Page 1 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)

Chapter One

~ Shade ~

“ M onster smut… fae smut… oooh, this one’s got tentacles!

” I chirp happily to myself as I run my finger along the bookshelf, stopping on a hardcover that has multicolored tentacles decorating the spine.

Sliding the book from its place, I move to my spot on the floor where I’ve created a nest of cushions, and I get comfortable, crossing my legs under me.

Yes. This is just what I need. Opening the book, I bring it to my face, dragging in a deep breath through my nose.

I hum as I take in the scent of the inked pages, and the woody, earthy smell that always makes me feel at home.

A girl grins at me as she walks by in the library, and I beam back at her.

I know she gets it. Who doesn’t love the smell of books, and uh, did I mention tentacles?

More than a little excited, I rest the book on my lap and settle in, beginning the first chapter.

I’m immediately drawn into the story, and I spend the rest of my morning devouring a tale of a woman who’s abducted by a morally gray sea monster.

He goes from being a grumpy kraken shifter to dedicating his life to pleasuring her, and seriously…

I. Am. Here. For. It. I mean, where do I find a guy like that? Or you know, three.

By the time I finish reading the extremely satisfying conclusion, I sigh heavily, closing my eyes and pressing the book to my chest like it’s a treasure I never intend to part with.

I stay like that for probably longer than I need to, but eventually, I open my eyes coming back to reality.

Which…isn’t the worst considering I’m at the local library, but I’m not currently being railed by a sea monster, so I figure I have reason to complain.

Then, of course, there’s also the fact that I actually have no idea who I am or where I come from.

You see, for the past few years, I’ve been cursed and have had the form of a bird.

A crow, to be specific. It’s a long story, but the most important things to remember are that my bestie, Blake, the demon queen herself, rescued me and helped to break the magic that had been placed on me.

Well, most of the curse has been shattered, anyway, aside from some remnants of dark magic that are still clinging to me like bad parasites.

In any case, it turns out I’m really a human with muddy brown hair and an unhealthy obsession with romance books.

Which is honestly pretty exciting, and kind of explains a lot, or at least it would if I could remember what happened to me. Hence, the library.

I can remember how to do the main things like walk, and speak, and read, apparently, but aside from that it’s a bit of a blur.

Except…books. I must have been a smut reader in my past life, because everything about the library seems familiar, and holding romance books in my hands feels like I’m reconnecting with old friends.

Oh, I should say I have vague memories of being stuck in a cage as a crow before I was rescued, and seeing my previous owner read books, but my love for literature of the more depraved kind clearly goes deeper than that.

Leaning back, I peer at the stack of books piled next to me and my gaze fans out across the library shelves.

Blake said something about memories sometimes being rekindled by touching certain objects and going to familiar places, so that’s why I’m here in the human realm in the biggest library in the city.

I mean, where else am I going to find the answers about my past?

Pages deep in book smut, of course. At least, that’s the theory.

Blake had wanted to come with me, and so did her mates, but she has enough on her plate in the demon realm.

She’d insisted that I take a few guards with me, who had been glamored with a disguise, but they’d been so annoying always breathing down my neck, so we came up with a compromise.

I could get rid of the guards as long as I promised to wear a portal ring she crafted for me, and I checked in with her regularly.

A little possessive if you ask me, but hey, I wouldn’t want to lose me as a friend either. It seems fair.

I fidget with the ring on my right index finger that has a tiny crow molded into the silver.

Forged using a mixture of demon and witch magic, all I would have to do is activate the power of the ring, and I could create a portal and see Blake right now.

I should check in with her soon, but it’s been weeks since I came here, and I know she’ll ask me the same thing she has every day this past week—why don’t I take a break and return home for a while?

Home. My chest pangs, guilt twisting through me like thorny vines are wrapped around my heart.

For a long time, when I was with Blake everything seemed okay.

But now that the curse has mostly been removed, I can feel forgotten memories teetering on the edges of my mind, not quite coming into view.

And I hate to admit it, but I really don’t know where my home is.

I blow out a long breath, and my chest falls. Nope, I came here to find out about my past, and I’m not leaving until I figure this out.

Uncrossing my legs, I stretch them out, yelping when it feels like pins are stabbing up and down my calves.

Crap, this again? I wince, placing down the tentacles book and squeezing my eyes shut until it passes.

I swear, being human is so weird. The first time this happened I’ll admit, I may have screamed a little.

Okay, a lot. Thankfully, the kindly head librarian was able to console me and explain that feeling tiny pins pricking my legs is completely normal when you sit cross-legged for too long.

Who knew? Anyway, thankfully she didn’t kick me out for disturbing the peace, though she has given me a few strange looks since then. Oops.

I still have my eyes closed when soft fur brushes under my fingers, and a small body lifts my hand, a steady vibration going up my arm.

Cracking my eyes open, I smile at the orange cat who’s peering at me with slitted eyes, his tail high in the air behind him.

Twisting his head, he licks my fingers like they have catnip on them, and my smile turns into a knowing grin.

Pumpkin is the head librarian’s cat, and he has liked me from the moment we met.

Sure, it’s probably because he can somehow sense I used to be a bird, and he thinks I smell like dinner, but hey, it’s nice to have a friend.

“Here,” I whisper to Pumpkin, grabbing a few cat treats I have in my backpack close by and holding them out to him. He meows as he takes them from my fingers, eating them greedily. I give him one last pat, and I pull out a black sketchbook and pencil from my pack.

Opening the book, I flip through my drawings until I come to a blank page.

The sketchbook had been Blake’s idea. She’d suggested drawing pictures and taking notes as I remember things.

A sort of memory journal, I guess you could call it.

Unfortunately, because I haven’t really remembered anything useful it has simply turned into a mess of my random thoughts, quotes, and sketches of my favorite book characters.

When I finish a book, I spend some time doodling the characters as I picture them in my head.

The drawings aren’t particularly good, but I must have done some of this in my past, because due to muscle memory my drawings aren’t heinously bad, either.

Guess that’s something else I’ve learned about myself.

Smut reader? Check. Amateur artist? Also, check.

I spend some time drawing my tentacled new book boyfriend, but instead of sketching the female main character from the book, I draw myself.

Because why not, right? When that’s done, I place my sketchbook down and turn my attention to the stack of books beside me.

Leaning over, I pick up one of the novels from close to the top of the stack.

I’ve read this one before. It’s a fantasy romance set in a faerie realm, and it’s the only book that has seemed to dislodge something in my memory.

The moment I touch the hardcover, the word ‘TAMPON’ flashes in my head like a warning.

At first, it only happened when I read about one of the main characters in the story, but now it keeps repeating whenever I touch the book.

It’s freaking weird, and I still haven’t figured out what it means.

“Tampon…Tampon…” I mutter in confusion to Pumpkin as he stalks away from me.

The cat only meows in response and walks around the edge of the bookshelf, disappearing from view.

I mean, I get what a tampon is, but I don’t understand what they have to do with this book.

With a shrug, I turn to the first page and start to read.

Eventually, the tampon warning goes away for a while, and I’m transported to another world yet again, lost inside another story.

I’m just starting to get to one of the juicier bits when the word ‘TAMPON!’ blares in my mind again, startling me.

I jerk back, feeling like my brain is purposely sabotaging my fun, when the lights in the library flick off.

There’s the creak of closing doors followed by a thud, and the sound of a key turning in a lock.

What the hell? Sitting up straight, I tip my head up, peering through the high domed windows of the library.

Stars twinkle in the night sky high above, and weak moonlight streams through the glass, illuminating the worn carpet and the bookshelves closest to me.

I’d known it was getting late, but I hadn’t realized how much time had passed.

Normally, I’d have left for my little apartment hours ago, but is it really that late?

Had I missed the librarian’s last warning that it was closing time?

My heart is pounding hard as I move quickly from where I’m huddled at the very back of the library, and I start making my way to the front of the building.

When I reach the large wooden door that leads out onto the street, I yank on the brass knob.

The door rattles, but it doesn’t open. Crap.

Okay, it’s no big deal, I’m sure this happens all the time.

Breathe, Shade. I try the door again, just to be sure, but of course it remains locked.

Okay, so you’re stuck in here, but it’s not so bad.

It’s a night with books. You love books, I tell myself.

Of course I do love them, but I can’t say I want to spend the whole night here.

Around me all the library desks are empty, and ghostly shadows cling to the stained wooden furniture, looking like distorted demons who have come out to play.

A creak sounds from somewhere to the side of the room, and I jerk in that direction, feeling on edge. Relax, it was probably Pumpkin, I scold myself. Yep, that’s right. It was only Pumpkin. Except I know for a fact that the head librarian takes Pumpkin home every night. Double crap.

I’m aware I’m freaking myself out for nothing. If anything, I should be enjoying having more time here, but something feels off, and I don’t think it’s just my overactive imagination playing tricks on me.

There’s another noise, and this time it comes from the back of the library.

My heart skitters as I start to spin around, and I swear something cold brushes by me.

I barely hold in my scream as something icy slides against my arm.

The sensation is gone again in an instant, but the air becomes frigid, like it’s winter outside and someone’s left the door open.

No, no, no. Please don’t tell me I’m not alone in here.

My gaze frantically scours the area around me, and my heart nearly stops beating altogether as the shadows clinging to the desks and bookshelves all seem to move as one.

The dark shadows form strange shapes that resemble huge ghastly creatures, and they seem to slide to the back of the room.

I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that I’m imagining things, and when I open them again, I’m relieved to find the shadows are back to normal. No more creatures.

I blow out a shuddering breath. See, it was nothing?

Only my words are empty, because I can still sense…

something. Fear tugs at my chest, making my heart beat so loudly in my ears I swear anyone in the library could hear it.

Because I’ve just remembered that I’ve felt this before—an ice-cold sensation that seems to fill every part of my essence, bringing with it a cold so deep I feel as though I could never free myself from it.

I remember this feeling from a time when I’d been on a mission with Blake and had almost been lured into the shadow realm itself.

From a time when it wasn’t only fear I felt, it was familiarity.

Holy smokes. There are shadow monsters in here.