Prisoners Of Love
img img Prisoners Of Love img Chapter 3 The Mark Beneath The Skin
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Chapter 6 Shadow in the Wall img
Chapter 7 The Forest of Broken Oaths img
Chapter 8 The Triad Strikes img
Chapter 9 The City of Ashes img
Chapter 10 The Sleeper Beneath img
Chapter 11 The Fractured Paths img
Chapter 12 The Choice of Chains img
Chapter 13 Caer'Zareth img
Chapter 14 The Weight of Ashes img
Chapter 15 The Covenant of Embers img
Chapter 16 The Shard of the End img
Chapter 17 The Dawning War img
Chapter 18 The Dawning War II img
Chapter 19 Ashes Whispers img
Chapter 20 The Forgotten Below img
Chapter 21 II img
Chapter 22 Shadows Rising img
Chapter 23 The Gathering Storm img
Chapter 24 Echoes of the Gate img
Chapter 25 The Hollow Fla img
Chapter 26 Shadows of the First Flame img
Chapter 27 The Seed of Remem img
Chapter 28 Whispers Beneath the Heartwood img
Chapter 29 The Shadow Warden img
Chapter 30 The Mirror of the First Flame img
Chapter 31 The Eye That Sees Within img
Chapter 32 The Convergence of Flames img
Chapter 33 Ashes and awakening img
Chapter 34 Ashes of Memory img
Chapter 35 The Echoing Path img
Chapter 36 Whispers before the Storm img
Chapter 37 The Gathering Storm img
Chapter 38 Shadows of the Past img
Chapter 39 The Hollow Star img
Chapter 40 Embers and Echoes img
Chapter 41 The Breathing Earth img
Chapter 42 Bones of the World img
Chapter 43 Nine Flames img
Chapter 44 The Song Beneath Stone img
Chapter 45 The Thread of the Forgotten img
Chapter 46 The Weaver's Offer img
Chapter 47 Threads of Rebellion img
Chapter 48 Fire Beneath the Spine img
Chapter 49 A Spark in the Silence img
Chapter 50 The Scars That Remember img
Chapter 51 Embers of the Past img
Chapter 52 Echoes of Tomorrow img
Chapter 53 II img
Chapter 54 Threads of Destiny img
Chapter 55 The Loom of Futures img
Chapter 56 The Tapestry Unfolds img
Chapter 57 Embers of Unity img
Chapter 58 The Flames of Tomorrow img
Chapter 59 The Dreaming Crystal img
Chapter 60 The Harmonies Reborn img
Chapter 61 The Hollow Accord img
Chapter 62 The First Whisper img
Chapter 63 When Echoes Walk img
Chapter 64 Seeds of the Storm* img
Chapter 65 The Silence Between img
Chapter 66 Memoryfire War img
Chapter 67 A World Rewritten img
Chapter 68 The Vault of the Nameless* img
Chapter 69 The Vault of the Willing Forgotten* img
Chapter 70 The Vault of the Stormborn img
Chapter 71 The Price of Memory img
Chapter 72 Threads of Fate img
Chapter 73 Allies in the Shadow* img
Chapter 74 The First Clash* img
Chapter 75 Echoes of the Forgotten img
Chapter 76 Threads of Destiny img
Chapter 77 The Loom's Trial img
Chapter 78 Threads of Fire* img
Chapter 79 The City That Forgets img
Chapter 80 The Second Crown img
Chapter 81 The Gathering Storm* img
Chapter 82 Beneath the Bones* img
Chapter 83 The Flame Rewritten* img
Chapter 84 The Road of Names* img
Chapter 85 When the Earth Remembered img
Chapter 86 The Crown Reforged img
Chapter 87 The Turning Flame img
Chapter 88 The Flame That Chose* img
Chapter 89 When Silence Walks img
Chapter 90 The Song Beneath the Stone* img
Chapter 91 The Memoryforge img
Chapter 92 Ashes and Inheritance* img
Chapter 93 When Stones Speak img
Chapter 94 The Memory Before Light* img
Chapter 95 When the Stars Begin to Blink* img
Chapter 96 The Binding Flame img
Chapter 97 The Flame That Remains* img
Chapter 98 Echoes of the Flame img
Chapter 99 Bound in Truth img
Chapter 100 The Trial of Fire and Flesh* img
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Chapter 3 The Mark Beneath The Skin

Liana woke with a start.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, soaked in sweat, though the room was cool and silent. The sheets clung to her legs, twisted from tossing. She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead, trying to catch her breath.

The dream still pulsed in her mind.

A man in fire.

A woman begging.

A silver ring dropped into blood.

She had never seen those images before... and yet, they felt familiar. Too familiar.

She climbed out of bed and stumbled to the mirror above the dresser. Her reflection looked worse than she expected - sunken eyes, pale skin, hair tangled around her shoulders. But something else caught her attention.

She leaned in closer.

Just below her collarbone, to the left, was a small birthmark. A crescent shape, barely visible unless you looked closely. She'd had it her whole life.

Only... in the dream, the woman had the exact same mark.

She backed away from the mirror, shaken.

What was happening to her?

---

The door clicked open before she could gather her thoughts.

Damian stood there, dressed in a black button-down shirt and dark gray slacks. His presence filled the doorway like a thundercloud.

"You're awake."

"Barely," she muttered, hugging her arms.

"You'll want to be fully conscious for today," he said, stepping aside. "Come."

She didn't move.

"I don't take orders."

He didn't flinch. "You do now."

"I'm not afraid of you," she lied.

His eyes met hers-unblinking, unreadable.

"Good," he said after a moment. "Fear would ruin the lesson."

---

He led her down a long corridor lined with ancient portraits. Their painted eyes followed her as she walked, every step echoing through the marble floor like a warning. At the far end was a door made of dark oak and iron.

He opened it.

The room inside was nothing like the rest of the house. It wasn't modern or cold. It was... old. Stone walls. A fireplace with fading embers. A long table covered in books, documents, and something wrapped in red velvet.

"Sit," Damian said.

She didn't move.

He waited. Calm, patient.

Eventually, curiosity betrayed her. She sat.

He pulled a chair across from her and unwrapped the velvet cloth on the table. Inside was a single object:

A dagger.

Or rather... an artifact. Silver, curved, inscribed with markings that pulsed faintly under the dim light. The metal looked ancient-and alive.

"What is that?" she whispered.

"An answer."

"To what?"

Damian didn't reply. He reached into the table drawer and pulled out a thin file. He placed it before her.

Her name was on it.

"Liana Elena Cruz," he said, opening it. "Born in Mexico City. Mother: Mariela Cruz. Father: Unknown. You lived in foster care after your mother's death."

"Why are you telling me this?" she demanded, throat tight.

"Because you're not who you think you are."

She froze.

"You were never supposed to live a normal life," he continued. "Not after what your bloodline did."

"My bloodline?"

He placed a photograph on the table.

It was old-sepia-toned. A woman who looked exactly like her, in a dress from another era, standing beside a man whose face was blurred by time. But the mark on her collarbone-the crescent moon-was clear.

Liana stared.

"No. That's not me."

"Her name was Elena Cruz. She lived a hundred and twenty years ago. She betrayed the Blackthorn family. My family."

"That's-impossible."

He slid the dagger closer.

"She took something from us," he said quietly. "Something sacred. Her blood opened a door. And yours will close it."

"What are you talking about? Are you insane?"

Damian leaned closer.

"You don't have to believe in fate," he said, "but fate believes in you."

---

Liana stood abruptly, the chair scraping back.

"This is crazy. You think I'm some... reincarnation of a woman who hurt your ancestors? That's why you bought me?"

He stood too, slowly.

"I didn't buy you for revenge alone," he said. "I bought you because you are the key. You carry her soul, her blood, and her power."

"I don't believe in any of this," she snapped.

"You will."

"How do you even know I'm the one?"

He looked at her, then nodded toward her shoulder.

"The mark. The dagger reacted to it the night you arrived."

Liana staggered back. "You tested me?"

He didn't deny it.

"You'll understand soon. There are pieces of your memory hidden. Dreams, instincts, pain you've never explained. The truth is buried in your blood."

Her voice dropped, hoarse with disbelief. "And what are you going to do with me?"

Damian's gaze softened just a little - just enough to confuse her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Liana," he said. "I just want what was stolen."

"And if I refuse?"

His eyes darkened. "Then fate will decide... and fate is rarely kind."

---

That night, Liana sat alone again in her room, the dagger's shape burned into her memory.

The dream returned, clearer this time.

The woman who looked like her stood at the edge of a cliff, holding the dagger in her hand. A man - Damian's face, but younger - stood behind her, reaching out.

"I'm sorry," the woman whispered in the dream, tears on her cheeks. "This is the only way."

She dropped the dagger.

The sea below swallowed it.

The dream faded.

Liana gasped awake.

Her heart whispered a terrifying truth:

Maybe she did believe in fate after all.

            
            

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