The Cursed echoes

Chapter three

Talia's breath was ragged as she slipped into the alleyway, the cold night air biting against her skin. Her mind raced, every sound amplified by the adrenaline coursing through her veins. The shadows were her only allies now, the darkness offering a temporary refuge from the relentless pursuit she'd been enduring for what felt like a lifetime.

She pressed her back against the brick wall, closing her eyes and trying to calm the storm raging inside her. She had been careful—so careful. But he was always one step ahead, his presence a constant, looming threat that made it impossible for her to let her guard down.

Her thoughts drifted, as they often did lately, to the man she'd met at the café and again at the party. Elijah. There was something about him that unsettled her in a way that had nothing to do with danger and everything to do with the unfamiliar pull she felt whenever he was near. A pull that scared her almost as much as the man hunting her.

In a world where trust could mean life or death, Elijah was an enigma. He wasn't like the others she'd encountered—those who wore masks of charm to disguise their true intentions. There was a sincerity in his eyes, a warmth in his smile that made her want to believe, if only for a moment, that he could be different. But she couldn't afford to be naïve, not now. Not when everything she had worked to protect was on the line.

She forced herself to think rationally. Who was Elijah really? Was he just a man with an easy smile and a good heart, or could he be something more—someone placed in her path by the very man she was running from? The idea was absurd, and yet, in her world, absurdities were often truths in disguise.

But despite all her doubts, she couldn't ignore the way her heart had raced when he'd spoken to her at the party. The way his voice had a calming effect, pulling her from the edge of the panic she had been teetering on. And the way he had looked at her—not with suspicion, but with genuine curiosity, as if she were a puzzle he was eager to solve.

Talia shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts that were clouding her judgment. Elijah wasn't part of her plan. He was a complication, a dangerous distraction from the one goal she couldn't lose sight of: survival.

But then, why did she keep thinking about him? Why, when she was alone and terrified, did the thought of his smile bring her a sliver of comfort? Was it possible that in a life full of lies and deceit, she had finally encountered someone worth the risk? Or was she just grasping at straws, desperate for something real in a world that had become increasingly surreal?

A sound in the distance snapped her back to reality. She couldn't stay here. She needed to keep moving, to stay one step ahead. But as she pushed herself away from the wall and back into the cold, unforgiving night, she couldn't shake the image of Elijah from her mind.

Maybe he wasn't worth the risk. Maybe he was. But until she knew for sure, she would have to keep her distance, no matter how much her heart protested.

As she melted into the shadows, she allowed herself one last thought of him, a fleeting hope that, somehow, fate would bring them together again. And if it did, she wondered, would she have the strength to walk away, or would she finally let herself fall?

For now, though, she had no choice but to keep running. From the past, from the man who hunted her, and from the feelings she couldn't afford to have.