Cursed, p.21
Cursed, page 21
part #3 of Haven Realm Series
An invisible wall of fatigue smacked into me. I wavered as my vision danced.
I gulped for air and found Talin staggering back up, half-bear, bloody, and bruised. The wind pulled at his hair, one sleeve still hanging on an arm but the rest of him was naked.
“Talin,” I called out.
He turned in slow motion, his mouth agape, and my gaze fell to the blade stuck in his gut. Talin’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
I screamed, my throat raw. “No!” Terror tore my heart to pieces, and tears gathered in my eyes. The other bear shifters weren’t moving, either. Tristan lay on the ground, unmoving.
Each breath rattled my lungs, but I hurried to Talin. They had to survive. Skidding next to him, I cupped his face, still warm to the touch. He gasped for air, gurgling. Blood trickled out from the side of his mouth.
A jolt of desperation took me. I tapped into my reserves, remembering who I was. A bloodborne. The curse was moon-related, straddled between light and dark. Magic coursed through my veins.
I controlled my destiny. I had the ability to do anything. Don’t fight who you are, Mom would tell me.
Yet I’d never understood what she’d meant, terrified of working with the darkness and Lilita taking over.
Her magic was stronger. She’d snapped the princes out of their transformation states with a single zap from her enchantment.
My princes were dying.
Despite the terror chewing on me, I raised my hands and pinpricks fluttered down my flesh. I imagined myself pulling back the shackles I’d worn for years to keep Lilita controlled, tearing back the layers, and stood there vulnerable.
I opened myself to the darkness.
Lilita shuddered through me, gushing out like a starved wolf. I flinched but instead of crumbling, I inhaled the darkness. Mom’s words swamped my head about accepting who I was. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Numbness owned me, and my heart battled between fighting and staying open to Lilita’s magic.
I concentrated, grinding my teeth, curling my fists. Earlier, our threads of energy, light and dark, had woven together.
That was the answer… working as one, not divided.
Summoning every ounce of strength forward, I felt the tendrils creeping along the surface of my skin. “No division. One person. One magic. One heart.”
Lilita’s scream boomed and talons clawed at the inside of my skull.
“Goddess of the moon, I draw upon your help. Unify me. Empower me.” Adrenaline awakened in my body as every inch of me cracked with sharpness. Golden light struck down from the heavens, rotating around my arms, sliding down my body. A scream of pain pierced through me. My head yelled to run, but I’d done that my entire life.
The light burned, and I wailed.
The ground shook and black serpents slithered upward, curling up my legs and hips.
No more fear. I am finishing this now.
“Unify me. Empower me.” I chanted over and over, biting past the sensation of drowning.
I shook, unable to feel where I started and ended. Half of me scorched with fire; the other froze with ice.
“Unify me. Empower me,” I sobbed.
The two opposing energies collided above my heart and shattered outward into a brilliant light, blinding me, cutting through me. I screamed from the sharpness spearing into me, as if someone were dissecting me into thousands of pieces.
Gasping for a sliver of air, I hit the ground. My ears rang with each heartbeat. Thumping. Pounding.
Stars twinkled in the tapestry overhead and the moon hung low tonight, almost glowing. Each breath I took rasped in my lungs.
Within me, an inferno blazed. But it felt different from before. Less smooth and warming. Now it came with thorns. And not a single sensation of Lilita stirred. Had the goddess driven her away or had I merged our magic?
Rolling onto my side, I stared at Talin, his eyes wide open, not breathing.
I scrambled to his side. Butchered bodies riddled the land, including Tristan. Their chests rose and fell with each breath… thank the goddess he was still alive. I recalled how rudely I’d spoken to him, then stole his horse. Those memories would have stay with me forever if I’d killed him. He was controlling, manipulative, and made a terrible boyfriend, but he didn’t deserve to die.
My gaze shifted to the fallen princes, also unmoving, and a strangled cry pressed against my throat. A shear nothingness took hold of me as I stared at my four shifters, and I choked on my tears. My reversal spell had cursed Talin’s brothers. Now I’d delivered them to their deaths. I sank to my knees next to Talin.
“Please, come back.” I shook his shoulders. My chest constricted and crushed my ribs. I remembered the way he would stare at me with desire in his eyes. I locked that away for eternity.
Tears flooded my cheeks. I shouldn’t have survived without them. Not like this, never like this.
I reached a shaky hand for Talin’s chest. Fire singed my insides, but I refused to believe this was the end. A crack of energy pinched my skin, and I forced my magic down my arm. It danced across my fingers, the tethers twisting together. At once, it speared into his chest, and I jolted from the impact.
He didn’t respond, and I broke out into a desperate cry. I couldn’t be too late.
Popping sparks of dark and white flames encased my hands. I lifted myself and raised my arms. “Lift my princes. Ash, Talin, Leven, and Raze.”
Power pebbled through me, and each of their bodies elevated. Focus. I sailed my arms and the men toward the tub. Two at a time, I placed them inside. “Sit.”
And they did as I commanded, the water lapping at my knecks, without an herb in sight, just as Lilita had done. Darkness spread within my chest, swirling together with the light, as if together they balanced one another to perfect harmony. Had I been wrong to believe I only needed one side?
Had I fought against Lilita because the unknown had scared me when the whole time she’d just been a part of me…
Hell. She was me! My power divided.
I shoved that aside and ran to my princes, tears dripping down my cheeks. But I couldn’t fall apart yet. I collected the bowl with what remained of the rose paste, then climbed into the cool water.
My hands shook as I reached Talin and yanked the blade sticking out of his stomach. Blood gushed out, pouring out of his body like a dam, tainting the water. Had I been too late to save them?
Not thinking, just focusing as Mom used to, I sliced my wrist and dropped the knife. I blinked to clear my dancing vision, and emptiness swirled through me. Blood trickled into the water, spreading outward, and I collected blood into the bowl I still held. I mixed it with the rose contents. Dizziness swirled across my brain.
No time. I approached each prince and smeared the paste onto their cheeks and lips, pushing some into their mouths. A swirl of red trailed me, and the world tilted around me.
I clasped my earlier cut on my arm to my lips, tasting myself, swallowing the blood.
I cried out, “Heal my princes. Take my blood and bestow it upon them. Give them life.”
A new force prickled across my skin, different, yet similar, as if it had always been there within my reach.
“Princes.” My voice shook. “Return to me.”
I lowered my palms into the water and a golden charge sparked. At once, the jagged lines of magic shot outward, grasping the shifters in its hold, and the bright light streamed out of the bath, racing across the yard in every direction as far as I could see at lightning speed.
A violent current pulsed through me, and I convulsed, my nerves shuddering. My vision darkened. For once, it wasn’t fear that embraced me. That was a most welcome change.
Cold water lapped against me, and someone was shaking my shoulder.
“Is she awake?”
The world revolved as memories slammed through me. I snapped open my eyes.
Four princes looked down at me, each with dread in their gazes. Behind them the sun shone, giving them a halo glow… had we all died and now awoke in the afterlife?
The lump in my throat swelled at seeing the men who filled me with life. The earlier darkness had vanished and now a flicker of hope swept through my mind. I hadn’t lost my shifters.
Leven collected me into his arms out of the freezing water. “You’re alive, sugarplum.”
I rubbed my eyes and scanned the castle grounds. The Terra guards who’d attacked the castle last night were groaning and pulling themselves up, as if they hadn’t been injured or beaten.
“No one’s dead!” I stated. The energy that shot out from me healed them completely just as it had my princes?
Confusion knotted through me, and I stared over at Talin’s stomach. “Your stabbing injury. It’s healed!”
He ran a hand across his skin where he’d been stabbed. “I’ve never felt stronger.” His widening lips beamed. “This is incredible. Bee, you saved us.”
Talin reached over and guided hair off my face, his warm touch reminding me the world swarmed with possibilities. And I had a full life ahead of me.
“The spell worked on everyone? Including the guards?” I was convinced any moment now Lilita would pop up and scream, fooled you. But I remembered merging with her, binding our magic. And now I was whole, as if all these years, I’d been living as half a person.
“Sure hope so,” Raze said. “Otherwise, we’ve all become the undead.” He chuckled, and I adored that sound more than anything.
My gaze settled on my princes, and I couldn’t resist smiling and falling into a happiness I hadn’t felt since I lost Mom.
Raze nudged Ash, and they laughed. The heaviness from my shoulders had vanished.
Once we were out of the tub, Leven lowered me to my feet and all four men towered over me, alive, healthy, and sexy as ever.
“I don’t know how you did it,” Ash said. “But I feel strong enough to lift the entire castle.”
Talin slid his hand into mine. “We owe you our lives. Anything you want is yours.”
I grinned and stared from one shifter to the other. “I know exactly what I desire.” Chewing on my cheek, I lifted my chin and said, “All of you.”
Raze leaned closer and pushed aside a strand of my hair caught in my eyelashes. “That was already a given. Right?”
“Yep, that was my understanding,” Ash added.
Leven slouched, his hands gripping his hips. “You would have major problems trying to leave us behind.”
Talin kissed my brow. “You belong to us and we are yours. We almost died, and I won’t waste another moment waiting to take what’s mine.”
All the princes nodded.
Hope beaded within me, and a radiating sensation soothed me from head to toe. Lightness burst through my heart. Maybe it was the excitement over the fact that I hadn’t lost my future and had gained more than I’d ever thought I deserved. I smiled so hard, it hurt my cheeks.
“You don’t know how much I’ve waited to hear you say those words.” They meant the world, and finally I’d get to live a life without always worrying about unleashing my darkness.
“Let’s get you warmed up inside.” Leven took my other hand.
Talin released his hold and regarded the guards staring our way. “The rest of us will get rid of the attackers from last night.”
With a quick glance over my shoulder at Tristan, I pitied him. He’d only known one way to face what he didn’t understand. Attack it. In a way I appreciated him coming to rescue me, but now he had to comprehend I’d moved on. He had no control over me. There was nothing left for us. So I raised Leven’s hand to my mouth and kissed it. He hugged me, and I leaned against him.
Tristan lowered his head and looked away. But I still worried how they’d treat Dad now that they’d seen me do magic. So, I lifted my hand and with a flick of my finger and a wave of newfound fire rushing down my arm, I shot out a golden surge of power that struck all the humans in the chests. “As soon as you all leave here, you won’t remember a thing from White Peak. Oh, and Tristan, you give up on Bee.” They shuddered, and within moments, they stumbled around like lost sheep.
“Damn, girl,” Leven whispered. “That was impressive.”
I turned to Talin. “Don’t hurt them; they’re just dumb guards from Terra. They need to go home.”
Raze snorted. “What do you take us for? Beasts?”
Chapter 28
One Week Later
My stomach tossed like a stormy gale. I glanced around, terrified a guard might patrol the Terra woods near my house. I mean, the four hunky princes at my side stood out like sore thumbs in their blue pants, golden tunics, and cloaks. Everyone in Terra knew everyone. I wanted no more trouble for my family. Not after the crap Tristan and his goon buddies had pulled by turning up at the castle and then tried kill the bear shifters. They must have tracked me from the Golden Lock to rescue me or some bullshit. But they’d been lucky to survive. Raze and Ash had escorted Tristan and the guards to the Golden Lock tavern and left them there, disorientated and confused. With my spell, they wouldn’t remember me using magic, bear shifters, or anything from White Peak.
That idea still hadn’t settled in my mind. The whole event still tortured me as everything had happened too fast. But I’d saved my princes and everyone else. My shifters had declared their love for me, and I hadn’t felt a sign of Lilita.
I didn’t expect to actually succeed in folding my energies back together. To think, as a child, the terror of working with dark magic had affected me so much that I’d manifested Lilita in my head. She represented everything I dreaded, and that explained why my abilities weren’t strong enough. That half of me I feared had controlled me all along. And the scary part was when she’d spoken, it had been me, taking on her persona, but I didn’t realize it because I’d someone divided myself.
Yep, some fucked-up shit there. But I planned to work through that with my four amazing new men. If anyone understood me, it was them.
A few days ago, I joined them on a visit back to their cousin’s manor to check up on them. Rek’s wife had discovered from his mistress that he worked with death voodoo magic and sacrificed a young girl. They admitted he’d gone too far. No one spoke of who had killed him, but I suspected they knew it was Talin or Raze. Maybe they didn’t have proof or worried about Talin’s reaction, but they agreed to put the past behind them and work together.
The wind brushed past me, rustling the leaves in the woods around me, and I couldn’t stop perspiring.
“Perhaps going home isn’t the best idea," I told my men. A knot formed in my stomach at the thought. "Maybe we should ease Dad into the idea. This is a bit sudden.”
“Don't back down now, sugarplum,” Leven said. “Talin needs a queen.”
Goddess! Did he have to remind me? Was I even queen material? What if I could never meet the expectations or the other bear shifters never accepted me. But the princes insisted they would as it wasn’t unusual for shifters to mate with different races.
“Keep your voice down,” I said, glancing around again. I didn’t need a guard overhearing us and realizing I’d illegally brought four bear shifters into Terra.
Talin took my hand, kissed it and warmed it between his palms. “We’re asking your father for your hand today. No more waiting. Officially, you will wed all of us.”
My knees went weak from his touch. Damn him! He could say anything, and I’d be his. All of theirs. But how would Dad react?
The uneasiness tumbling inside me flared. My dad would freak when he opened the door and found me escorted by these four. Then I’d probably give him a heart attack when I told him I was marrying not one, but four princes, and I would become the queen of White Peak.
We stopped near my house, and my heart drummed, yet it felt like a lifetime since I’d left home.
“A deal’s a deal,” Ash chimed in, stroking the roses planted out front along the path to my home. “I owe you a magnificent garden to complement these gorgeous roses.”
True. I was excited. But how was that going to work if I married the shifters and moved into his castle?
“Maybe you could have these in your bouquet?” Ash suggested.
What a perfect idea. My dad would be touched. I imagined my mother smiling down on me. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
But first things first. Tackle one thing at a time. Dad being top of the list. The boulder in my stomach hardened just thinking about facing him.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath, stretching out my shaking arm to the latch, but the door was locked. Reaching up, I tapped the top ledge of the doorframe for the spare key when the door flung open.
Father stood there, his expression flickering from a joyous smile to tight lips. He seemed ready to shake me for being gone so long.
“Bee, thank the goddess you're back. I was so worried.” He enveloped me in a warm embrace.
Dad warily eyed all the princes with suspicion. “Are you in trouble?”
My throat clogged up with nerves. I couldn’t get a word out. What was with me? I could stand up to a guard no problem when he bothered my dad, but admitting wanting to marry four princes had me all bothered.
“Is she ever,” joked Raze, and my dad’s eyes widened.
My stomach churned, making me want to vomit.
“No trouble, sir,” Ash assured my father, elbowing his brother. “We’re ensuring your daughter’s safe passage home.”
Dad’s eyes widened, and his shoulders stiffened. “Thank you for returning my daughter.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and bundled me inside the home.
I didn’t blame him for wanting to get me inside and away from the strange. Having the princes on his doorstep could amount to no end of trouble for us if guards spotted them. But Talin shot a foot out into the doorway before Dad could close the door behind us.
“I’m Talin, prince of White Peak,” my hunky bear said, extending a hand in greeting. “These are my younger brothers, Raze, Leven, and Ash. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir.”
For a few awkward moments, my father stared at Talin’s hand before accepting it and shaking it. “Prince?” His gaze drilled into me for an explanation.
