Page 37 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

~ Shade ~

“ Y et?” I mumble against his shirt.

He lets out a long, frustrated sigh. “When they taste you, they’ll understand.”

I’m completely spent, but at the idea of Raith and the others ‘tasting’ me like Galen just did, desire still sweeps through me. “What will they understand? That I’m irresistible and you’re all crazy for denying that we’re mates?” I ask playfully.

I expect him to snort and correct me with whatever theory he has about me, but my heart nearly stops when he simply replies, “Yes.”

There’s silence for a moment.

“It’s impossible, but there’s no other explanation for how delicious you taste,” he says softly. “You must indeed be our mate.”

I lift my head from his chest. “Why do you all keep saying it’s impossible?”

There’s a flicker of indecision on his face before he speaks. “We may not be like the prince in the story,” he says, indicating to where the book from earlier now sits on a high shelf. “But in a way we are like the beast.” His expression shutters. “The four of us are cursed.”

I frown. “Cursed how?”

His lips thin. “There’s not much time before you need to be at your next class. Raith hates waiting.”

“Then I guess you’d better hurry up and spill the beans, buddy.”

He grins. “If you weren’t so distracted during your class on the History of the Shadow Realm, this would be easier to explain.”

I make a face. “Me? You were the one being a distraction.”

He laughs under his breath and brushes my hair away from my face.

“Well, let’s see if I can summarize this quickly.

Centuries ago, Queen Krosia was the first human to find a shadow pathway and make her way to the shadow realm.

She was the first to learn of the dark entities and become a shadow warrior—an immortal being with shadow powers.

After she came, then there were twelve more of us. ”

“The originals,” I chime in, mostly just to point out that I did learn something during his class.

“Yes,” he replies. “We each transformed into what we are today, and we banded together, fighting against the Xalgrith—the dark beings who wished to overwhelm us and destroy the realms.”

I imagine the professors on the battlefield all those years ago, the only ones protecting the shadow realm.

“But you couldn’t finish the job?” I point out. “I mean, there wouldn’t be an academy if you’d found a way to defeat them?”

“Correct again,” he says, his eyes sparkling, no longer black but back to a glittering turquoise.

“For a time, we thought we had, but the oracle assured us, we were wrong. So the originals were split. As queen of the shadow realm, Queen Krosia became an emissary to the other realms, though none of the other royals were willing to accept the severe nature of our fight. Of the remaining, six stayed to battle on the front lines, and another six were to run an academy where we could train more shadow warriors. Warriors who would be essential if we were to survive the centuries to come.”

“You say Queen Krosia was an emissary,” I point out. “Why not get the other realms to join you?”

His laugh is dry and devoid of humor. “We tried. None of the other realms were interested in sending warriors to join the cause. Admittedly, some had other battles to fight. In any case, us shadow warriors are a different breed of soldier. One forged for this war. But back to your question about the curse… Before the academy was built, the originals visited the oracle again. We were each given our own small prophecy. Knox, Thane, Raith, and I were delivered the same lines.”

I sit up in surprise. Going by the expression on Galen’s face, whatever their prophecy is, it’s nothing good.

Galen stares off into space, like he’s remembering something terrible.

His voice is lyrical when he speaks, almost like he’s reciting the words of a song.

“ When the time comes to close the fold, four must stand against the bitter cold. Only one can make you break, beware the bond of your beloved mate.”

I can’t breathe. The air is still, and the room is deathly silent except for the flames crackling in the fireplace. Beware the bond of your beloved mate. My heart pains.

“So, if I am your mate, I’m destined to ruin you four? Because of me, we could lose the war?” I don’t want to believe it, and my bottom lip wobbles. “But that still doesn’t explain why you think it’s impossible for me to be your mate.”

I tilt my head up to peer at him and immediately wish I hadn’t. Sadness pulls at his features. “Well, it’s impossible because we did find our mate. Or rather, Knox did. And by the queen’s orders, measures were put into place soon after to ensure our mate wouldn’t be an issue.”

I know it’s wrong, but white-hot jealousy shoots through me followed by an ache in my chest. No wonder Knox doesn’t like me. He’s already met his true mate, and I’m not her. “What kind of measures?” I squeeze out, my heart beating wildly.

He gives me a soft, sad smile. “The queen called it a protection spell, but in truth, it was a curse. The magic placed on us prevents us from ever finding our mate again. A barrier was placed between us. One so strong that even the magic of Lady Fate could not break it. And, for countless years, we have been here in this academy, protected to an extent until we’re needed for that final battle.

Until the opportunity presents, and we can close the fold and finally end this war. ”

“But your mate… If you’d already found her...” Realization dawns on me. “Knox…” I breathe his name, finally understanding why the man looks so angry all the time.

“Knox was the one to find her through her dreams, and he allowed Raith to visit her as well. After the curse severed the connection, neither of them has been the same.”

I swallow hard, thinking about how difficult that must have been for them.

To have found their mate and then lost her forever.

The ache in my chest spreads, and it’s not just because I feel terribly for them, but also, because as much as Knox and the others denied it, I was so certain they were mine.

“But if that’s true, then I can’t be your mate.

So it is impossible.” If I was the mate Knox had found, he would remember me.

Galen looks thoughtful, and he wets his lips, his eyes heating with desire like he’s tasting me all over again. Despite the sad story, my body still responds, and he grips me tighter possessively.

“Going by how you taste,” he whispers, “I’d say Lady Fate has a sense of humor, and she’s sent us another mate somehow thwarting our spell.”

Another mate? I’m not sure how to feel about that. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“I’ll admit, I’ve never heard of it happening, but it’s the only explanation I can come up with,” he says.

“And what if I’m the one the oracle was warning you about?”

“Then I suppose you might ruin us.” Despite his bleak admission, a smile crawls onto his face.

“But that’s terrible,” I reply. “So why are you smiling?”

“Because, dear mate, these long years have been filled with research, and there’s one conclusion that I keep coming back to.”

“And what’s that?”

“That we should have come up with a different solution to fix this. The curse didn’t simply change our future, it changed us, and if there’s even the slightest chance that I’m right and you are our mate, there might just be hope that you can heal us all.”

“You mean before I destroy you?” I say still confused.

“Exactly.”