Page 31 of A Touch of Darkness (Chronicles of the Cursed #1)

The air in the chamber is thick, filled with the scent of dust and decay—and blood. So much blood. The metallic scent hangs in the air. Beneath that, though, there’s something else—a raw, electric charge humming in the stone walls. I can feel it in my veins, thrumming in time with my own heartbeat, as if the very room is breathing. I noticed it before, but I didn’t think anything about it. And then, when Lucian was thrown in here, he became my main priority. He seems to be resting much more peacefully now, and his heartbeat is definitely stronger than when he was thrown in here.

I feel like I focus on it now...

The walls.

They’re covered with symbols, their intricate carvings glowing faintly in the dim light. The floor beneath me is just as enchanted, marked with runes that pulse with the same otherworldly light. Everything is imbued with magic—ancient magic—and somehow, I feel as though it’s waiting for me to understand. As if this entire time, it’s just been waiting on me.

I look down at my hands, stained with the same blood that seems to have activated the power in this place. It’s not just the blood, I know that now. It’s something in me , something within my lineage, something that calls to this magic as if it were made only for me. The runes seem to shift beneath my gaze, their lines bending and twisting, almost as if they want to reveal their meaning to me. The symbols are unlike anything I’ve seen before, but they feel familiar somehow. A gut instinct tells me that this is no coincidence, that I’ve been chosen—or perhaps cursed—by the very forces that govern this chamber.

My mind races. I know these symbols. I’ve seen them before, in the old books Lucian kept hidden away, and in some of the ones he gave me to study. Books about curses, witches, vampires... and bloodlines.

I move closer to the wall, reaching out with trembling fingers. I trace one of the symbols, and the moment my skin touches the stone, the runes flare brighter, reacting to my presence. My breath catches in my throat. The rune beneath my fingertips seems to take on a life of its own, the stone shifting beneath my touch. The air around me crackles with fizzing energy, and the symbols start to rearrange themselves, shifting into something even more familiar.

I blink, then narrow my eyes. The symbols aren’t random at all.

They’re constellations.

I step back, the realization crashing over me like a wave. The pattern in front of me looks like a star map, with lines connecting one point to another, weaving a web of connections in the air. I lean in closer, my heart hammering in my chest. This isn’t just some random array of symbols—it’s a map of the night sky. It’s...my sky.

I freeze, my fingers stilling. The constellations, glowing faintly on the wall, mirror the pattern of freckles on my neck. The constellation of stars above and the markings on my skin—they’re the same. I gasp, my hand instinctively touching the smooth curve of my neck. I’ve always thought the freckles were an oddity, a part of me that didn’t quite make sense. But now I understand—they’re a mark of my lineage. A key to unlocking the magic in this room.

I step back again, my heart pounding, leaden in my chest and seeming to weigh me down. The room hums with power, responding to my blood, to my touch.

My blood is the link, the key. But I don’t know how to use it.

I glance over at Lucian, still lying unconscious beside me, his body pale and broken, his breaths shallow. A few of his wounds are still bleeding, but barely now, and I can feel the weight of the decision on my shoulders. I need to help him, but this room—is a puzzle that I must solve. If I can’t, if I fail, we’re both trapped here.

I focus again on the symbols on the floor, on the glowing constellations, tracing their paths with my eyes. Each symbol seems to pulse, like it’s calling to me, begging me to understand.

I take a deep breath, pushing aside the fear gnawing at the edges of my mind. I can do this. I have to.

Lara’s voice suddenly whispers in my mind, as though she’s standing right beside me. Think, Sylvie. Think back to the research. Your classes. The books. Remember the symbols. You have the power to make things bend to your will.

Her voice is a tether, pulling me back from the edge of panic. I close my eyes for a moment, letting her words sink in. I’ve always had the power. But how? How do I access it?

I think back to the books Lucian showed me, the ones I poured over in the late hours of the night. Blood is always central. Blood is the connection. But not just any blood—it’s my blood. My power. My lineage.

The pieces click together in my mind, each one falling into place with a sense of inevitability. I step forward, my fingers tracing the symbols with renewed purpose. The runes shift, forming new connections, following a path that seems to lead me. But the final piece is missing—there’s one thing I must do to complete it.

I’m still slowly bleeding from where I opened my skin to save Lucian. I used part of my shirt as a bandage, so I unwrap it and then place my open wound against the runes once more. It drips and then flows along the grooves in the stone, following the paths of the runes, connecting the constellations in a luminous circuit.

The room vibrates with energy, the air crackling with magic. The walls tremble ferociously as the runes begin to become brighter, the symbols now glowing in an intense, otherworldly light. The floor shifts, cracking beneath the intensity of the magic. The symbols seem to vibrate, each one reacting to the flow of blood that courses through them.

Suddenly, our surroundings come alive with magic—my magic—the walls shuddering as the power in the room builds to a crescendo. The crackling energy feels like it’s vibrating through my bones, shaking me to my core. The entire chamber seems to be alive, responding to my blood, to the runes. My heart races as the runes begin to destabilize, the stone cracking and crumbling around me. The door to the chamber trembles, the locking mechanism shaking as if it’s struggling to hold back the magic that’s flooding the room. A hazy purple glow lights up the room as Lara’s voice reaches me once again, faint but insistent. Get out. Now. This is only the beginning. They’ll come for you again. Be ready.

Her words are a cold warning, but I don’t have time to process them. The magic is building too quickly. The room is falling apart around us. I glance at Lucian, still unconscious, his skin pale, his breathing shallow. I need to get him out of here. I need to get out.

I stumble forward, my head spinning, my vision blurring from the energy surrounding me. I clutch Lucian’s limp body, trying to pull him with me, but my strength is quickly fading. The runes have taken their toll on me, and I feel lightheaded, dizzy, as if my magic is being drained with each passing moment.

The door to the chamber trembles again, more sadistically this time, the bars bending as my magic forces the metal to twist and open enough for us to break free, and I hear voices—heavy footsteps, rushing toward us. They’re coming.

Panic surges through me, but I push it down. I need to think. I glance around, my eyes searching for anything—anything that can help me escape. Then I remember. The protective ward. Professor Ambrose. Marisol. I have quite literally started training for this. It’s the only shot I have.

I close my eyes, trying to slow my breathing. I can practically hear Professor Ambrose’s voice in my head: “Focus on drawing energy from your core. Visualize it extending past your physical form.”

Drawing in a long breath, I picture the faint, flickering ember of magic in my chest. I focus on the tension coiled in my abdomen and gently coax it upward, letting it spread through my torso, down my arms, until I feel a faint tingle at my fingertips. Outside the chamber door, I can sense the twisted energy straining to keep us trapped—like a wall pressing inward.

“Aetheris protego… lumen meum extendo,” I whisper, voice trembling with the effort to stay calm. “Please work,” I cry out softly.

At first, nothing happens. My pulse thuds in my ears, and beads of sweat gather at my temple. But then I sense it: the spark in my chest flares, radiating outward in a swift, tingling rush. My skin prickles, and a pale glow flickers over my hands.

I open my eyes. A shimmering barrier forms around Lucian and me—like a protective bubble. Just like we’ve practiced.

The Society’s footsteps falter, hesitant as the magic surges through the air. I drag Lucian with me, pushing through the gaps in the bars that have bent to my will, my magic creating a barrier between us and the approaching danger.

The barrier provides us with a means to escape, almost as if it stops time altogether, freezing the Society members in their tracks and allowing us the time we need. I just don’t know how to get Lucian out with me when he’s passed out. He’s so much larger than me. And I’m weak from everything we’ve just been through. The protective ward isn’t going to hold forever, and I have no idea how to move forward with Lucian—and there is not an option to leave him behind.

Come on, come on. Think.

There’s no way I just caused an entire chamber crumble to around me, placed a protective ward, and now I’m just stuck here anyway.

God, how I wished I would’ve learned some kind of teleportation spell in one of my classes…that would come in handy right about now.

Shit.

My hands start to shake, and I feel my anxiety gripping my throat. I truly have no idea how to get myself—us—out of this. I’ve tried waking him up, they either gave him a sedative or he’s just in that bad of shape. There’s not a chance he’s going to walk out of here. I wrack my brain for answers I just simply do not have…

There’s only one option. I have to figure out how to at least have enough strength to drag him out of this hell hole. Once we get outside, I can get him to a safe place, rest, and then utilize the forest for cover.

I take a deep breath and my magic swells, my entire body shaking with adrenaline as every ounce of magic I used seems to come back into my body. Strength, from somewhere unknown, wraps itself around me as I pull every ounce of magic from my center and hope it holds out.

I get Lucian to a sitting position, dead weight and all, and I put my arms underneath his armpits and begin dragging him out of the chamber. The protective ward stops our enemies and places a protective shield around us, but there’s something else, too. Runes seem to glow beyond the massive amount of rubble littering the floor, as if it’s a map showing me the way, giving me a shred of comfort as I make my way toward a set of stairs.

I heave, trying to control my breath as I continue dragging Lucian’s unconscious body along with me, moving much slower than I’d like. But moving is better than being stuck in that chamber.

I continue following the glowing runes and feel another surge of energy pulse through my body just as I think I can’t get us out of here. It gives me another rush of strength I didn’t think possible.

It’s the magic I didn’t believe I held in my own palms.

And it’s saving us.

But for how long?