*Chapter 12: The weight of forever*

---------------

Centuries passed, but the curse of immortality never loosened its grip on Eliza and Sean. Though they walked through the ages like ghosts, blending in with the changing world, the weight of time was something they could never escape. Every decade, every century felt the same—empty, hollow, stretched out over an endless horizon.

They had learned the rules of their cursed existence. They were bound to the world of humans, forced to live among them, but never truly becoming a part of it. They had to love them, yes—but only in the way the curse demanded. Eliza had accepted this reality, but Sean… Sean had never truly come to terms with it. They had always been close—siblings, companions, and even in their dark moments, they had each other. But something had changed. There was a crack, a divide that grew wider with each passing year.

Eliza saw it first. The subtle shift in Sean. The way his eyes would linger too long on this particular human, the way his smile would Grow when he looked at her. The way he began to withdraw, as though he were searching for something that no longer existed in their shared world.

And then, it happened.

Her name was Evelyn. A woman of striking beauty, with a wild and fiery spirit that immediately captured Sean's attention. She was everything that Sean hadn't realized he had been yearning for—a human, but someone who made him feel *alive* in ways he hadn't in centuries. Her laugh was like music, her kindness a balm to the coldness that had seeped into his soul over the years.

For the first time since their curse, Sean felt *seen* by someone. Evelyn didn't know the truth about who he was. She couldn't know, and yet she was drawn to him as if fate itself had brought them together.

Eliza watched from the sidelines, her heart sinking as she saw the way Sean's gaze softened whenever Evelyn was near. She had always known that the curse would demand this of them—to love, to blend, but *this*—this was different.

"Eliza, we can't keep running from what we are," Sean said one evening as they sat together, their figures cast in the golden glow of the setting sun. "I never thought it would happen. I never thought I'd *feel* this way about anyone."

Eliza's eyes narrowed. "You're falling in love with her, aren't you?"

Sean looked away, his face shadowed with conflict. "I don't know if I can stop it. I *can't* stop it."

"You're not supposed to love a human, Sean," Eliza replied, her voice laced with a mixture of frustration and sadness. "We *can't*."

"I know the rules, Eliza. But it doesn't matter. I love her." His voice was quiet, almost pleading, as if he were trying to convince himself as much as her. "She's everything I've been searching for. I can't ignore it anymore. I can't be this… this *thing* forever. I want to be human, Eliza. *I want to feel something real.*"

Her heart twisted in her chest. *He was slipping away from her.*

"You're not human anymore, Sean. You *know* that. You've always known it. And you know what happens when you break the rules. We can't afford to—"

"I don't care," he snapped, his eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity. "I *can't* live this way forever. You don't understand, Eliza. *You don't feel what I feel.*"

A heavy silence fell between them. Eliza could see the pain in his eyes, but it only made her own fear grow. Sean was changing. The bond they shared—the only thing that had kept them grounded through the centuries—was slipping through her fingers.

And as much as she hated to admit it, part of her was terrified of what would happen if Sean broke the rules. He was already becoming a different person, someone who wasn't bound by the same chains she had accepted.

"You're going to hurt her, Sean," Eliza said softly, her voice trembling. "You'll destroy her."

Sean's face hardened. "*I'm not going to let that happen*. I'll make it work. I'll find a way to make it work."

----_-----------_------_--------_----