౨ৎ | Eternal bonds

౨ৎ | 𝐜𝐡 𝟕

Maya nodded, sensing there was more to his answer but choosing not to press him. Instead, she allowed the conversation to return to easier topics—the food, their favorite places to visit, and the places they still wanted to see.

But as they talked, something shifted in the air.

Chrona stood in the shadows, her gaze fixed on them, her presence undetected by anyone else in the restaurant. She watched with cold, calculating eyes as Vito and Maya grew closer, each smile, each exchange of words drawing them nearer to one another.

From her hidden place, Chrona whispered, her voice like a breeze brushing through the room.

"So, Vito, this is how it begins again. You grow attached, you always do. And you know how it ends."

Vito felt it—the chill that snaked up his spine, the weight of Chrona's presence pressing down on him. His hand tightened around his glass as the cold tendrils of her words wrapped around him.

Anger flared in him, and he clenched his jaw, trying to keep his face calm as he glanced around, knowing she was watching.

Maya, unaware of the tension gripping him, smiled across the table, caught up in their conversation. But Vito's thoughts were elsewhere now, focused on the unseen eyes he knew were watching him, waiting.

Under his breath, barely audible, he cursed in ancient Greek, the words spilling out like venom, meant for Chrona alone.

Though invisible to everyone around them, Chrona rolled her eyes, unimpressed by his outburst.

"You can curse me all you like, Vito, but this isn't over. You know what happens next."

Her voice was a whisper on the wind, and just as quickly as she had come, she was gone.

Vito exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax, but his mind was racing.

His connection with Maya had grown stronger than he had anticipated—stronger than he should have allowed. He knew the dangers that came with it, the inevitable heartbreak he had sworn he would never let happen again.

But as he looked at Maya, the warmth in her eyes, the genuine interest in her questions, he felt the pull once more.

He wanted to be closer to her, to understand the depths of her spirit. Despite everything, despite Chrona's warnings and the weight of his curse, he couldn't stop himself.

"Are you alright?" Maya asked softly, her brow furrowed slightly as she noticed the tension in his face.

Vito gave her a reassuring smile, his natural demeanor returning. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought for a moment."

They continued talking late into the evening, laughter and soft words filling the space between them. But even as they enjoyed the night, the shadow of what lingered between them remained, a reminder of the forces at play that neither of them fully understood.

For now, though, Vito allowed himself to stay in the moment with Maya, even as the weight of time pressed on him.

***

Vito and Maya sat in the warm coziness of the restaurant, their plates now nearly empty and pushed away to the side. Vito leaned back slightly, looking at Maya with a laugh in his eyes, really intrigued by her. She had been telling him about one of her recent trips, her hands animated as she spoke, and he was absolutely drawn into the way her eyes lit up when she described her adventures.

"And then," Maya said, laughing softly, "I nearly lost my sketchbook in Venice. I had set it down for just a second while I was trying to get a good angle of this beautiful bridge, and the wind—just like that—took it right off into the canal."