Page 77 of A Curse So Cruel

Gosh, and why do they have to feel like worms!

Even as a crow, I’ve never liked them. If anything, that probably should have been an indicator that I wasn’t a realcrow. I mean, it’s not like I hate the creatures for what they are. They’re great for the soil and all that, but I can’t stand them on me, slithering and wiggling around, and I definitely never enjoyed eating them. I tried one once and couldn’t even choke the poor thing down.

The shadows aren’t quite the same thing, but instinctively, I want the worms off me. Power flows from my academy ring, zapping through my system like it’s searching for all the worms, and a single word crackles through me,“No!”The magic is chaotic and wild, and pain makes me bend over, bracing my hands on the table in front of me, but the shadow worms stop digging. They all freeze at once like they’re following my silent command.

I brace myself for the queen’s next assault, but it doesn’t come. Instead, her shadows slowly detract, sliding from my body and returning to her.

Thane frowns at me before averting his gaze.

I expect the queen to be furious, but when I peer at her, she’s smiling broadly with her pearly white teeth on display. “They may not be ready, but they are promising,” she muses, and the way she says it makes it seem like the comment is more to herself than anyone else.

I lean back in my chair, my chest heaving as I continue to grip the table in front of me. Her shadows might be gone, but the sensation of them inside me lingers, and I can’t shake the horrible feeling.

The queen beams at Knox. “This settles it, the hunt begins at sunrise, andallmust participate.” Her gaze goes to me again. “Especially that one. I think we’ve found our Token.”

“I’m sorry, what?”I send to Elgen and Tarlaz.“Did she just say ‘hunt’?”

“She did, girl,”Tarlaz replies.

“As in, some sexy man is going to hunt me down in the forest and ravage me like in all the good books, or a hunt as in, ahhh run for your life or you’re going to die?”I ask them.

“The latter,”Elgen replies dryly.“A hunt as in you’re the Token, otherwise known as the sacrificial lamb and prize of the game.”

“Sacrifice?”I groan inwardly. My gaze flicks to Galen and the others but none of them are looking at me.

“Yes, and we won’t even get to see the entertainment,”Elgen adds.

Before I can ask why not, Tarlaz says,“We can’t exit the academy building and you’re right about one thing, girl, the hunt will be in the forest.”

“There’s usually a hunt when we get close to another graduation. It’s a game of sorts, to weed out the weak before the graduation games begin. Typically, only the strongest students are forced to enter. The student who slays the Token gains favor with the professors, showcasing their strength, and they are guaranteed a place in the graduation games. However, it is strange for the queen to suggest the hunt take place now. Graduation is normally still months away,”Elgen says.

“As you wish,” Thane tells the queen, dipping his head. He doesn’t look happy about the hunt, but he doesn’t protest at the idea that I’m going to be sacrificed. In fact, none of them do.

“Oh yes!” the original who cracked the joke earlier jeers. Piercings run along the length of his head, and he’s easily as buff as Raith, though not quite as handsome. “This will be fun,” he adds with a psychotic smile.

I try to remind myself the queen and the originals are the good guys. That they’ve literally spent centuries protecting the realms, but all I can think about is how many students might die in the hunt tomorrow.

…And that the death toll will include me.

I feel numb. I’ve gone from thinking my mates might actually accept me, to the harsh reality that I never meant anything to them.

“This is it then, child,”Elgen rasps.“Unless your pitiful combat skills have magically improved, you’re done for.”

“Gee thanks,”I mutter sarcastically.“Wait, what do you mean? I thought you said I would be sacrificed? Do you mean, there’s still a chance I could survive the hunt?”

Neither Elgen or Tarlaz respond right away.

Eventually, it’s Elgen who speaks.“For every hunt there’s one Token. It’s usually the weakest student in the academy. They’re given a fifteen-minute head start, and then everyone else gets to begin. Theoretically, if the Token can find the relic before anyone ends their life, they win their immunity and the game is over.”

I groan, thinking of how slow I was in Thane’s physical training class.“A relic? And how many times has a Token found the relic in the past?”

There’s another stretch of silence.“None, child,”Elgen replies grimly.

“None?”I squeak.

“You forget the part where the Token is the weakest member,”Tarlaz points out.“And aside from that, finding the relic is a near-impossible task.”

My stomach drops.“Oh.”Then another thought occurs to me.“But I could leave the academy, right? I could say the words to end my enrollment. Sure, I’d lose my memory, but it’s still a way out, isn’t it?”