𝑽𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓 | Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski

Chapter 10

'𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒔'

In the venerable annals of the Voronov and Sokolov lineages, a tale of love, beauty, and betrayal is inscribed. Calina, a maiden of exquisite beauty, was a sight to behold when surrounded by her loyal raven companions. She fed them, played with them, and showered them with love and attention. Yet, as with all blessings, a shadow loomed near.

Love, both a blessing and a curse, found its way to Calina. She fell in love with a young and wealthy merchant named Dimitri Sokolov. Despite his ardent affection, Calina initially spurned his advances, unwilling to be separated from her family. Dimitri, determined to win her heart, promised to build a grand castle where she could remain close to her kin. True to his word, he constructed a magnificent fortress, and preparations for their union commenced.

Joy reigned as the castle stood ready, but fate brought unwelcome tidings. The widowed wife of Dimitri's brother, Malvina Sokolov, bereft and without refuge, sought shelter with the couple. With open hearts, they welcomed her into their home.

As winters passed, Calina and Dimitri welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, destined to be the future Patriarch and Matriarch of the Sokolov and Voronov families. However, tragedy struck when Dimitri perished in the merciless ocean waters, never to return home.

In the wake of his death, Malvina revealed her true nature. Before the assembled household, she unleashed her fury upon Calina, confessing that she had slain her own husband to be closer to Dimitri. Her love for him had turned to bitter hatred for Calina, whom she blamed for thwarting her desires. Malvina, a witch of formidable power, invoked a curse upon the Voronov family as retribution.

Her words, venomous and irrevocable, condemned the Voronovs to a fate most dreadful.

"Let no future matriarch of the Voronov bloodline survive beyond seventy-two seasons," she proclaimed. "Their deaths shall be excruciating, as all sustenance turns to ash upon their lips. Every wound, no matter how slight, shall fester and take years to heal. Their bones shall grow fragile and shatter with the gentlest touch. Their eyesight will fade, plunging them into darkness long before their final breath. None shall outlast one hundred and eight seasons."

With her curse thus spoken, she took her own life, sealing the doom of the Voronov family. Her death rendered the curse irreversible, binding the family to an unending cycle of suffering and despair. Henceforth, the Voronovs were marked by this grievous malediction, their legacy tainted and their future shadowed by inevitable tragedy over the once-blessed Voronov legacy.

'𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑼𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔'

'Blood courses more profoundly than water, yet both are indistinguishable when one's eyes are closed.'

(Blood runs thicker than water, but both feel the same when your eyes are closed.)

Calina, cognizant of the peril her daughter and future matriarchs faced, knew she must act to break the curse. As the years passed and her daughter approached twenty seasons, she still had no remedy for the curse that loomed over them. The best she could manage was a delay, extending the reprieve by three centuries.

In her despair, Calina hearkened to the whispers of the divine spirits. They imparted a singular path to salvation for the Voronov lineage. The spirits spoke of a white raven that would guide her, revealing that her descendants had a pivotal role in maintaining the balance between nature and humanity—a truth they would gradually come to understand.

Resolute, Calina traversed the burial grounds, walking among the graves of the departed until she found the one marked by a white feather. Beneath this sign lay the body of a child, no older than thirty seasons, who had perished under the harsh hand of her father—a pure soul taken before its time.

Calina concocted a potion using the crushed bones of this innocent child and entrusted the elixir to her brothers, with instructions to administer it when the next matriarch was born, three hundred years hence. Thus, the Voronov family was safeguarded.

Each matriarch saved by this method was accompanied by a white raven, a familiar symbolizing the purity of their soul.

The instructions for brewing this potion are inscribed within this tome.