Page 22 of A Touch of Darkness (Chronicles of the Cursed #1)

The ground beneath my feet feels unnaturally still, as though the earth itself is holding its breath. I stand at the entrance to a narrow alley, the only way forward a rusted metal door half-buried beneath layers of creeping ivy. I’ve never seen this part of town before—somewhere dark, hidden beneath the city’s surface, forgotten by most. The air has a damp, earthy scent, mixed with something older, more antiquated, as if the very soil here has soaked up centuries of secrets. Regret creeps up my throat. I wish I could crawl beneath my blankets, fall asleep, and wake up living a normal human life with Lara by my side. But I have to do this. There isn’t an option.

One thing is clear: there’s no turning back now.

Before I left, Nicole and Rebecca had insisted on casting something for my protection as well as something to cloak my thoughts—just in case they are using some sort of dark magic to read my mind or pull things from me. I’m still confused by it all, and it’s as if when the girls speak of their own magic, which they don’t do often, they’re talking in riddles. They did some sort of spell, they said, to shield me from harm and keep me tracked. I didn't entirely understand it, but I trusted them—at least, I trusted them enough to let them perform it. They said it would keep me safe from whatever dangers lurked in the shadows, but they also warned me it could be hard to notice when it was working. A safety net, they promised, even though it will be invisible.

And then there’s Isabel. Her visit a few days ago still lingers in my mind. When she left, she slipped her number into my hand, a gesture as cold as the air around us. When I decided, at the Raven’s Quill with the girls, that I would move forward with this, I reached out to her and started playing the part. She replied almost immediately, as if she had been waiting, just staring incessantly at her phone for me to finally contact her. She assured me, after giving me the address and directions—via phone call because she didn’t want to leave a paper trail—that they’d be waiting when I arrived.

The Solstice Society.

I reach for the rusted door handle, my hand trembling, the cold metal sending a shiver through me as I push it open. The creak of hinges echoes through the emptiness, and the moment I step inside, the air changes. It’s colder here—unnaturally so, like stepping into the bowels of the earth. Faint whispers seem to pulse through the walls, distant and unintelligible, adding to the already despotic atmosphere.

I blink to adjust my vision to the dim light, and as my eyes travel down the tapered corridor, I see flickering lanterns casting eerie shadows on the stone walls. What is it with all of these foreboding buildings?

The floor is wet, slick with something that glistens in the half-light, and I can hear the drip of water somewhere deeper in the labyrinth. The sounds reverberate, creating an almost spellbinding rhythm as I take one step after another, drawn forward by an invisible force.

Every instinct in me screams to leave. This is no place here for someone like me. But I can’t turn back—not now, not when Lara’s disappearance still haunts me. I have to keep moving forward. I have to get my sister back.

The corridor twists and bends, the walls narrowing as I go, until I reach a metal door. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before, ancient, with strange symbols etched into its surface—the symbols from my vision of Lara suspended in time. I hesitate for just a moment, my breath caught in my throat. This is the entrance. The Solstice Society Headquarters, I assume. They’ve been waiting for me, I realize. I’m the one they’ve called to this forsaken place, to join their ranks, to be the centerpiece of whatever they’re planning.

Taking a deep breath, I push the door open.

The room beyond is vast—so vast it seems to stretch endlessly in all directions. High, arched ceilings disappear into shadow, and a low, unnatural hum fills the air, as though the very walls are alive, breathing in unison. The floor is made of smooth, black stone, and the only light comes from glowing, suspended orbs of blue fire that float eerily above, casting long, distorting shadows.

I stand in the center of what feels like an underground cathedral, the air thick with something—maybe magic? The room is circular, its perimeter lined with high stone pillars that rise into the darkness. At the far end of the room is a raised platform, a stone altar covered in deep crimson markings. The blood-red glow of the symbols pulses faintly, synchronized with the humming energy that fills the air.

I’m not alone.

Sylvie, keep going.

Lara’s words ring in my ears, and for a moment, I’m so thankful I’ve finally heard her again that tears spring to my eyes.

I’m with you.

But then, the moment of peace is shattered as I see them.

Figures in long, dark cloaks stand at various points around the chamber. They’re still, almost statuesque, watching me with eyes that gleam in the dim light. I can’t tell if they’re human or something else, their faces obscured by shadow, their bodies indistinct. But their presence is oppressive, like they’ve been here for lifetimes, waiting for something—or someone—to arrive. Fear spreads throughout my body, limb after limb turning cold as a dark sense of foreboding settles in my chest.

I do not want to be here.

As distracting and eerie as Blackthorne was—as Lucian can be—they are both ten times better than this.

A figure steps forward from the group, their silhouette sharp against the dim glow. Their movements are fluid, almost predatory, as if they’re accustomed to stalking through shadows. The person is draped in a dark cloak, the hood pulled low to conceal most of their face—but their eyes. My God, their eyes are green emeralds. They shine unnaturally bright, conjuring a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“Welcome, Sylvie,” a feminine voice says, her voice smooth, low, and cold. “I’m Amara, one of the administration leaders of Solstice. We’ve been expecting you.”

No fucking shit.

The words send a chill down my spine. I don’t know why, but I can feel that she’s not just speaking to me; she’s speaking through me, as if her words are already part of my own thoughts, a preordained script. It makes my stomach turn, but I keep my face expressionless, forcing my breath to remain steady.

“Well,” I say, my voice steady despite the rising dread in my chest. “I’m here.”

Her lips curl slightly, just enough to show a glimpse of something sharp beneath the hood, but her eyes remain unreadable. “Indeed. You’re here. But whether you remain here… depends on what you show us.”

She steps aside, revealing a stone circle in the center of the chamber. It’s intricately carved, the markings deep and dark, and I can feel a pulse of energy radiating from it. I can almost hear it in my bones—the call to power, to magic, to something more.

“Step into the circle,” the woman commands, her voice a quiet order, a summons I can’t refuse.

I hesitate, my heart pounding, but my feet carry me forward against my better judgment. The air grows colder with each step I take, and by the time I’m standing in the center of the circle, I feel as if I’m being drawn into the heart of something dark. The symbols etched into the stone beneath me seem to pulse with life, twisting and shifting in the flickering light, their meaning just beyond my grasp.

“Focus, Sylvie,” the woman says, her voice softer now, but still commanding. "You’re here for a reason. You believed in us enough to come here today. Now, show us what you can do."

I swallow, forcing my breath to remain even, my hands trembling slightly at my sides. They want to see my power. They want to see the magic that I’ve only just realized I even have. But I’m done fighting it. I can feel it moving within me, surging through my veins like wildfire, ready to be set free. Do I truly have more than visions? More than speaking to my potentially half-dead/half-alive sister in my mind?

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, focusing on the pull of the energy beneath me. It’s raw, untamed, but it’s also mine. I can feel it coursing through me, thrumming against my skin, wrapping around my bones.

I think about Lara and our parents, about all we’ve lost.

I think about the way everything has been ripped so violently from my grasp.

And then, I let go.

The magic erupts from within me, crackling like lightning, flashing through the air, searing the space around me with its power. I gasp as it ripples outward, the stone beneath my feet shaking with the force of it. For a moment, I lose myself in it, in the feeling of power, of freedom. I open my eyes and a purple shimmer creates a glow about the room. It’s unholy. It’s intoxicating. I allow my eyes to fall closed once more as I inhale a deep breath.

It’s something entirely otherworldly. And it’s within my grasp.

But as quickly as it came, it fades. The room falls silent, the magic dissipating like mist in the air.

I open my eyes, breathless, to find every eye in the room on me. The cloaked figures are still, watching, waiting for my next move.

The woman steps forward, her expression unreadable. “Impressive,” she says, her voice quiet but filled with approval. “You’ve only just begun to understand what you are, Sylvie. But you’ve passed the first test. You can will your magic to life.”

I try to steady my breathing, my heart still racing in my chest. “What now?”

A slow smile curves at the edges of her lips. “Now, you begin your initiation into the Solstice Society.”

I don’t know what that means yet, but as the others move forward, drawing closer, I realize one thing: I’m in deeper than I ever intended.

“I’ve just come to learn more,” I say, trying to buy myself time as my instincts scream at me. “I don’t understand what you want from me. I think I have a right to learn that before diving into any sort of initiation. I have questions about your intentions, and I also want to know how you can help me get my sister back. Isabel said you could, but it makes no sense to me,” I say, letting my words trail off as I glance around the room. I cannot even imagine Sylvie from a year ago doing this. Hell, even Sylvie from two weeks ago. I would have crumbled under the pressure—and I can’t help but think about how being strong really is the only option.

The woman’s smile widens, a flicker of something almost destructive crossing her features. She doesn't seem bothered by my hesitation. Instead, she steps closer, her presence heavier now, and the air grows even colder around me. The energy in the room shifts subtly, like the influence of an unspoken promise hangs between us.

“Of course,” she says softly, her voice smooth like silk now. “You deserve answers, Sylvie. You’ve been led here for a reason. And perhaps you’ve already begun to sense it, haven’t you? This power, this connection. What you’ve always been, yet never truly understood.”

I want to ask more, press her for the truth, but I can feel the words in my throat, heavy with unspoken possibilities. My hand still tingles from the magic that surged through me moments ago. Was it me? Or something else—something that has always been hidden beneath my skin?

“You think you're just like them,” the woman continues, her voice growing more intimate now, as if she can see into my very soul. “The others. The clean witches, the rotten vampires... You think you’re just one of the lost humans. But you’re not, Sylvie. You never have been.”

Her words sink into my chest like ice. It’s a dangerous thing, the way she speaks—like she’s coaxing me to believe something bigger, something tempting. She’s akin to a false prophet, a cult leader, someone who has a certain expertise when it comes to drawing people in for their own benefit.

I can feel the part of me that wants to hear more, that part that aches with the need to understand the truth, to finally know what Lara has been trying to tell me.

“You were born for a purpose,” the woman says, her voice soft but filled with a quiet, intense conviction. “The blood of ancient hunters and witches runs through you. You’re the key to ending this devastating cycle. The power within you will change the entire world, Sylvie. You don’t need to hide it anymore.” Her voice is melodic, like she’s singing a symphony with her words.

I swallow, my heart pounding harder than before. “What... what do you mean? Can you explain how I’m supposed to do that? How I’m the key to ending the cycle?”

She steps closer still, her figure looming above me, the intensity of her gaze almost suffocating. “You’re afraid. Afraid of what you might become. But that fear—it's what holds you back. We can help you, Sylvie. We can guide you, shape you. You don’t have to face this on your own, or with the incorrect team behind you. We can give you the strength to find your sister, to rewrite everything that’s gone wrong in your life. You can bend the world to your will... if you choose to.”

The words are dangerous. So dangerously appealing.

But she’s talking in circles. Not fully answering anything.

“Don’t you want to understand what you truly are?” she practically sings, each word stringing together with the next. “The Solstice Society is offering you the power to change everything. To reclaim all you’ve lost. We will teach you how to use your gift, how to master it. And we will give you the option to end the vampire curse once and for all. To clear humanity of waste. To make the world a better place. And, in time, you will have the ability to reshape everything—fate, magic, life itself.”

The temptation hangs in the air, suffocatingly so. There is a darkness to it that calls to something deep inside me.

“You think you’re ready?” she continues, sensing my hesitation. “Maybe you think you’ve found your strength already. But there’s so much more we can give you. With us, you won’t have to live in the shadows of uncertainty anymore. You can have the power to save your sweet sister, your other half—to change your fate. To change everything.”

I struggle to hold back my own words, the confusion swirling in my mind. “And what do you want in return? What is the price?” I ask to hold her off because my brain is spinning. They’ve essentially admitted that Lara isn’t dead. That I could save her. This means it’s possible…unless they’re full of shit. But if there’s something they want from me, I could figure out how to use it as leverage to get Lara back.

Her smile falters, just a smidge, but it’s enough that I notice. “We don’t want anything from you, Sylvie. We want you to fulfill your destiny, which may include many things. It’s already written in the stars, in the blood of your ancestors. All we ask is that you allow us to help you embrace what you truly are. The rest will fall into place exactly as it should.”

I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice, staring into the abyss. The pull of power is intoxicating. But at what cost? I don’t know. And the worst part? I think part of me wants to take that step, to let the Solstice Society guide me, to embrace what they’re offering.

But it’s part of their dangerous allure. It’s probably how they’ve pulled in all their recruits before me, and I still feel the intense, growing desire to get far away from these people. There has to be a way I can get Lara back solely using the leverage—without joining their insane mission.

I know better than to fall into their trap. I trust the others. I trust Nicole. Rebecca. Lucian.

Lara.

I have to remind myself that these people are not my people.

They are using my sister for their gain.

I have to remember that.

The woman waits patiently, her expression unreadable, as if she knows exactly what I’m thinking. She’s given me just enough to whet my appetite, but not enough to give me all the answers.

Nicole. Rebecca. Lucian.

Those are the people that I trust. Not this woman. This woman whose voice drips like honey and who has some odd way of making me feel like everything she’s saying is true…even though deep down, I feel like she’s nothing but a liar.

I don’t know what I thought I’d accomplish by coming here today. Maybe that they’d give me answers about Lara or that I’d get to see her. I was just desperate enough to do this. But all she’s giving me is the run around—and it really makes me feel like everyone is right about them. They’re up to no good.

I take a deep breath, my heart hammering in my chest, and force myself to speak. “I still don’t understand everything. And I’m not ready to commit to anything until I know more. I’ll consider it. But only if you can explain exactly what it is you want with me. What is my role in all of this? The only thing that I care about is getting my sister back. Safely.”

Her eyes gleam in the dark, and I know—she’s playing me, slowly turning the key to unlock my curiosity. But I’ve made my choice. I won’t let myself be pushed further without knowing what I’m truly stepping into.

“We’ll have time,” she says, her voice silky, the hint of a promise in her tone. “You’ll understand soon enough. For now, just remember: You’re exactly where you need to be.”