Cursed Trees Novels & Stories

the servants said before leaving and closing the door. "They even have vampires as their servants," Vlador said as he turned to find Triana standing by the large window, gazing out at the darkness of the forest. "The Klerk Trees," Vlador said, stepping beside her. "They resemble pine trees but are larger. They grow through ice and snow, unable to survive in warmer climates." Triana said nothing. Her gaze remained fixed outside. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Vlador spoke again, "They cannot know the reason we are being together. This curse should not be discovered."

“And we need to stop Gabriel Blackwood.” Jacob nodded, his gaze shifting between us. “I figured as much. There’s something you need to see, but it’s dangerous. Follow me.” We followed Jacob deeper into the forest, our path winding through dense underbrush and over rocky terrain. After a while, we arrived at a secluded glade. In the center stood a large, ancient oak tree, its roots twisting and intertwining like the fingers of an old giant. “Here,” Jacob said, pointing to a series of symbols carved into the tree’s bark. “These marks are a warning. They tell of a curse that has plagued this land for centuries.”

Celina affirmed. Our path led us to a clearing bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. In the center stood a cluster of ancient trees, their trunks scarred by the tendrils of darkness. The forest's magic was slowly healing them, but the corruption's touch still lingered. "These trees are resilient," Alder observed. "They're fighting to reclaim their purity." I approached one of the trees, placing my hand against its bark. I could feel its life force pulsating beneath my touch, a testament to its unwavering spirit.

Creed turned his head and smiled at me, “Hold on firecracker.” “What do you mean?” I asked him as I kept looking out my window. I noticed a small section of the trees on the right side of the road looked a little blurry, and I could feel magic. “I mean hold on,” Creed said as he let out a little laugh. He took a sharp right turn and whipped the car off the road. I smiled and grabbed the handle as he drove straight through the blurry trees. I smirked back at him, “You can’t scare me, I saw the barrier.”

“We’ve crossed into cursed territory.” I swallowed, looking ahead. The woods were different here. The trees were twisted, their bark blackened and cracked as if burned from the inside. The air felt thick, pressing against my skin, making it harder to breathe. Every step forward sent a chill crawling up my spine. “We should turn back,” Zane muttered, his voice low. His eyes darted around, scanning the shifting shadows. “This place isn’t natural.” “No,” I said firmly. “We keep going. We have to find the tree.”

As I tried to move, I felt an excruciating pain coming from my calf. "Don't move. You broke a bone in your calf. I had to set it temporarily with a splinter," Evan said. The pit was made up entirely of slippery rocks. Since Evan's arm was injured, he couldn't carry me out either. We had to wait to be rescued. The weather in the forest was extremely unpredictable. Just moments ago, it was sunny, but it started raining within minutes. Evan made many attempts to start a fire, to no avail. As night fell, the temperature dipped. I couldn't stop myself from shivering. Right then, Evan huddled closer and took his jacket off before draping it on top of me, saying softly, "Lyra."

But as she moved closer, her stomach churned. One of the trees was sick. Its bark was blackened and cracked, seeping a tar-like substance that dripped onto the glittering ground. Its leaves were brittle, some falling in slow, sorrowful spirals. Dark veins twisted around its roots, choking it as they spread outward, threatening to poison the other two trees. The second tree pulsed with life but seemed strained, its light flickering as if struggling to keep the corruption at bay. The third tree stood strong, radiating a golden warmth that gave Zoe a fleeting sense of comfort.

***Ronan point of view*** The cursed forest called to me like a siren song. I stood at the edge of the treeline, my hands pressed against the invisible barrier that kept me from entering. The magic felt like glass against my skin, smooth, unbreakable, humming with power that made my teeth ache. The trees leaned unnaturally toward the sky, their bark pulsing like veins beneath diseased skin. Even birds avoided this place, no chirps, no rustling, just silence that devoured sound.

Warfare and anger have a way of spreading like wildfire. Cage watches them, smirking with amusement, and while I would normally enjoy the show, tonight I feel unease curling over my spine. My muscles stiffen at what's coming, and it has nothing to do with the Cursed girl, but where we're going. The Woods of Evil are synonymous with death. No one goes in and walks back out unscathed... and that's if they survive. One tale talks of a dozen Alphas wandering inside and only one of them making it out, barely clinging to life. He spoke of the others left behind as nothing more than piles of ash left by an unseen assailant.

The young scout had a weird optimism that had not been beaten out of him yet. “We never get lucky,” Thorne said, and somehow that was more comforting than false hope. The third day, we reached the edge of the Blackwood. The trees here grew wrong—too tall, twisted, bark black like they had been burned but never really healed. The air tasted different. Older. Like something ancient had breathed here and left part of itself behind. “One more day,” I said when we made camp that night. “Tomorrow, we reach the Cursed Kingdom. Tomorrow I see my son.”