Midnight’s Embrace: The Curse of the Crimson Moon

The first rays of dawn were weak, a pale promise of warmth—and I felt them on my face before I opened my eyes.

Everything hurt. My bones ached from too many nights awake; my heart ached from too many nights alone. But the hardest ache was in my chest, where two broken souls had somehow learned to beat as one.

I blinked against the soft gold light and realized: I was lying on snow. Not the bitter, frozen kind but the kind that seemed to glow—touched by sunrise.

She was beside me, curled into my side like a pale flame against the white. Her silver hair spilled over my arm; her cheeks were pressed into my coat.

I held my breath, afraid to break the moment.

> "Ren..."

Her voice was a whisper—soft and tired. I reached out and brushed a thumb across her cheek. She stirred, eyelids fluttering open.

Those crimson eyes met mine, confused at first, then shining with relief.

> "You..."

She tried to speak again, but the world shifted as she pushed up on one elbow.

> "Sunlight..."

I sat up quickly, waiting for her to burn. But nothing happened. Not a flicker of pain. Her skin stayed pale and perfect in the light.

A laugh bubbled in my chest—hot and joyous.

> "It's okay," I said, voice rough.

> "You're safe."

She stared at her hand, then at the rising sun.

> "I thought…"

> "I thought I lost you," I finished for her, my voice breaking.

She blinked tears into the dawn. Then she did something I never expected: she smiled.

A real smile—soft, full of wonder.

> "It's beautiful," she whispered.

I laughed again, wrapping my arms around her.

> "Not as beautiful as you."

She pretended to scowl, but her lips trembled upward.

> "Stop," she said, voice thick with unshed tears.

> "Or I'll bite again."

> "I'd let you," I grinned, brushing snow from her hair.

Somewhere behind us, the last echoes of the hunters' lanterns died away. The world was quiet—at peace for the first time in a long while.

I stood, offering her my hand.

> "Come on," I said.

> "Let's go home."

She took my hand, and together we walked down the hill, leaving frost‑bitten footprints behind.

Every step was a new promise:

* No more hiding in shadows.

* No more whispered fears.

* Just sunrise, snow, and a future we'd write together.

Above us, the crimson moon faded—its curse broken by love stronger than blood.

> And in that moment, I did something I hadn't done in years:

I smiled.