, to let you walk in sunlight, just for a little while. Be careful, my love. Once you feel the sun starting to burn, come back under the trees, and you’ll be safe.”

His stunned silence was answer enough. For a long moment, he just stared at the pendant in wonder, then back at me.

He slipped the chain around his neck, the sun pendant resting against his chest, its faint glow merging with the ethereal light that he emitted. As he stepped out from under the willow, the sunlight fell on him, casting a halo around his figure. I held my breath. A moment passed, and for the first time since his transformation, he stood in the daylight unscathed, his face upturned to the golden rays of the sun.

I watched him, my heart swelling with a mix of pride and love. We may have had the world against us… Even our very existence was a contradiction. But we had each other, and we had love. A love that shone brighter than the sun.

“Thank you,” Christian whispered. He pulled me into his embrace, our bodies bathed in sunlight. “Look at us,” he said, drawing back to gaze at me. “Under the sunlight, together.”

The sight of him, unharmed by the sun’s rays, filled me with joy and hope that one day, we would stand together as husband and wife for all the world to see.

“Nothing is impossible when it comes to us.” I found myself repeating his earlier words. “We are the sun and the moon, and we have found a way to coexist.”

Our laughter mingled with the rustle of the willow’s leaves, a happy song celebrating our victory, our love. As the sun slowly began its descent, I couldn’t help but relish this fleeting moment. Cristian’s eyes, usually shadowed under the moonlight, sparkled with an unhindered joy in the daylight.

“That’s what I adore about you,” he murmured, tracing a finger down my cheek. His touch was like a spark, igniting a flame that only he could kindle. “Your relentless spirit, your boundless love. You’ve given me more than just sunlight.”

His confession made me feel vulnerable yet empowered. I knew he was right. I had given him more than sunlight; I had given him hope, a reason to embrace his new vampiric existence without fear, a love that defied the boundaries set by our worlds.

“I promise you,” I swore, my hand reaching out to hold his, “We’ll find a way to break this curse, to challenge these laws. For us.”

His brow furrowed, and he swiped at his forehead, then quickly retreated into the shade of the willow tree. The charm was wearing off. It wasn’t permanent. It could only gift him a short while under the sun each day, a mere respite from the eternal darkness he was now bound to.

His smile, however, remained unchanged. It was the same warm and affectionate smile that had entranced me since the day we’d met.

“Your charm worked better than I could ever have imagined,” he said. “While under the sun, I felt…human again. Thank you for everything.”

“I would do anything for you.”

And it was true. I would brave any storm, fight any battle, just to give him that. Just to give us a chance.

We sat together until night fell, speaking quietly and listening to the sounds around us. The hoot of a distant owl, the rustle of the leaves in the cool evening breeze, the steady rhythm of our beating hearts. And in that silence, we found comfort. In that silence, we found strength.

CHAPTER16

Cristian

I stoodbefore the ornate doors of the vampire council, the sense of unease clutching my soul like an iron vise. The marble building loomed ominously under the obsidian sky, cloaked in shadows and veiled secrets. In this place, power was not just a privilege; it was the law.

Shortly after Sage had given me the sun charm, a strange summons had come for me, urgent and nonnegotiable. The council was typically a distant entity, rarely meddling in the lives of fledglings like me. But of course, my case was more complicated since they knew about Sage, and knew I had not heeded their warning. And now here I was, standing in the hallway that bore centuries of history, waiting to face a group of beings whose lives were so old that time seemed insignificant. I dreaded what they would say.

The grand doors creaked open, and I was ushered into the room. As my gaze swept across the stone-faced council members, my heart beat with an intensity that belied its lifeless state.

Seated around an ebony table, the council members eyed me, their centuries-old gazes penetrating and unblinking. At the head of the table, Edeline, the council’s leader, fixed her eyes on me, her gaze holding a hint of cold curiosity.

“Cristian Lazar,” she began, her voice echoing in the vast room. “Our scouts have brought disturbing news.”

Unease crept up my spine, icy fingers dancing over my nerves. The room was filled with a tense silence, broken only by the crackling fire in the grand fireplace. As Edeline unfolded the tale of the scout’s discovery, my blood ran colder than the marble beneath my feet.

An image of Sage flashed in my mind, her emerald eyes sparkling with determination, her laugh floating like a melody in my ears. The scouts had seen us together, in our secret garden, under the cover of the moon.

“Love between a vampire and a witch is forbidden. You know this.” Edeline’s voice pierced my thoughts, cold and unforgiving. “Worse, she’s given you a sun charm. If the two of you walk together in the sunlight, you will invoke the curse that will destroy us all. You must abandon her. If not, you will be exiled and hunted.”

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