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Chapter Text

Long before love had a name, a god loved a mortal girl but the girl defied the very emotion that the god created. 

Her name was Lyssandra Carson, and when Eros, golden and cruel in his ways, offered the mortal woman his heart, she refused it. She refused to be locked to someone who only truly wanted her for her body and nothing else. She wanted to love freely. She didn’t want to worship at his feet. She didn’t want to be controlled. 

Eros was angered by her words but intrigued by her defiance. He desired the woman in more ways than the pitiful mortal can imagine but in the end, the woman never went to him. A curse bloomed from that day forward. When the mortal woman turned and walked away from him for good, Lord Eros touched her heart and split it in two, so her bloodline would forever know the difference between being loved and being possessed. 

Generations upon generations of women in her lineage would carry his mark: a shimmer beneath the skin, envy burning a bright gold. Ruination would befall any who bear his mark. The woman felt the mark hours later, lying in bed with the mortal man that she truly adored—no she loved this man. A sigil of  golden broken heart rested above her heart as she screamed from the pain. The mark was new but it had progressed far beyond what any god had seen before. She begged for the man beside her to help her, to take the pain away but he was silent. She struggled to turn her head but when her eyes landed on her beloved, she realized the mistake that she had made. 

The man was dead. Blood dripped from his mouth, his beautiful green eyes were empty. The wails of the woman shook her city. Her wails shook even the land of the gods above. There was one who took pity on the mortal woman. One who could take the pain away for only a little while. 

Nyx, the primordial of Night herself. She couldn’t offer the woman salvation for even her power as a primordial couldn’t undo a curse of this caliber. She could only alter it. 

“You wished to escape love,” the primordial goddess whispered to the woman as she brushed the hair of the mortal girl. “Then I will continue to  grant you that mercy. You will live untouched but every heart that dares to love you will suffer.” 

People have told the story for generations, many believing that the Carson bloodline truly began when the curse was placed although there was no record of anyone being affected by the curse since the woman . That somewhere buried in the depth of the Carson estate, the myth still rings true. The god who fell in love with a mortal and lost. 

The story changes as all stories do when passed along through generations. The women of the Carson family told the story to their children so that they can always be prepared. Through these women, the name of the god changes. Some of the women call him Eros. Some refuse to even speak his name at all. But they all agree on one thing: every Carson woman is a potential inheritor of the mark. 

It  doesn’t appear right away. Sometimes it waits for a touch. Other times, it waits for the wrong person to love her back. 

When Kyran Carson’s mark appeared, it wasn’t under temple bells or moonlit omens. It didn’t appear in bed with one of her many fuck buddies nor with her friends who cherish her. It happens beneath a chandelier, in front of hundreds of people, when a stranger took her hand. 

The air stilled. The lights flickered. And though no one said it aloud, everyone who saw it felt the same quiet, terrifying truth. 

The curse had finally chosen its inheritor.

Chapter Text

The chandeliers of the grand ballroom gleamed like stars that were captured for this moment. It was July 13th. Which meant only one thing. Kyran Paige Carson was turning Eighteen years old. It was a monumental moment for the youngest Carson. A few months from now, she will be attending university at The King’s U, one of the most influential schools in England. She would become a doctor one day. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts by her older sister, Guinevere or Evie as they liked to call her, wrapping her pale strong arms around her shoulders from behind her. Her sister was beautiful with light slightly curled blonde hair and piercing green eyes that always brought comfort to Kyran when she had nightmares. The dark green dress she was wearing accentuated her curves in all the best ways. Kyran’s own dress was black and red. The skirt reached the floor with a slit up her left thigh. It was hard for the girls to convince their father to allow their dresses to be worn but ultimately he couldn't say no to them. 

“You look beautiful Ky,” Her older sister whispered to her as they stood on the balcony overlooking the party goers. Friends, family, and work associates of their parents filled the large room. Tables lined the walls with food (one of which their cousin Nikolai was at). Kyran leaned against her sibling, eyes tracking the movements of everyone talking. 

“Thank you.” Her eyes settled on five of her friends and her cousin. Jeremy Volkov was a childhood friend of her cousin Nikolai and had basically adopted both Evie and Kyran into their group alongside their other childhood friend Vaughn. The five of them were thick as thieves and Kyran wouldn’t have it any other way. He was talking with a shorter girl, Caidryn King, his girlfriend of two years. They hit it off immediately when Kyran, Evie, and their friends moved to England to finish schooling so that they would be close to their future university. Vaughn was talking to his own little girlfriend which shocked all of them considering he had never shown interest in anyone before. At least until the terror incarnate walked up and punched him in the face. Layne King was not to be messed with, her sister less so. She had done far worse for less. After that Layne and Vaughn had a sort of academic rivalry, a real enemies to lovers story if you ask Kyran. Layne and Vaughn have been together the least amount of time but no one could doubt the devotion that they have to each other. 

Finally, her eyes settled on her cousin and his girlfriend. Nikolai was a brute, that Kyran would admit. Don’t take this the wrong way but he was scary. He was dangerous in all the worse ways but Kyran wouldn’t change him for the world. He was her and Evie’s protector growing up which only enhanced itself when his little sisters were born. Very few things and people brought out the calm, lovable, and chaotic Nikolai. The biggest victor of that? His girlfriend, Bailey King. Bailey was Layne’s younger twin sister and definitely the calmer of the two. She was able to calm him down even in his darkest moments just as he was able to save her during her darkest moments. They were perfect for each other. 

“Smile, Ky,” Her sister laughed, removing her arms and rounding her sister so that they were face to face. She reached for her hands and gripped them tightly, tugging her towards the ballroom floor. “Come on, it’s your birthday, you can’t be thinking too much. Tonight is for fun.” 

Kyran shook her head with her own laugh as she followed behind Evie. It felt like they were kids again with her sister leading her around like Kyran was a lost duckling. A twinge of discomfort reared itself near her collarbone above her heart. She had felt these twinges since she hit puberty at the age of twelve. She knew the story of the curse that runs through her bloodline but she thought it would skip her and her sister's generation like it had all the years before her. She hid the mark, afraid to know the reactions of her father and sister if they were to learn about the mark. A golden broken bow sat there prettily. Pulsing ever so slightly whenever someone showed her an inch of love. She ignored it though just like she has since she was twelve. 

The crowd parted as the sisters descended the stairs and the conversations quieted as they openly gawked at the two. Business partners of their parents were already planning how to get the girls to be a part of their family so that they have some kind of access to the Carson fortune. Their family beamed at the young women that the girls had become and their friends were the only ones making noise when they saw the two. Everything was fine and going well until Kyran locked eyes with him. 

Brown eyes locked with a light blue as Kyran sucked in a breath. Remington Astor was a childhood friend to Bailey, Layne, and Caidryn. He attended their school and would be joining the twins and their cousins when they entered Royal Elite University, the opposing school to TKU. The air pulled taut as he maneuvered his way over to her. The two rarely interact, he was a playboy, a star in their school who could get anyone or anything that he wanted. 

He speaks to her  with a voice that is low and filled with amusement. “You look like you’d rather be anywhere else but here.” Kyran almost let out an undignified snort at his words. Evie had wandered off from the two of them to hang out with her own boyfriend Kayden so it left the two of them alone. 

“I would actually.” Kyran joked. “I’m missing a great episode of my show because of this party.” Remington laughed, as he leaned forward a bit.  He held out his hand and when she placed his hand in his, he lifted it and placed a kiss to the back of it. 

“Then let me make your night just a little bit more bearable.” 

As he said the words and his actions finally crashed over Kyran’s mind, a sharp blinding pain pierced through her collarbone. A small cry of pain left her as she clutched at the spot where her mark was. Party-goers looked confused at the small outburst but those chosen by the gods could see the light illuminating from beneath Kyran’s hands. 

“Ky!” A mix of voices shouted as her friends and family stumbled to her side. Evie ripped her hand away from when she was gripping her shoulder and moved her dress just enough to see what lay beneath it. 

A mark. 

A mark that hadn’t appeared in generations. 

“No…” Evie’s large green eyes widened and tears welled up. Her sister didn’t deserve this pain. Evie was the older sister. Why did it have to target Kyran? ‘Fuck.” Nikolai cursed, running a large palm through his long black hair. “Fuck Kyr, how long?” 

“Six years.” 

Her voice was weak. Her body felt weak from the pain. After a few minutes, the glow began to fade. None of her family had left her side. Remington never left her side. 

“I’m fine.” 

The dread two words that never meant anything to any of them. Two words that signified that something is terribly wrong but no one would get anything out of her until she was ready. 

And knowing Kyran? 

That day would come when it’s too late. 

___________________

Elsewhere

In the underground tomb of a temple, a man’s body floated above an altar and his eyes opened. An ancient power seemed to exude from him as he waved his hand and a mirror appeared in front of him. 

“Show me the inheritor.” The man whispered to the mirror, watching as it rippled until an image appeared in it. An image of someone that was very familiar. Black hair fell in rivulets down her back as strange clothing covered her body. Her eyes were crystalline as he stared into them. 

Eros smirked and snapped his fingers. The tomb transformed into a throne room as he sat with an echoing thump. He leaned his cheek against one of his fists as his eyes raked over the girl. His mark has been ignited for the first time in centuries. 

Αγάπη μου (Agapi mou), I can’t wait to finally make you mine.