Chapter 9 : The curse that binds.

Zara's POV

As vey and Zara entered in club

The thump of bass resonated through the floorboards, reverberating against Zara's chest as she navigated the crowded, dark-lit space of the club. Neon lights blinked, casting fleeting colors over the faces of strangers, while the air was thick with a mixture of cologne, smoke, and something else—an electric energy that matched the pulsing music.

Zara had never been one to frequent places like this, but tonight was different. The weight of her questions about Om Raisinghani's obsession with her had finally grown unbearable. After kidnapped by the Raisinghani ,she needed answers. She needed to understand why she, of all people, had become their fixation.

Vey, her enigmatic ally, was the only one who could give her those answers—or so she hoped.

She caught his figure in the dim glow of the bar. Vey was perched on a stool, his gaze scanning the crowd, though it felt like he wasn't really seeing them at all. His dark, almost otherworldly eyes flickered when they met hers, a soft smile tugging at his lips. He was the only one who had ever made her feel as if the mysteries of her existence weren't something to fear, but something to understand.

She walked toward him, the weight of her heels tapping against the hard floor, and slid onto the stool beside him.

**Zara (impatiently):** "I need answers, Vey. Why is Om Raisinghani after me? Why won't he leave me alone? And how you were aware about that?

Her voice was barely above the music, but Vey's attention was sharp, focused solely on her. His hand rested on the glass of bourbon in front of him, the amber liquid glimmering in the neon light. He stared at it, as if considering his words carefully. After a long pause, he turned toward her, his voice low, almost drowned out by the beats.

**Vey (softly):** "You really want to know, Zara? You're asking the right question, but I'm afraid it's going to change everything you thought you knew."

She leaned forward, her curiosity piqued, but still unsure whether she was ready for the weight of what he was about to say.

**Zara:** "I've had enough of the unknown, Vey. Every time I turn a corner, it feels like they're closing in on me. And Om… he won't stop."

Vey took a long sip from his glass before setting it down slowly. His eyes met hers again, but this time, they were darker, filled with secrets that seemed to belong to another world entirely.

**Vey (carefully):** "It's not just about you, Zara. It's about your bloodline—what you carry inside you."

Zara's brows furrowed, her mind racing. **Bloodline?** Was he talking about her magic? She had always known there was something strange about her, something that set her apart. The flashes of power she couldn't quite control. The moments where things around her seemed to bend to her will without explanation. But what did that have to do with the Raisinghanis?

**Zara (confused):** "My bloodline? What does that mean?"

Vey's lips curled into a faint smile, but it wasn't a smile of comfort—it was one of inevitability, of understanding something Zara was still too far from grasping.

**Vey (quietly):** "It means that you are the answer to a curse. The curse that haunts the Raisinghani family."

Zara's breath caught in her throat. **A curse?** Her mind reeled. Could it really be that simple? Could the reason Om was after her be tied to something as archaic and mysterious as a family curse?

**Zara:** "What are you talking about? A curse? You're saying the Raisinghanis are cursed? But why me? What does this have to do with me?"

Vey's gaze darkened as he leaned closer, his voice dropping lower, as if the weight of what he was about to share could shatter everything around them.

**Vey:** "The Raisinghanis are cursed, yes. But more than that, Zara, you are the result of that curse. You were born from it."

Zara felt as though the room had shifted. Her heart pounded louder than the music, and for the first time, the lights around her seemed too bright, too sharp.

**Zara (whispering):** "I don't understand… What do you mean, born from it?"

Vey's expression was grave. He picked up his glass again but didn't drink, his fingers tracing the rim absently as he continued.

**Vey:** "Maeraya was the witch who cursed them. She was once the most powerful witch alive—healer, seer, sorceress. She was known for her magic, but she trusted the wrong man."

Zara felt the tension in the air, the way Vey's voice lowered further, steeped in history.

**Zara:** "Who was she? And why did she curse the Raisinghanis?"

Vey's gaze flickered briefly to the dance floor, as if searching for the right words. Then he met her eyes again, and this time, the shadows of something ancient and heavy passed through them.

**Vey:** "Her name was Maeraya. She fell in love with a man named Arman. He came to her, a wanderer with a thirst for power. She trusted him with everything. She taught him the deep magic, the ancient arts she knew. But what she didn't know was that Arman was already working for the Raisinghanis, the very family that would become her undoing."

He leaned in closer, his voice becoming quieter, more intense.

**Vey:** "Arman betrayed her. He took everything she taught him—the spells, the rituals—and handed them to the Raisinghanis. They used her magic to crush their rivals, to gain wealth and power. And one night, when Maeraya attempted a powerful ritual to protect her unborn twins, Arman sabotaged it. The magic backfired, killing one of the children in her womb before he even had a chance to breathe."

Zara's heart lurched, her breath catching in her throat. She had never known this, never heard of it.

**Zara (softly):** "And the other twin…?"

Vey's voice lowered further.

**Vey:** "The other twin was you, Zara. You survived. You were the miracle that came from Maeraya's pain—the child who lived when everything was lost."

Zara felt the ground beneath her shift, her reality bending in a way she wasn't ready for. She was **the other twin**. The only one to survive. But what did that mean for her?

**Zara (shaking her head):** "But why does Om want me? Why does he think I can break this curse?"

Vey took a long breath, his face grave as he watched her closely.

**Vey:** "Because Maeraya's curse still holds. The Raisinghani family has suffered for generations. Every daughter born to them dies in the cradle. Every son dies before reaching sixty. The curse is so deep, so personal, that they believe if they capture the daughter of Maeraya—the only surviving child—she will have the power to lift it."

Zara was silent for a moment, processing everything she had just heard. Her whole life, she had been chasing answers, trying to understand why she was different. But now… now it felt as though her life was tied to something far bigger than she had ever realized.

**Zara (softly, almost to herself):** "So, they think I can break the curse... or that I'm somehow the key to their redemption."

Vey nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

**Vey:** "Exactly. But there's more, Zara. You're not just any witch. You're Maeraya's legacy. And that gives you a choice. You can break the curse, free the Raisinghanis from their endless suffering... or you can let the curse consume them. The choice is yours."

Zara's mind spun, her thoughts a whirlwind of emotions. The weight of everything she had just learned pressed down on her. Her heritage. The curse. Om Raisinghani's relentless pursuit of her. The responsibility that now lay on her shoulders.

**Zara (quietly):** "And if I do nothing? If I walk away from it all?"

Vey's eyes softened with understanding.

**Vey:** "Then the curse will claim them, as it has for generations. The Raisinghani line will end, and with it, their empire. But there's one thing you need to know, Zara."

He leaned in closer, his voice now a mere whisper.

**Vey:** "You don't have to save them. You don't have to be the one to undo what was done. But you have the power to choose, to change everything. Your magic is part of Maeraya's legacy—and with that comes both burden and freedom."

Zara stared at him, her heart racing. The club pulsed around them, alive with music and people, but in this moment, it felt as though everything had stopped. Her past, her future, everything—entwined in this

moment of revelation.

**Zara:** "So, what now? What do I do?"

Vey's lips parted in a faint, almost sorrowful smile.

**Vey:** "The next step is yours to take. But be careful, Zara. Not all answers will set you free."

As the music swelled again, Zara took a deep breath, her mind heavy with the weight of destiny. She wasn't just Zara anymore. She was the key to breaking a curse that had haunted a family for centuries—and the future of the Raisinghanis rested on her shoulders.