The dream came again.
Jayra stood barefoot in the middle of a dark forest, the ground glowing with pale blue veins of light. In front of her floated a crown—silver, spiked, and humming with an energy that made her bones ache. Flames circled it, not red, but a strange mix of violet and blue, dancing like shadows.
She stepped closer.
"Touch it," a voice whispered from the trees. "It’s yours."
She reached out. The flames didn’t burn her. In fact, they pulled her in like they’d been waiting.
Then she saw it—her reflection in the silver metal of the crown. But it wasn’t her. Not the girl from Ghana with wild curls and stubborn dreams. This version wore a black dress stitched with stars, and her eyes… they glowed gold.
And then the crown whispered back:
“Fall in love, and die.”
Jayra jolted awake.
Sweat soaked her bedsheets. Her heart thundered in her chest. For the third night in a row, she’d had the exact same dream.
She glanced at the calendar taped to her wall.
January 12th. Her 18th birthday.
"Happy birthday to me," she muttered, trying to shake off the feeling that something—someone—was watching her even now.
Downstairs, her aunt was already calling her name. But Jayra didn’t move. Her fingers trembled as she reached for her phone. A new notification blinked on the screen.
> 🕊️ “You’ve been chosen. The crown awakens. Come home.”
— Unknown Number
Her blood ran cold.
Jayra didn’t know it yet, but her world was about to change. The dreams were real. The crown was real. And the curse?
It had already begun.
YOU ARE READING
Cursed Crown
FantasyOn the night of her 18th birthday, Jayra dreams of a burning crown and a shattered kingdom. She was raised in the normal world... but magic has been waiting for her return. Cursed by a prophecy and hunted by a dark prince, Jayra must embrace the pow...
