Tied by Fate Bound by Time

Chapter 5: Chapter 5:The Curse bend



Luna Carter had promised herself she wouldn't go back to the library.

She said it three times while brushing her teeth. Said it again walking past her bookshelf. Whispered it one last time while staring at the chipped teacup on the windowsill—the one that cracked the second she touched that cursed book.

> "No more signs," she muttered. "No more ghosts. No more Asher."

And yet—

When the storm rolled in and the sky split open like broken glass, she just… knew.

She wasn't done with the library.

And it wasn't done with her.

---

The power flickered. Lights blinked. Her apartment shuddered under a thunderclap so loud it rattled the spoons in the drawer.

Then her phone buzzed.

> LIBRARY ARCHIVES – EMERGENCY SYSTEM FAILURE

All volunteers requested. Rare texts at risk. Need backup.

She wasn't even a volunteer anymore.

Not since everything that happened with that book.

She stared at the message.

Her thumb hovered.

Her heart was already racing.

Then—she tapped.

---

The library looked like it had stepped out of one of her dreams—the unsettling kind.

Rain streamed down the glass dome like silver veins. The overhead lights buzzed and flickered. Shadows danced between the shelves.

And right there, in the middle of the archive room—

Asher Hawthorne.

Soaked. Scowling. Looking like he'd just stepped out of a gothic novel and into her personal nightmare.

He turned the second she entered.

Their eyes locked—like gravity remembered itself.

Luna froze, rain dripping from her soaked hoodie.

> "Of course," she muttered. "The universe really does enjoy screwing with me."

---

"You came," Asher said, voice quiet, clipped.

"You sound disappointed," Luna replied, regretting every life choice that brought her here.

"I'm not."

She raised an eyebrow. "Could've fooled me."

He didn't argue.

Instead, his gaze dropped to her hands—the same hands that had glowed when she touched the cursed book. The ones that hadn't felt right since.

She shoved them into her sleeves.

Too late.

He'd already noticed.

---

They worked side by side in uneasy silence.

Drying soaked books. Lifting damp volumes from the floor. Wiping leather covers while avoiding each other's eyes.

Sometimes their hands brushed.

Neither spoke about it.

Outside, the storm howled. Inside, the tension was louder.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked.

"I'm on the city's preservation board. They called me."

Of course he was.

Of course.

Luna bit back a snarky comment—but when she glanced at him, something in his expression stopped her cold.

He didn't look annoyed.

He looked haunted.

---

The lights flickered.

Then again.

Then—

She reached for a book. Her fingertips brushed the spine.

Flash.

A burning temple.

Chains. Screaming. A man bound to stone.

A woman—her—kneeling in front of him. Eyes filled with tears.

> "May this bind your soul until you learn love."

Her hand traced a glowing mark across his chest.

He screamed.

The fire roared.

And her heart—

Her heart broke.

---

"Luna!"

A hand grabbed her.

The vision shattered.

Asher stood in front of her, gripping her arms. His coat clung to him, soaked and trembling with tension.

"You zoned out again," he said.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"You're not."

"You're not my doctor."

"No." His voice softened. "But ever since you came into my life, things have been… off."

She stepped back. "Define off."

He looked at her like she'd just asked him to describe gravity.

"Lights flicker when you're near. Doors open on their own. My dreams… aren't mine anymore. And you—"

He paused.

Luna's arms crossed. "Say it."

"You collapse. You look at me like you know me. And when I touch you…"

He hesitated.

Then, almost a whisper:

> "It feels like I've already lost you."

---

Silence.

The air between them felt fragile. Like it might crack open and swallow them whole.

Luna turned away. Her chest ached.

She hadn't wanted this. Hadn't wanted him caught in it.

But the past doesn't stay buried.

And now… he was remembering.

Not all of it.

But enough.

Too much.

---

That's when the sprinklers kicked on.

A loud thunk. Then—deluge.

Water poured from the ceiling. Books scattered. Papers flew. Somewhere, a librarian screamed.

Luna?

She slipped.

---

Right into Asher.

They hit the floor hard.

Her knee met his thigh. Her hands landed on his chest. His breath left him in a grunt.

"Seriously?" he groaned.

"Don't flatter yourself," she snapped.

"Are you physically incapable of standing near me?"

"Are you physically incapable of being in the way every time something explodes?"

They stared at each other.

Soaked. Shivering.

The past boiling beneath their skin.

Luna scrambled off him, red-faced. "You're fine."

"Appreciate the exam," he muttered, wringing out his shirt.

---

Eventually, the fire alarms stopped screaming.

Staff began collecting themselves, some trying to salvage books, others wandering off in wet dismay.

Luna sat by the west window, arms crossed, soaked to the bone.

She didn't hear Asher approach.

But he sat beside her—close, but not too close.

They stared at the rain.

Then—

"I saw something," he said.

She turned.

"A room. On fire. A woman crying. A symbol. A curse."

Her stomach twisted.

> He wasn't supposed to remember. Not yet.

"What do you think it means?" she asked quietly.

He looked at her, no sarcasm this time.

> "I think we've met before."

---

Thunder rolled in the distance.

A siren wailed across the city.

Luna gave a small, nervous laugh. "You think we're… what? Reincarnated lovers?"

He didn't answer.

But he didn't say no either.

---

That night, Luna stood in the shower far too long.

She let the hot water pour over her shoulders, trying to wash off the fear. The visions. The ache.

But the weight of the past wouldn't rinse away.

The curse was cracking.

Every time he touched her, it slipped a little more.

And she wasn't ready for what came next.

Neither was he.

---

High above the city, on the top floor of a glass tower, a woman stood by a wall of windows.

Sienna Vale watched the rain.

She sipped wine, her red lips curling into a smile.

> "The curse is bending," she murmured. "How long before it breaks?"

She turned toward the fireplace.

On the stone hearth, a glowing symbol shimmered—a perfect echo of the one Luna had seen in the vision.

The Mark of Seraphina.

Sienna touched it with one manicured finger.

> "Let's see what you do next, little Luna."

---

End of Chapter


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