Page 14 of A Cursed Bite (Bound to the Enduar #1)

VANN

P erhaps it is guilt from attending the Mating Journey, but Adra’s face lurks in the corners of my mind, haunting me as I move through the tunnels of my dreams.

I find myself at a wedding ceremony that never happened. We were a couple cursed before we could even begin. There is a blue gown, a chain of thousands of crystals, each one shattered, useless. Blood is staining the floor, and Adra is beside me, our bodies sprawled against the cold, unyielding stone, unable to stand, to move, to reach the place that should have bound us together.

This isn’t real, but it feels like it when the stone presses into the back of my skull, sharp enough to numb my face. This dream has come to me before. I don’t want to watch what comes next. Don’t want to hear her sadness.

“My Vann,” her voice whispers. “My strong, mad love. Time robbed us of something we borrowed. Be happy and let me go.”

I open my mouth, trying to argue. But the rock beneath us comes to life and spreads over my mouth, encasing me, trapping the words inside my throat. I scream against the stone, thrashing, fighting—until it consumes me completely.

The pressure mounts and crushes me beyond repair. I wait for death, for the moment I will finally be free to return to her .

Then a true scream rips through the silence.

Not my own.

Real .

I bolt upright, my chest heaving as I choke on nothing. My tongue tastes of dirt, my throat is raw, and my lungs burn as I hack and cough, trying to force out something that isn’t there.

Another scream shatters the silence.

I am out of my bed in a second, grabbing the knife I keep under my pillow, my body already moving before my thoughts catch up. The house is cold and there is a lingering scent of old smoke and mead.

Then I hear a final, gut-wrenching scream of a man dying. I’d heard it a thousand times on the battlefield.

It comes from nearby.

Was it Arlet?

Has Daniel come back? My skin is colder than usual. I throw on some clothes, pound down the steps and run out my front door. The distance between my house and Arlet’s house is short and I shove her door open without hesitation. She could get mad at me for intruding later. The scent of blood hits me first.

The darkness is thick, but the metallic tang coils through my gut like a knife.

Damn it.

I surge forward, leaving the door open and pushing through the hallway, my feet too fast, too desperate. I feel lightheaded. The cold that creeps through my limbs, that sick, creeping circulatory collapse, is already starting.

I reach the stairs that lead to the second level where her bedroom is. Light spills from the open door.

Taking two steps at a time, my vision narrows to the scene inside.

Arlet stands over a mangled body, gore gumming up the tip of her red-stained knife. Who the fuck knows where she got that from?

Her chest heaves, her fingers dripping red. A new smell takes hold and I recognize something I haven’t tasted in months. Pure, dark magic .

I freeze, unable to comprehend what I am seeing. In the time I’d known her, she’d never exhibited any magical qualities.

When witches had come to the cavern, they hadn’t recognized her.

Until a week ago, there had been nothing to alert that her aura was tainted. And even after her strange behavior, I hadn’t noticed any trace of a curse—not when she was in the cavern, nor after the spider incident.

I suspect Daniel, but the body on the ground doesn’t look like him.I gape in horror at the poor human.

"Arlet,” I say

Her head snaps up.

Black eyes meet mine.

Not brown. Black .

A deep, abyssal void where warmth should be.

"Get out of my way," she hisses. Her voice is lower and darker than the bright, familiar tones I know.

And then she moves. The blade slashes through the air, too quick, too precise.

I dodge, barely. The jagged edge catches my arm, slicing fabric and biting into flesh. I hiss, but it is not the worst pain I have felt.

This isn’t her. Gods on their stony thrones, this isn’t her.

She lunges again, the weapon poised at my throat.

I catch her wrist, twisting the shard out of her grip, securing her arms as I yank her against my chest.

“Let me leave!” she shrieks, thrashing, her strength unnatural.

When her teeth sink into my arm, white-hot pain rips through my body.

I nearly drop her.

"Help!" I bellow. There should be others nearby, hopefully a patrol. It seems like they didn’t hear the first scream, but hopefully they will hear this.

My eyes return to the man near the bed. He’s definitely dead. I wish I could cover the body, so it wasn’t strewn about so disrespectfully .

Commotion comes from downstairs, but I don’t feel relief. Not while surrounded by tragedy.

“Vann?” Ra’Salore calls up. Gods damn it, his house is just a few rows down.

“Get Teo!” I shout back, as Arlet gouges her fingernails into my skin again.

I didn’t mind the pain, I would heal, but I don’t know what this curse is or how to make her wake up. She continues to thrash.

Soon, Faol arrives carrying a weapon. His expression is that of horror as his eyes land on the man, and then Arlet.

“Go, find someone else! I need help restraining her,” I grit out before he can comment.

It doesn’t take long for Faol to return with two hunters, but they linger near the door. A glow of light precedes the arrival of Queen Estela and Teo, and they are the first ones to enter.

Teo looks right at the body half on the bed, and half on the floor.

“Oh gods, who is that? Where is Arlet?” he demands.

Estela lets out a mangled cry, stunned when she looks at Arlet, who still thrashing in my arms.

“Who did this?” she asks, voice high with shock.

I say nothing as the queen moves. It’s an awful scene, and I don’t know how to tell her her friend did this.

Teo wraps his arms around his wife, pushing her behind him.

“Don’t look, mi amor, ” he says as he approaches the body. He kneels, but doesn’t touch the blood, carefully inspecting the person when Arlet hisses.

I watch Estela look at her friend. Arlet scrapes at me and the queen presses into the wall, confused and scared.

“I am sorry, Estela,” I start. “Arlet did this.”

“No,” she says, eyes wide. “She couldn’t…”

Arlet thrashes harder, kicking at me until her foot connects with my groin. I curse, pain shooting up my spine, and she drops to the floor, scrambling away from Estela’s light.

I stand just as Estela steps forward.

“ My star , no,” Teo clips .

We grab the queen at the same time, each catching an arm, and stilling her movement. Estela takes in a sharp breath.

“Stay back,” I growl.

“Wait. She fears me. She… whatever she is right now needs to be restrained before she hurts anyone else again. I think I can scare her, be ready to put her to sleep,” she says firmly, looking at Teo.

We release her arms, and she reaches into her pocket, producing a crystal. Amethyst, for sleep.

“You know how to sing, yes?” she asks me.

I nod once. “I can put her to sleep.”

Arlet makes another hideous sound. The air around her is twisting, warping, as if something unseen is curling its fingers through her. The edges of her form seem too sharp, her breath comes in ragged gasps, and her blackened eyes glint.

Teo walks with Estela as she moves forward. "Arlet, are you in there?"

Arlet hisses. Then she lunges.

Estela's magic acts faster. Light erupts. It floods the space, blinding and hot. For a second, I worry that Arlet is hurt. For a single, fractured moment—I see fear.

When the light dims, Arlet is cowering in the corner of the room.

I hurry forward, grabbing her and pressing the crystal to her temple. Arlet lets out an awful sound, trying to get away. My sleeping song is short and clipped, but the moment the crystal glows against her skin, her body goes limp against me.

The silent room is filled with horror.

Estela uses her finger to conjure another spell light that better illuminates the bed. It’s covered with tangled sheets stained red.

Her breath catches.

"Lord Vann." Her voice is raw. “Do you know who that is?”

“I don’t,” I say, reverently. Words pour through my mind—begging for a peaceful journey to the afterlife.

This is all wrong. Why was Arlet with anyone at all? And how did she turn into a monster?

“We must send someone to try to tend to the body and prepare it for burial,” Estela continues, then her throat bobs. “Ulla could…” she trails off, and presses a hand to her forehead.

Teo steps forward, wrapping his arm around Estela’s back. “I will find Ulla. Vann, I think you need to leave. Take her to the throne room. We will decide what to do from there.”

“All right,” I croak.

I stand, breathing through my mouth to avoid taking in more of the scent of blood and dark magic, and turn to leave.