The Blood Curse

'You didn't tell me your name.' The stranger's silky voice echoed through Layla's mind. Chills coursed through her body as she remembered his cool touch on her skin. Mia and Layla were in line at a local coffee shop after the class split off for some independent sightseeing. The shop smelled of roasted coffee beans and warm spices. The walls of the coffee shop were covered in paintings and artifacts, and bright sunlight shone through the giant windows. As Mia chatted, Layla only had one ear in the conversation as she mumbled noncommittally. When the two girls got their drinks and found a place to sit and sip their coffee, Mia frowned at Layla. "What is with you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You are so mopey!" Layla shook herself from her daydream about the stranger at the museum and assessed her friend who was frowning at her. "Sorry," Layla said. "I just… I saw this weird guy at the museum today and for some reason, I can't stop thinking about him." Mia's frown dis

"Your name would suffice as payment," Atreus responded with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. Layla stared at Atreus for a moment then laughed softly. "Apparently the men from this town are relentless," Layla said with a laugh and offered him her hand. "My name is Layla." Atreus took her hand gently and a shock of electricity seemed to flow from their touch. Layla shivered as the warmth in Atreus' eyes contrasted with the coolness of his skin. "It's nice to meet you… Layla," Atreus said in a low voice that caressed the syllables of her name. And Layla was stuck there at that moment for what seemed like an eternity. She knew that she was staring and that she should probably pull her hand away. But she was drowning in his eyes and didn't want to come up for air. The curve of his lips deepened as he watched her with his hungry gaze. "What's going on over here?" Mia's voice startled Layla from her trance. Layla pulled her hand away from Atreus and took a deep breath. "

To Layla's disappointment, she didn't hear back from Atreus in the next couple of days after they had dinner. She had tried her best to not let it bother her that she had gotten ghosted, but that was proving to be difficult. Especially after the amazing kiss that she and Atreus had shared that night. Nonetheless, Layla went about the rest of her trip trying to enjoy her last days in Rome. While she did have an amazing time and plenty of laughs with Mia by her side, her betraying thoughts kept going back to Atreus. On their last day, the two girls were in their hotel room packing their belongings and getting ready to catch the plane back home. When Layla picked up the dress that she had worn on her date with Atreus, Layla's melancholy turned to anger. She rolled up the shimmering gown and chucked it into her suitcase with a huff. "Whoa," Mia said from across the room. "Was that a mini temper tantrum I just witnessed?" Layla continued to stuff clothes into her suitcase without sa

Layla ripped her gaze from Ryan's and scanned the crowd. But trying to find someone in the flashing lights and moving bodies wasn't going to be easy. Especially if the person she was looking for was on a different continent. "Layla?" Ryan's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, sorry," Layla said, bringing herself back to the present. She needed to shake herself out of this funk. "Do you want to go dance?" Ryan smiled brightly. "Yeah, let's do it!" he said excitedly. Layla slipped out of her chair and Ryan grabbed her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Ryan spun Layla ceremoniously causing her to let out a giddy laugh. Then he pulled her close to him and the two of them moved as one to the music. Ryan put his hands on her hips as they rocked together in tandem to the beat. They moved like this for a few minutes before Ryan dipped her, Layla giggled as he pulled her up. At that moment, they were nose to nose and Layla could tell by the intense look in Ry

After skipping class the day before, Layla decided she needed to spend the next day studying for her finals, which were only a couple of weeks away. Layla left her apartment and decided to walk to the library. It was across campus, but she needed an excuse to get out of her funk and walk off some of the pent-up energy that had been building since her date night with Ryan. She and Ryan left their lunch date on good terms the day before after Layla reassured him that nothing bad was going to happen to her regarding Atreus. So far that had been the truth. Layla hadn't seen or heard from Atreus since that night. If it wasn't for Ryan witnessing him alongside her, she was prone to think that she had imagined Atreus crashing her date. So, why was it that Atreus' absence disappointed her? Instead of relief, she felt an emptiness. Alongside those feelings, she felt angry. First, at herself for pining after some stranger as she had been, and second at Atreus for causing the emotionally tr