Page 22

Miranda

The helicopter slams into the snow-packed ground, groaning metal scraping and creaking as my heart pounds in my chest. When the racket finally stops, the helicopter has also stopped moving. We’re still upright, at least, and I take a huge gulp of air.

“ Rai passed out,” Colt offers in my mind as he looks over his shoulder at me and removes his headset. “ I think this was too much of a strain on him. His curse.”

I nod, more to myself than him. I can’t even imagine the amount of energy Rai has exerted today, with his newfound control. But he got us here safely. “We have to get him out of here,” I call out as I pull my headset off, too. Aubrey follows suit, and I disconnect my harness and slide from the vehicle, my sneakers sinking into the layer of snow atop the ice.

Colt and Aubrey help pull Rai from his seat, and he’s nothing but dead weight. I flinch as they adjust his arms around their shoulders, the tops of his feet dragging on the snow when they turn and face me.

Colt surveys the helicopter. “Rai disabled the tracker, but anyone could see this thing from the air or land.”

Yes, the helicopter is a big black X surrounded by pure white. But what can we do? Even if Aubrey destroyed it, that would create a huge explosion just as easy to see as the vehicle itself.

But what if…?

Before putting more thought into it, I step back a bit and extend my hand, palm down. Eyes closed, I feel for the moisture in the air, the cold temperature all around us. A deep inhale cools my lungs, and I let it out, slow, all the while thinking two things: If Rai can do his best to help us with his curse, so can I. And, I want this helicopter surrounded by camouflaging ice.

The skin of my hands and forearms turns cold before I hear that familiar cracking sound of ice as it forms. I visualize the helicopter encased in a dome of solid white, and my hair rises from my back and shoulders, taken by a breeze that surrounds me. I concentrate harder and open my eyes, demanding my will be done. Demanding it of the elements, of the universe, of my curse.

My hands and arms are encased in jagged ice, sharp claws tip my fingers, puffs of white, cold air emanate from them. I close my hand into a fist, and with the motion, ice springs up from the ground and also forms in the air, thick and solid, covering the helicopter in a dome of white.

I gasp air into my lungs, unaware of how long I’d been holding my breath. Panting, I turn to my Alphas with wild eyes, the ice crumbling from my arms as my body begins to shake.

There is fear mixed with awe in Aubrey and Colt’s faces, and Colt gestures to Aubrey before walking out from under Rai’s arm and taking me into a firm, warm embrace.

“That was amazing,” he breathes, then leans back to look me in the eye. “You are amazing.”

I blink up at him, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion that chokes me, and I bury my face in his chest, squeezing him tight as tears stream from my eyes.

I did it. I controlled my curse more than to touch someone.

That familiar slither in my chest returns after a long bout of quiet. Power, it whispers. Curse is a lie.

I startle, my eyes opening again to peer up at Colt, who wears a confused expression.

He still hears it, like my thoughts.

He blinks twice, then backs away with my hand in his. “Come on. Let’s get to that city.”

The arch is taller than the wall itself, looming what must be three stories high, while the walls surrounding it are a story or more shorter. The stone it’s made from is thick and sturdy despite what must be years and years of neglect. Not even the thick coating of ice and the layers of snow clinging to it have affected its sturdiness, as far as I can see.

The entire perimeter is foreboding and unwelcoming, even more so than the academy had been. And I’m not sure what to think of that.

What if we’ve made a mistake? What if this place isn’t safe?

“ Relax,” Colt thinks at me. “ I can hear the thoughts of the people here better now that we’re closer. They know we’re not GBE and are ready to welcome us. They...were expecting us.” He pauses, his head tilting in that way it does when he’s listening. “ They’re in the city center. An old government building.”

You don’t think it could be a trap? I ask.

He huffs a laugh in my head. “ I am all up in their brains, Bunny. I won’t let anyone get the drop on us.”

His reassurance, along with his new pet name for me, has a calming effect.

Passing through the arch, the interior of the city is enormous and blindingly white, the higher the sun rises in the sky. There are old guard posts, and what look like storefronts and office buildings. There are houses of all sizes the further we travel. And then we reach what must be the center, because a building with telltale Greek-style columns sits high on a hill, expansive with steps leading from the pathway to a closed double-door entrance.

We all stop and look up. There’s a sign above the door, protected by the overhanging roof. It’s gold and etched with fading black letters, but written in a language I don’t recognize.

Rai begins to stir in Colt and Aubrey’s grasp and looks at our surroundings, confused, then peers at the two holding him up. “What happened?” he nearly wheezes.

“Don’t worry, bro,” Colt tells him. “We’ve got you. Let’s get inside.”

We climb the steps, and when we get to the door, I walk ahead, the only one of us with free hands, and push the double doors open. They give no resistance as they swing inward and reveal an immaculate marble and gold interior with ornate area rugs, couches, and chairs behind a circular desk at the front. Everything is clean and looks like it could have been furnished today. But it’s as cold inside as it is outside. No fire in the fireplace, and the only light is provided by the sun through untouched, icy windows.

As the doors close behind us with a thud, Aubrey takes Rai to a nearby chair as Colt comes up beside me, brows furrowed. “ I don’t hear them anymore,” he says in my mind. “ As soon as we entered this building, their thoughts just... poof.” He motions with his hand, fingers touching and then separating with a wiggle like a little explosion.

I frown and move about the entryway, peering at paintings that look like old frescoes from history books, but on varying levels of faded canvas and with golden frames. One giant scene shows a woman in full battle armor, her golden helm adorned with a starburst at the top, dark hair flying in the wind, a glowing golden sword in her grasp. At her side and behind her back are four men, all in similar armor and wielding different weapons. At their feet are bodies, bloodied and battered, gore spilled across the ground.

The woman looks straight ahead, one of those paintings where the eyes appear to follow you wherever you walk, and hers are bright blue like the sky above her.

On the bottom of the frame is a plaque in English: “Omega Morozov and Pack Conquer The Deceivers.”

My lips part in question and awe as Colt, who I hadn’t realized was beside me, whispers, “Would you look at that? Morozov was a female Omega, not a male Alpha. And she had a pack.”

“Much of our true history has been lost over the centuries.”

A female voice booms through the room, startling me and forcing my attention to the floor above us where two people stand behind a banister looking down on us. Both are wrapped in thick cloth from head to toe, their faces and hair obscured. The one beside the female is a male Alpha, tall and muscular, his arms crossed over his chest in a power stance.

Aubrey is beside me in a blink and takes a defensive stance, as though he may use his curse—his power —at any moment.

“ I still can’t hear them,” Colt thinks with no small amount of frustration.

“Peace,” the woman calls. Then, her gloved hands move up to pull her head-wrap off to reveal a beautiful woman, her hair dark and mussed, her skin porcelain and even. She’s older than us, although I can’t tell how much.

My gaze shifts from her to the painting beside me and back, my brows rising in surprise. This woman is the spitting image of the warrior.

The woman smiles as she moves to the stairs on one side of the landing. “My ancestor,” she says, as if reading my mind. Is she like Colt? Is that why he can’t read their minds? Then again, I suppose I gave away what I was thinking.

“My name is Willow,” the woman points at herself before gesturing to the Alpha now behind her. “That is my mate, Caius.”

Caius takes that cue to also remove his hood and face cover, revealing a handsome man with mocha skin, dark eyes, and a nose as sharp as his chiseled jaw. His thin lips are set in a straight line, seeming angry, but when our gazes collide, he winks at me.

Unsettling…

“I know what you are.” Willow is on the ground floor with us now, walking slowly toward us, arms at her sides as if showing us she’s unarmed. As if that actually means something for Cursed. “We’re the same,” she continues, “called Cursed by the Deceivers, their jealousy and greed leading those with power down a path of obscurity. Of slavery.” Her gaze shifts across us, and when she looks at me, there’s pain in her blue eyes. So much sorrow that I can feel it in my chest, my eyes blur with tears.

Colt stiffens beside me, and I find his brows drawn and lips parted. His mismatched eyes look at me before he gives a weak smile and takes my hand.

“We were told to expect your arrival.”

Just as Colt has said. “By who?” I ask.

Her smile is kind. “The Rebellion is everywhere, even inside that horrid academy. And the facility of the young ones.”

I swallow. So it’s all true. Change is coming.

“Who are these ‘Deceivers’?” Rai makes his way to stand with us, his movements sluggish.

“The Betas,” Willow responds, not hiding her disgust. “Not all are our enemy. Most, like you, don’t know the truth. If they did, things may be different.” Her jaw sets. “Make no mistake, however. Every single member of the Beta Council knows the truth. Every high-ranking military official knows the truth.”

“And...what is the truth?” My voice is thin, my heart pounds in my chest.

Willow looks at me with pity in her eyes and takes a deep breath before answering. “There is no curse. All of us are supposed to be this way. Even Betas.”