Céline stood under the cathedral’s spire, the moonlight casting soft silver shadows on the cobblestones. The faint whispers of the Seine reached her ears as she waited, her pulse quickening with each passing moment. She told herself she had wandered here by coincidence—yet night after night, her feet carried her back to this spot. And, as always, he was there.

Lucien leaned against a lamppost, a figure carved from the darkness itself. His presence was magnetic, his silhouette melding with the night as though he belonged more to the shadows than to the world of the living. He looked up at her, his pale lips curling into a faint, enigmatic smile. It was a smile that left her breathless, tinged with both sorrow and allure.

They spoke for hours, their words flowing like the river, weaving poetry and stories into the fabric of the night.

Céline shared tales of her childhood, the dreams she once nurtured, and the disappointments that had replaced them. Lucien listened with an intensity that made her feel seen in a way no one else ever had.

When he spoke, his voice was low and melodic, his words like a spell. He spoke of art and philosophy, of the fleeting nature of time and the bittersweet beauty of memory. It was as if he had lived lifetimes beyond her own, carrying wisdom as weighty as it was tragic.

But there was something else about him—something mysterious. Lucien always wore gloves, even in the warm spring nights. His lips, though pale, were mesmerizing, like a secret waiting to be unraveled. His dark eyes held a sorrow Céline couldn’t place, a depth that spoke of pain she dared not ask about.

One night, as they stood by the edge of the Seine, the charged air between them became almost unbearable. Céline reached for his hand, wanting to bridge the space that seemed to grow heavier with each meeting. The moment her fingers brushed his gloved palm, Lucien recoiled as if struck.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice sharp, his expression anguished. His hand trembled as he pulled away.

“Lucien, what is it?” Céline asked, her voice trembling as well, though with a different kind of urgency. “Why won’t you let me in?”

He turned away from her, staring at the dark waters below. “You don’t understand,” he said finally, his voice hoarse. “To touch me is to invite death.”

Céline’s breath caught, her heart pounding. “What do you mean?”

He faced her again, his eyes glistening with an unnatural sheen under the moonlight. “I was cursed,” he said, his words heavy with despair. “A poison given to me in life that I now carry in death. My kiss is death itself, a revenant’s fate.”

The word struck her like a thunderclap. “A revenant?” she whispered.

Lucien nodded, his jaw tightening. “I am neither alive nor truly dead. I walk this earth with the weight of eternity, unable to love, unable to hold anyone close without condemning them to the same fate.” His voice broke, his sorrow spilling over. “I didn’t choose this, Céline. But it is my reality.”

The revelation stunned her. It should have sent her fleeing into the safety of her mundane life. Yet, instead, it drew her closer.

In the nights that followed, their meetings became more secretive, more urgent. Every stolen moment was a defiance of fate, a rebellion against the cruel hand of destiny. Céline found herself yearning for him despite the danger, her heart pulling her toward his like a moth to flame.

“I don’t care about your curse,” she said one night, her voice trembling with emotion. “I can’t walk away from this. From you.”

“You should,” Lucien said, his voice laden with both longing and fear. “For your own sake, you must.”

But neither could stay away. Each meeting deepened their connection, their bond growing with every whispered confession and every glance that lingered just a moment too long.

They stood at the precipice of something both beautiful and perilous, teetering on the edge of love and destruction.

And in the quiet shadows, where no one could see, Céline reached for him again—not to touch, but to close the distance between them with her presence alone. Lucien’s dark eyes softened as he watched her, his sorrow giving way to something else, something luminous.

For a moment, they simply stood together, two souls intertwined, defying the darkness that threatened to consume them both.

To Be Continued …