Page 29 of Hunted (Love and Revenge #5)

They stared at each other. Then hugged like enemies who were secretly looking for a good place to stick a knife in each other’s backs.

Rags ignored the rest of us and turned to wave an arm at a chubby, non-descript man who sat on a bench at a rough-hewn log table. “There’s your man. Hand over the goods and take him. He’s stinking the place up.”

I really doubted he was the one who stank. But what did I know?

The poor guy looked like he was willing to do anything to get the hell out of this “swampy anus” of a hiding place—Sanka’s words to describe the bog witch hideout on our trip here had been... colorful, to say the least.

The curse breaker pushed up his glasses and stood, a backpack slung over one arm. “The dragon shifter said she’d make it worth my while if I helped you lot,” he said, clearly unimpressed. “She’d better deliver, because I left a tropical island for this.”

His eyes landed on me, and he paused, assessing. “You...” he said, voice trailing off.

My breath caught.

“I know what you want,” he said with a shake of his head. “But it will cost you, kid.”

“I don’t care,” I said flatly.

“Oh, I’m sure you think that now,” he replied in a tired voice that said he’d heard it all before. “We’ll see about that when the time comes.”

I swallowed.

“Let me see it,” he said, gesturing at me to come closer.

I hesitated. “See what?”

“The bond, obviously. I take it you don’t want to wait until we get back to Detroit to address your little issue?”

He wanted me to purposefully connect to Acacia? I glanced at Sanka. The big sorcerer clapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m right here bud. And you’ve got a bunch of powerful witch crazies and a curse breaker with you. She can’t hurt anyone here.”

Forcing myself to unclench my fists, I rolled my shoulders back and took a deep breath. Right. Let Acacia in. Voluntarily. That sounded like a splendid idea.

But I did it. I eased up on the rough, barely effective mental blocks Sanka had been teaching me. Not all the way. Just enough to catch Acacia’s nauseating attention.

The curse breaker reeled back a step. “Ah. There she is. Still greedy as ever. Still a black hole where her soul should be. Thought for sure someone would have beat you at your own nasty games by now, Queenie.”

Curse breaker, I heard her hiss in my mind.

She was trying to speak through me, but distance, the temporary but powerful spells Sanka had layered over me, and the oppressive presence of the bog witches seemed to prevent her from fully taking over.

Good, she hissed. I’ve always wanted a curse breaker of my own. How nice of you to bring him to me.

The curse breaker stepped closer. His hands moved in odd gestures, not quite like a sorcerer’s spells, not quite like any magical signs I’d seen before. Then he touched my chest, just once. My stomach lurched.

“Your will and your identity are unraveling,” he told me flatly. “But not completely lost. Not yet.”

“Can you sever the bond?” I managed between closed teeth, as I tried to shove Acacia back out of my mind.

“Yes.”

My heart stuttered. Acacia laughed inside my head. I’d like to see him try. He’ll fail of course. But his humiliation and your soul-crushing loss of hope should be delicious to witness, my stupid little pet.

“I can,” the curse breaker continued, unaware of my inner dialogue. “But I won’t.”

My fangs ached and my fists clenched at my side. “What—”

“Not unless you give me something first,” he said, not the least bit afraid of me. Payment first. Of course.

“What do you want?” I ground out.

He smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant expression. Here was a man who was used to being used. One who had learned to own his worth and demand payment when due. “A memory,” he said. “One that defines you.”

I blinked. “What?”

“A memory,” he repeated. “Unedited. Untouched. Yours. Given freely. You’ll forget it forever. It will become mine. ”

I looked at Sanka. The sorcerer scowled. “What kind of nasty spell do you need that for? That’s the kind of shit gets you labeled as a black magic user.”

“Is it safe?” I asked, already knowing I was going to give in to his demands. I had to. I had to get this monster out of my head.

“No,” Rags said from where they had gone to pour themselves a cup of tea from the teapot that sat on an uneven countertop on the far side of the room, next to an old potbellied stove. “It’s not safe. But it’s fair.”

I turned to Richard, of all people. I don’t know why. He shrugged. “I’d do it, if I was in your position.”

Of course, he didn’t have to. I didn’t even know why he was still hanging around. Sanka’s suppression charm and a bit of distance would free him from Acacia. I wasn’t so lucky.

I hesitated. “Which one?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. “Which memory?”

“I won’t know until I see what you’ve got to offer,” he said. “But it has to be valuable to you. Has to be a part of you.”

I closed my eyes. “Fine. Yes. Take whatever you need to get rid of this parasite inside me.”

“Josh—” Sanka started to protest, but I held up a hand to silence him. I didn’t want to hear his concerns. I didn’t need to dread this more than I already did. I knew I would do it anyway. I wanted Acacia out of my head no what matter the cost.

The curse breaker stepped closer and placed one hand on either side of my head without preamble.

Magic flowed through me, different than any I had felt before.

This man’s power was similar to Sanka’s, but not.

A bit like the vampires who were talented at mind manipulation.

A bit like some witches I’d seen working their magic.

This magic took bits and pieces of other magics and made them into something more.

It only took seconds, but it felt like hours, as I relived a rapid-replay of my most cherished memories—some I hadn’t even realized were there until he pulled them up, examined them, and tossed them aside, like shuffling through an old deck of cards.

“Ah!” he finally said, clearly pleased with what he was seeing.

My heart stuttered in my chest as the memory replayed in my mind, remembered sensations flitting over my skin like a ghostly caress.

The memory of the night Sadavir kissed me for the first time.

The curse breaker zeroed in on it immediately, as if he could sense the pain in me at the thought of losing this. Not because it was of any value to him or anyone else. But because it was precious to me.

But I knew that all powerful magic had a price. I didn’t want to be the weapon Acacia made me. So, I made this sacrifice willingly. I told myself we could make new memories, once I was rid of Acacia. But the tears welled up and spilled from my closed eyes anyway.

“All set,” the curse breaker said a second later.

When I opened my eyes, I felt hollow. Was that it? I had barely blinked. I didn’t know what I had given him. But I felt a vague sense that something valuable was missing. Something I had cherished...

The curse breaker held a glass vial filled with faint light. He corked it as I watched, then slipped it into his sleeve. “We’ll have to wait until the Cold Moon,” he said with a nod. “I’ll do the severing then.”

“The Cold Moon?” I muttered, feeling dazed. “What is that?”

“December,” Sanka said on a sigh. “Great.”

“That’s it?” I asked, still feeling off-center. “Just... give you a memory and wait a month for the full moon?” My heart sank. A month was a long time for Acacia to fuck with my mind—and mess with the court through me.

“For now,” the curse breaker said drawing me out of my sudden spiral.

He turned, paused, and started rummaging around in his backpack.

Then he tossed me a pendant. It burned when I caught it.

And there was something familiar about it.

.. it took a moment for me to realize what the heartbeat I felt against my palm meant.

The pendant pulsed in time with my hunger, like a dark second heartbeat.

“You’ll need that,” he said. “To survive what’s coming. Acacia’s going to make your life a living hell until I can get her out.”

My vision swam as rage came over me. Acacia had been so smug and sure of her power. But now she was wary, suddenly questioning her hold over me. My mind went blank. Everything went black.

Odin cawed from somewhere nearby.

I slowly came back to myself and realized that Ruya’s bird was sitting on my shoulder, gazing intently at my face.

The glistening black beads of his eyes flashed, temporarily turning clear, crystalline blue.

I blinked and the color was gone. Back to birdy black.

He launched himself off my shoulder and circled above us with another echoing caw.

We were outside again. But I didn’t remember how I’d gotten here. The swampy air felt too wet and too heavy, like it would suffocate me.

Sanka put a hand on my back. “You okay?”

“No,” I said. “But I’m not hers right now. Not completely.”

“Good,” Richard said happily. “Because I just hate being friends with evil puppets. It’s so gauche.”

I didn’t laugh.