THE ONES WHO WATCH

The silence after Zayne's words was suffocating. Aurora stared at the scorched eye-mark etched into the floor, its lines still faintly glowing with residual energy. Something ancient… malevolent… had seen them. A chill ran down her spine.

Fiona took a step back from the circle, her face pale. "What do you mean, they know? Who exactly are we talking about?"

Zayne's jaw tightened. "The original bloodline. The founders of the curse. A coven long erased from history—on purpose. The Order tried to wipe them out centuries ago, but they didn't just die. They evolved. Became something else. Something worse."

Aurora knelt near the mark. The closer she got, the more she could feel it pulsing. "You mean they're still alive?"

"Not alive," Zayne said, voice low. "But not dead either. They exist in the in-between. Feeding off those of us bound to the curse. Watching. Waiting."

Aurora felt nauseous. "And now that we've bound ourselves—"

"They've noticed. And they'll come for us," Zayne finished.

A sharp knock echoed from the front door.

They all froze.

Another knock. Louder. More forceful.

Aurora's heart hammered in her chest. Fiona backed away from the door, while Zayne stepped in front of them both, already conjuring a flicker of red flame in his palm.

The knock turned into a slam.

"Don't open it," Fiona hissed.

Zayne didn't move. "If it was a Hollowed, they wouldn't knock."

Aurora crept toward the peephole. She peered through—and gasped.

"It's Ethan."

Zayne's flame vanished instantly. "Your ex?"

Aurora opened the door cautiously. Ethan stood there, eyes bloodshot, drenched from the light rain that had begun to fall. He looked frantic.

"Aurora," he said breathlessly, "we need to talk. Now."

She didn't move. "How do you even know where I live?"

"I followed you once," he said without shame. "Weeks ago. I had to make sure you were safe."

Zayne growled low in his throat, stepping up beside her. "You need to leave."

But Ethan didn't flinch. "I know about the blood moon. I know about the curse. And I know what's coming."

Aurora's mouth went dry. "How?"

He looked directly at her. "Because my family helped create it."

Inside the Flat

Zayne refused to let Ethan in until he'd passed a protective ward, which nearly knocked him off his feet. But once inside, the tension was unbearable.

Ethan paced, eyes wild. "My great-grandmother—Isadora Cole—was part of the original coven. One of the last living blood witches. The curse was her legacy."

Aurora stared at him in disbelief. "You never told me that."

"I didn't know, not at first," Ethan said quickly. "But things started happening to me too. Visions. Dreams. Then last night… I saw you. In fire. I saw that you were the key. I had to come."

Zayne crossed his arms, unimpressed. "Convenient."

Fiona, surprisingly, was the one to speak next. "You said you saw her in fire. What else?"

Ethan swallowed. "That she dies. Unless the curse is broken. And the ones who created it—Isadora's followers—they're waking up. Drawing power from the blood moon."

Aurora's pulse spiked. "What do they want from me?"

Ethan looked at her, haunted. "You. They want to reclaim what's theirs. The power in your blood belongs to them. The bond you formed tonight? It's the final seal. Now they know exactly where to find you."

Aurora felt the room spin. The kiss, the ritual, the mark—it had all led them here. Zayne moved toward her, steady and calm. "Then we go to them before they come to us."

Fiona scoffed. "Are you insane?"

Zayne ignored her. "We need to find the place where the curse was first cast. There might be a way to reverse it."

Ethan nodded. "There is. It's called the Cradle of Ashes. A hidden place in the forest outside Belgrave. It's where the original coven died—or claimed they did. But no one who's gone looking has ever returned."

Aurora's voice was quiet. "Then it's where we need to go."

That Night

They packed light—just spellbooks, protective charms, and enough enchanted salt to ward off an army. Fiona insisted on coming, despite Zayne's objections, and Ethan drove them in his black Range Rover, headlights slicing through the fog as they approached the forest.

The deeper they went, the colder it got. Not just the air—but something beneath the ground. An unnatural cold that seeped into Aurora's bones.

Eventually, the road ended. Trees towered above them, twisted and ancient, and a narrow trail led into the darkness. A rusted sign stood crooked in the soil:

CRADLE OF ASHES – KEEP OUT

Aurora's breath fogged in the air. "Cheery."

They stepped into the woods.

The silence was absolute. No wind, no birds, no rustling leaves. Just the sound of their footsteps and the distant beat of their hearts.

An hour in, they reached a clearing.

In its center stood a circle of black stones, arranged like an altar. And behind it, a tree—massive, dead, and hollow, its bark charred as if it had been set aflame centuries ago.

Zayne stopped. "This is it."

Aurora approached the stones slowly. The second she stepped into the circle, her blood roared. Visions exploded behind her eyes—fire, screaming, chains, a woman with bleeding eyes and a crown of thorns.

She collapsed.

Zayne caught her just before she hit the ground.

"Aurora!" he shouted, shaking her.

But she wasn't hearing him.

In her mind, she was somewhere else.

In the Vision

The world around her burned.

The sky was red, the earth cracked. Shadows circled her. And at the center stood the woman from before—tall, regal, terrifying. Isadora.

"So," she purred, "you are the flame that escaped us."

Aurora backed away, but her feet wouldn't move.

"You carry what was once mine," Isadora said. "And you dare bind it to him?"

Zayne.

Aurora looked down. A chain was forming around her wrist—silver and pulsing. Binding her to something deeper than blood.

"I didn't ask for any of this," Aurora whispered.

Isadora's smile was cruel. "None of us do. But now that you've chosen, you must burn for it."

She raised a hand.

Flames surged toward Aurora.

Back in the Forest

Aurora screamed and sat upright, gasping. Zayne pulled her into his arms.

"What did you see?" he asked.

She clutched his shirt, trembling. "Isadora. She's coming. And she's not alone."

Ethan stepped forward, his voice grim. "Then we're running out of time."

End of Chapter 17..