Page 275 of Cursed Evermore

Not even the soothing escape of Hyxian's library could help me today.

The familiar embrace of aged parchment, beeswax candles, and golden light filtering through the stained glass usually wrapped around me like a warm cloak.

Instead, my sanctuary had become a prison of my own restless thoughts.

The leather-bound tome in my lap might as well have been written in a dead language. As I stared at the familiar pages about medicinal herbs and healing spells, the same details about bloodroot and nightshade that had once captivated me for hours blurred together like ink in water.

Beside me, Arielle straightened, and I could feel her worried gaze burning into me. She didn't say anything. There was nothing more to say that she hadn't already said—that I shouldn't worry, that Wolfe would figure things out, that there was nothing more we could do besides what we were already doing.

But nothing could calm my troubled mind. Worry gnawed at me like a living thing, its teeth sharp and persistent. Every shadow that shifted beyond the tall windows made my pulse quicken. Every creak of the old building's bones sent tension racing up my spine.

Everything made me feel like the walls of reality were crumbling around me.

I'd been on edge since yesterday, even before we attempted the spell. Then, as it failed again, after looking so damn promising, I broke down completely.

That had been devastating enough, but watching Wolfe's guard disintegrate into a pool of black tar before disappearing into nothing had torn open my eyes to the bigger picture. The brutal reality we were truly facing.

Finding the ring had been our common goal from the moment I learned my father possessed it. It was the thing that had consumed my thoughts almost as much as Wolfe himself.

But yesterday, I’d witnessed the cruel sting of rebellion festering in the kingdom. The darkness we were up against was so much worse than I'd imagined. And from what Marcus had revealed, it was bigger than just my problems.

It sounded like the prelude to war—the thing no one was talking about.

Wolfe had returned briefly last night to check on me, but we'd barely had five minutes together before he left again. Garrick was unusually quiet this morning, and Arielle seemed on edge.

Whatever Wolfe and the others had found at that camp must have been horrific. Marcus had said those creatures—the ones who whispered with no lips and watched with no eyes—had killed everyone and performed some dark ritual. And they'd killed children, too.

That part destroyed me. All of it distressed me, but that truly got to me. What kind of sick bastard murdered children?

The image of those small, broken bodies wouldn't leave my mind, no matter how hard I tried to push it away. Those poor children would never grow up and never have the chance to live the lives that had been stolen from them. Each thought crushed my heart.

Arielle and I had come to Hyxian as planned, but it felt more like a distraction for both of us. I couldn't have stayed at Vyrenth Hollow today. The walls felt too close, too heavy with yesterday's failures. Still, I was desperate to know what was happening.

And to see Wolfe.

All the promises he'd made me just before Marcus appeared meant everything to me. His words carved into my heart and became my world.

"Some things are stronger than curses. Some love is too deep to erase. Like ours."

I'd never remember him saying those words to me, but I knew my heart would. And so would my soul.

I had six days. That was it. Six days until I forgot all of this.

Then I'd start all over again.

"Hey, there." Arielle reached over and touched my arm.

I looked up, finding her watching me intently. “Hey.”

“Do you want to grab something to eat or drink before we head off to the seminar? I can get you those muffins you like.” She smiled, hopeful.

I shook my head. “I’m okay. And I was actually thinking of skipping the seminar, but I know you have to go.” The Archmage had asked her to do a presentation.

“I don’t have to go if you want me to stay.”

“No, it’s fine. I can hang out here and practice my conjuring techniques. It will help to… well, help me focus on something else.”

“Okay. But remember those techniques come with time.”