Page 75 of Cursed Evermore

“What the hells is this?” I gasped, shaking my hand.

“A magical shackle, so if you try to escape, I’ll know.”

Before I could say another word, the door opened, and two Fae males walked in.

Both were tall with the same build and warrior look as Wolfe. One looked like him with features so similar they had to be related. He also had the same cold look in his eyes.

“Come with us,” he spoke first while the other took my arm.

They looked like they expected me to fight, to run again. But I’d learned my lesson. There was nowhere to run, and no one was coming to save me.

The only way I was getting out of this hell was if Wolfe Nightblade decided to free me.

I looked back at him as I was ushered away.

He hadn’t stopped watching me.

His eyes followed me into the dark, where I felt the last of my hope fade away.

Was this how my life would end?

Not with blood.

Not with fire.

But surrender.

Chapter 14

Wolfe

“Chasing Ghosts Through Smoke”

Night had fallen hard, dragging the sky into a pit of ink so deep not even the stars dared shine. It was as if the world itself had forgotten the concept of light.

I sat in the shadows of my study alone drinking from a crystal goblet filled with obsidian wine. The decanter was half-empty on the table in front of me, a sign I may have drunk too much, but I'd needed the mental break that came with losing myself in wine that dulled reality's harsh edges.

That ominous feeling was still clutching the air. The feeling from earlier when I first came in here. It reminded me of the heaviness that permeated the heavens before a battle. As if time stood still and held its breath while it waited eagerly to see what was going to happen next.

I had no fucking clue what that was.

Yes, I had a big lead and Elariya was my tracker, but I didn’t know where to go from here. Worst of all, I couldn’t get the look of terror and disappointment she’d given me out of my head.

She’d thrown it my way as Alaric and Garrick led her away. It was a look I’d seen often on the faces of the helpless. Except she’d looked at me as if she wanted me to save her. Perhaps because we both knew I was the only one who could.

The ghost of her stare stayed with me, screwing with my mind as I tried to come up with a plan for how to use her to get the ring back. It was hard to believe that everything that led me here, to this point, was the easy part. Now I needed a spell that would work. One that would use her blood to show me where the ring washiding.

Hiding…Gods. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. The ring had beenhidingfor five years. Protecting itself from only the Gods knew what evil was after it. And Lord Grayson was wearing it.

That motherfucker’s foolish actions had cursed us all, mortal and immortal alike, binding our souls to a fate neither of us had chosen. Now our fates were tangled in one ruinous thread.

I would have loved nothing more than to delve deeper into the bigger mystery of who Lord Grayson was working for and what was truly going on, but those parts had to wait until I found the ring. I supposed the one good thing I had on my side was the ringwantedme to find it and had left clues. What a pity these revelations hadn’t come sooner. But perhaps fate had its own timing.

Throughout my years of searching for the ring, I would have been trapped in the same endless cycle unless some miracle had occurred. The Phantom Moon brought Elariya to me, so despite all my efforts I would have always had to wait.

Candlelight threw impatient shadows against the walls, the flames dancing and twisting like trees in the wind. I leaned back in the chair and stared, getting lost in the pattern as I tried to balance my mind.

After Elariya was taken to her room, I’d briefed everyone about what was happening. That was hours ago. I hadn’t seen anyone since, which was probably for the best.