Page 14 of Cursed (Wicked Heirs #2)

As silence settled over the garden, confusion flooded through me—what the fuck happened?

One minute she’d been hot and heavy and ready to drop to her knees in front of me—and I was ready for it. The next, she’d pushed me away like she’d seen a ghost.

Maybe I’d deserved it.

She was right not to trust us.

Irritation flared up and pushed away those thoughts.

I’d offered her something different— Sanctuary. Solace.

Titus wouldn’t give her that.

Bastian didn’t know the meaning of those words.

But I did. I understood what she was going through better than anyone else in this damned estate.

Wasn’t that enough?

“Avril!” I called after her as she fled towards the house, but her silhouette had dissolved into the shadows.

Panic surged in my veins and mingled with something darker—something possessive.

Without thinking, I took off after her.

I slipped through the garden’s shadows on silent feet. Avril’s choked sobs echoed strangely through the garden… she was easy prey.

My breath quickened, not from exertion but from the urgency that propelled me.

I had to talk to her— I had to find out what had happened.

I’d never seen anyone so frightened…

Lanterns, placed along the winding garden path, swung in the wind as I rushed toward the house.

I fought against the gnawing frustration that coiled in my chest—why did I care so much about someone who had just shoved me away?

But Avril was more than a plaything—my brothers were lying when they said they could use her and cast her aside.

We all craved her now. Even when I feared that craving would consume me whole, I couldn’t keep her out of my thoughts.

And I’d almost had her again…

Would she have gone through the front doors?

As I emerged from the edges of the garden, I suddenly realized why I was so eager to find her.

The grimoire was dangerous—too dangerous for someone like her.

A fierce need to protect her had taken root in my mind.

Titus and Bastian wanted to use her, and the power in those ancient pages, for their own ends… but I didn’t want to see her change as the grimoire’s magic took hold.

The mansion rose up in front of me and I frowned as I tried to decide which direction to go.

This damned house held too many secrets—too many nightmares.

I headed for the main doors, but then I noticed a streak of mud across the grass—Avril. She’d been running and must have slipped.

The ground was soft—it was always raining here.

I followed the second path and a ripple of unease cascaded down my spine as I saw a door standing open.

“Avril?” My voice came out strained and desperate and I gritted my teeth. No response.

Then I saw her.

She lay sprawled on the cold stone floor and her auburn hair fanned out like a dark halo that blended with the shadows that seemed to swallow her whole. Panic surged through me, sharp and unyielding. I rushed to her side and knelt beside her. My fingers trembled as I brushed strands of hair from her face. Her skin was pale, almost ghostly, and for a brief moment, the world around me narrowed down to just her.

I took hold of her shoulder and squeezed gently. “Avril—”

No response. Just silence.

Without thinking, I gathered her into my arms and cradled her against my chest.

She was so small, so fragile.

“You shouldn’t have run,” I murmured. I lifted her effortlessly and kicked the door closed.

The shudder of it echoed through the hallway, but I didn’t pause to wonder if anyone had heard it.

I carried her through the silent house and up the grand staircase to her room. When Lucian first moved her into this suite, the sigils on the door kept us out—but they had weakened enough to let us back in.

Bastian spied on her through her mirrors, and I…

Well.

Now her dreams were my playground.

But this was different.

The door swung open with a soft creak, revealing a sanctuary that felt foreign and hauntingly intimate all at once. The last time I had been in this room—was the night we had betrayed her.

I laid her down gently on the bed and was struck by how pale she looked against the rich damask coverlet.

“Avril—”

She didn’t stir.

I could have left her there—rang for the servants to come and care for her.

But I felt somehow… responsible for her current state.

It wasn’t my fault—

The malevolent pulse of the Bloodstone Grimoire was thick in the room, a barely concealed presence, and I glanced over my shoulder to where it lay on her vanity.

I grabbed her arm and pulled up the sleeve of her cashmere sweater dress.

Freshly healed wounds criss-crossed her forearm, and dark blood soaked into a fresh bandage on her hand.

She’d been using it.

Of course she had.

More than she should have.

Damn Bastian for showing her how to awaken the cursed thing.

With trembling hands, I reached into the well of my magic and allowed its essence to flow through me.

The air thickened with energy as I focused and poured my power into her. Soft tendrils of shimmering blue smoke wound around her slender form and brushed against her pale cheeks like a lover’s caress. I invoked the gentle currents of healing, channeling warmth and comfort—the incantations were strange on my lips, and I was amazed that I remembered them. Those spells were some of the only ones I remembered from my years at Messana Academy. The darker magic that Lucian demanded of us had replaced everything else… But right now, all I wanted was to pull Avril back from the abyss she had slipped into.

Her eyelids fluttered, and in that moment, time stretched taut. I held my breath and watched her hazel eyes open slowly, and registered the confusion that swam within their depths. But then, recognition dawned—and with it, terror.

Her fear rippled through me, a dark current pulling at my insides—

“Avril,” I murmured, careful not to startle her further. I wanted her to know she was safe now, but the wildness in her gaze told me my presence was anything but comforting.

“Where… where am I?” she stammered, her words tumbling out in a breathless rush.

“You’re back in your room. You’re safe,” I assured her. My fingers brushed against her arm, and I immediately felt the tension radiating from her. “You collapsed. What did you see?”

“Don’t,” she said sharply. She shrank back against her pillows and her body curling into itself like a wilting flower. The haunted look in her eyes was impossible to ignore, and I could see the shadows of whatever horrors she had seen dancing behind them.

“Please, just tell me what you saw,” I pressed, “let me help you.”

“Help?” A bitter, hollow laugh escaped her lips. “You can’t help me.”

She shivered and her gaze darted away, as if my presence burned her. But I knew she was looking at the grimoire.

“You’re not alone here,” I urged, and leaned closer. I searched her face for some sign of trust, some flicker of the bond we had shared before— Before we’d destroyed it.

“Valen…”

Her voice twisted something inside of me.

“Get out,” she hissed.

Her trembling intensified; the haunted look in her eyes deepened, and I swore I could see fragments of shattered glass swirling within them. The vision that tormented her, whatever it was, held her captive, and I was powerless to break the spell.

“Stop!” she cried, squeezing her eyes shut as if to block me out completely. “You don’t understand! I can’t—”

“Then help me understand,” I countered. “I’m not going to hurt you—”

“Why do you care?” she shot back. “You’re just like your brothers. You might think you’re different, but you’re not— You’re all the same.”

“Don’t you dare say that,” I growled.

“Or what?” she snapped. “What will you do? Use your magic against me?”

She wiggled her fingers mockingly at me, and I backed away.

“No,” I snarled. “I’m not like them.”

She glared back at me.

“I’m nothing like my brothers,” I repeated. “I’ve done everything in my power to protect you.”

Her laugh was sharp.

“Protect me? Is that what you were doing when you dragged me to Lucian’s study that night?”

There was nothing I could say that would take that away.

She was right.

“Get the fuck away from me,” she said through gritted teeth.

The fragile young woman I’d plucked from the floor was gone and a vengeful spirit had taken her place.

Rage had darkened her eyes, and she moved toward me like a serpent, seething with hate.

“Avril—”

“Leave,” she growled, and the soft push of her magic pressed against my chest. It was weak, as it always was, but there was something else, too...

Impossible.

With a frustrated grunt, I turned and walked away. She didn’t call me back, and as I stepped out into the coolness of the hallway, the door slammed shut behind me and the latch clicked into place.

What had she seen?

And what had caused the change that had descended over her—

The grimoire—it was the only answer.

It had haunted my dreams when I’d first attempted to gain control over it. Titus had mocked me ceaselessly for my weakness, and it had taken me longer to master it than Bastian.

The grimoire was dangerous, and Avril wasn’t strong enough to fight against its power.

If it took hold of her—there was no telling what might happen.

My brothers and I had been plotting to use her, and the grimoire—but now, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that whatever ghost haunted Avril could derail everything we had worked for.

If she had glimpsed something sinister, or if the ancient book had begun to unravel her mind, it could mean danger, not just for her but for all of us.

I leaned against the grand staircase’s wrought-iron railing and took a deep breath to steady myself.

Avril’s wide hazel eyes haunted me—dark and strange—why wouldn’t she tell me what she had seen?

I didn’t want to leave her alone and vulnerable, but if I wanted her to trust me, I had to obey her command.

Her mistrust cut deeply, but I knew I deserved it.

I had been the first to breach that trust on the day of her mother’s funeral, and while I wouldn’t change anything about what had happened between us—there were other things that I regretted.

I shuddered at the memory of the wounds I’d seen on her arms. Bastian had taught her how to access the grimoire’s hidden spells—but fresh blood spilled for dark magic had terrible consequences.

Lucian had given her that book for a reason—but why?

Now it threatened to swallow her whole - body and mind.

I dragged a hand down my face to try to rub away my frustration and guilt.

Avril was too fragile to confront the monstrous horrors of the past and the darkness that surrounded us.

If she didn’t let me help her—

The grimoire had consumed stronger minds and overpowered stronger magic than hers…

What hope did she have?

I considered going back to her and refusing to leave again…

What good would it do me?

If Lucian discovered our plan…

My hand tightened on the railing.

If Lucian discovered our plan, we might not survive his wrath.

None of us were strong enough to stand against him.

Not without the grimoire—and not without Avril.

“Fuck.”

I forced my legs to move and descended the stairs as quickly as I could—I had to get out of the house and away from the dark pressure of the grimoire. When it had come to me, I had been too close to falling under its power… At the bottom of the stairs, I dared to look up at Avril’s door.

Regardless of her intentions, dark, malevolent magic filled the grimoire. There was nothing good about it… any of it.

But the grimoire was deceptive, and even if she thought she could resist it… she was wrong.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” I muttered.

She didn’t.

But there was nothing I could do.

Not until she came to me for help.

And she will.

That thought wasn’t reassuring, but it had to be enough.