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Finally, I ignored them and joined my friends at the table, stern-faced and disconnected from the surrounding revelry. In all truth, the closer the year’s end got, the more detached I’d become from the world. Perhaps it was a sign of the curse about to enfold me—turning my heart into a permanent rock, one beat at a time.
“Have a drink mate, it’ll loosen you up!” Gideon said, pushing a frothing pint towards me.
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I’m not really in the mood.” My thoughts were too consumed with the meeting ahead to relax.
“Rhys, come on! Let loose a little,” Asmoday urged me, trying to coax me onto the dance floor. But I couldn’t join them, not with the weight of worry pressing down on me.
One more time, I glanced around the room. Watching. Waiting… Nothing.
“Maybe later,” I replied tersely, crossing my arms over my chest.
The evening wore on; the pub filled with music and laughter that grated on my nerves. The cheerful din felt strangely disjointed from my grim thoughts. I shifted in my seat, struggling to focus on the surrounding conversations rather than dwelling on my fate.
I glanced at the vintage wall clock. 11:35 PM. Where was he? The nameless sorcerer who’d promised me answers, a way to finally break this wretched curse.
Hope warred with skepticism inside me. This wouldn’t be the first charlatan who claimed to have a cure, only to rob me blind. And yet... what if this time it was real? My stone heart clenched at the possibility. I tried to curb my reckless longing, but it persisted. A chance at freedom. It was a dream I hardly dared give voice to after years of bitter disappointments.
11:45 PM. Still no sign of him. Unease slithered through me as the noise and clamor of the pub faded to background static. He wasn’t coming. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. Crushing despair threatened to swallow me again.
“No!” I growled and slammed my fist on the table, earning a few wary glances.
I would not surrender hope so easily this time. If this sorcerer would not come to me, then I would seek him out instead. I would scour every corner of this cursed land if I must, tear down every enchanted door, confront the darkest beings imaginable. I would do whatever it took to escape my fate.
I stood abruptly, nearly toppling my chair in my haste. My friends looked at me in surprise.
“Everything alright?” Gideon asked.
“Sorry, I need some air,” I muttered. Before they could respond, I was jostling my way outside, eager to burst out of the cheerful warmth into the chilly night. But as I turned towards the exit, a flash of silver caught my eye.
Immediately, I froze. It was her—Seraphina.
Her presence alone was like the sweetest melody soaring above the din, momentarily stilling my restless spirit. She stood across the crowded pub, a vision of ethereal beauty. Long waves of moonlight hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face. Even from afar, her stormy grey eyes sparkled with warmth and intelligence.
My gaze trailed down, taking in her sensual figure. Lush curves filled out the deep emerald dress cinched at her waist, accentuating her stunning hourglass silhouette. She was a goddess incarnate, a plus-size delight. Her every movement exuded grace and confidence. Just the sight of her made my heart beat faster.
I envied the friends at her side, able to bask freely in her radiance. How I longed to approach Seraphina, to hear her melodic voice directed at me, to drown in those fathomless eyes. She frequented my most ardent dreams, this lovely siren call forever out of reach.
Last year, I’d been unable to approach her. She had a boyfriend then. A lousy one who broke her heart. I ached to comfort her but stayed away, all possible glimpses of happiness overshadowed by the cruelness of my fate.
And now, my days were even more numbered, doomed as I was to become a lifeless stone effigy by year’s end. I had no right to taint Seraphina’s light with my curse. But oh, how I yearned to let her in, to unburden myself of the crushing loneliness I bore.
I lingered a moment more, drinking in her beauty. Her inner light shone through, magnetic and warm. This remarkable woman stirred feelings in me that I’d thought long buried by bitterness and solitude. For a second, the darkness of my curse seemed to retreat.
But no, I dared not taint her brightness with my grim fate. With a silent sigh of longing, I turned away into the cold night. Some things were not meant to be. I could only admire her from afar, my lovely unattainable muse.
A warm hand pressed my shoulder, jolting me from the daze. “Rhys, are you sure you’re alright?” my friend asked, brow furrowed in concern.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, dragging my gaze from Seraphina to Asmoday’s fierce eyes.
Asmoday hesitated before patting my back and rejoining the revelry. Alone again, I let the façade slip, fear and uncertainty crashing over me. Being a stone guardian was my legacy—gargoyles, mughals called us. I took pride in my heritage, but the thought of being locked into eternal stone haunted me greatly.
I shivered. Graduation loomed, and time slipped away too fast. I had to break this curse... or be condemned to unending darkness.
“Hey… You there!” the bartender called out. I turned to see his grim expression, a stark contrast to the pub’s merriment. He leaned in close, barely audible over the din. “I have a message for you.”
My pulse roared in my ears. The sorcerer hadn’t come, but a message... this changed everything. Hope kindled dangerously within me as I took the rolled parchment he offered.
The hastily scrawled words made my heart race. The sorcerer was being followed, he’d written. He asked to meet in Blackthorn’s copse instead. Here at last was a ray of light in my darkness. The key to breaking this curse was within reach.
