A dance with shadows

Chapter 1

Alina had always been drawn to the night, where the world grew quiet, and only whispers seemed to stir the air. She lived in a quaint village at the edge of an ancient forest, where tales of forgotten gods and cursed spirits lingered like the morning mist. But she never believed in them—until the night she met him.

It was at the village masquerade ball when Alina first saw Damien. Tall, with sharp features hidden behind a silver mask, his eyes were like cold flames, burning with secrets. He danced like no one else, graceful yet predatory, drawing everyone's gaze. When his hand reached out to her, an icy thrill shot through her veins. Despite the warnings she had heard about strangers who came from the forest, Alina couldn't resist the pull of him.

That night, their dance began.

Damien was no ordinary man. He belonged to the forest—a creature bound by ancient pacts, cursed to walk in darkness. He could only step into the light for one night every decade, searching for a soul to save him from his eternal prison. But he never expected to fall in love with the one person who could doom him forever.

Alina, too, was enchanted by him. The more she saw him, meeting in secret under the moonlit trees, the more she felt her heart sink into the abyss. But with every stolen kiss, the shadows grew closer, wrapping tighter around her. Damien warned her—loving him meant stepping into a world where light could never touch her again.

Yet, love is a powerful force. And Alina, blinded by it, didn't care. She promised she would break his curse, no matter the cost.

But as the days passed, Damien's curse grew stronger. His eyes darkened, his touch colder. The forest itself seemed to pulse with life, warning Alina of the danger she was in. The villagers whispered of her disappearance, of how she wandered too far into the woods and never returned.

In the end, the love they shared was their undoing. Alina, bound by her promise, chose to stay in the forest with him. But the price was higher than she could bear.

Now, they dance together, shadows amidst the trees—bound in darkness, forever.