Page 19 of The Immortal’s Curse (Bound to the Immortals #2)

DARCIE

A shout rips from my throat, echoing against my bedroom walls. I bolt upright and whip my head from side to side, searching for any threat.

No one’s here. I’m safe. I lift a trembling hand and press it over my heart.

A slight tingling sensation lingers where Des’s power sliced into me, cutting me out of the vision, but there’s no pain.

I exhale a staggered breath, and my hand falls to the mattress.

I stare at the mirror on my dresser and take in the wide-eyed, pale young woman in front of me.

She looks terrified. Of course, she is. She just heard she’s freaking cursed.

Bile crawls up my throat, and tears burn my eyes. I need to get up. I need to do something before panic overwhelms me.

I shuffle to the edge of the bed. My feet touch the carpet. But the moment I lean forward, a throbbing pain shoots through my skull.

“Ah!”

I topple over, and a jolt stabs my wrists when I catch myself before collapsing onto my stomach. Squeezing my eyes closed, I breathe through the pain.

Long seconds pass, but the throb fades to a dull hum. I crack my eyelids and stare at the dust bunnies under my dresser.

I did it. I forced myself to have a vision. But I’ve never felt like this after one.

Is it because I was awake when I initiated the vision? Or is my pain because Des forced me out? Whatever the reason, something is wrong. Really, really wrong.

An earsplitting BOOM rattles the house. The walls shake around me as a flash of light sears through my window.

The splitting of wood accompanies the next crash.

I gasp. Was that the front door?

I press my palms to the floor, straining to push myself upright, but black specks swarm my vision, multiplying until the room tilts.

No! I can’t pass out. Not now.

Heavy footsteps pound against the wooden staircase.

Oh, shit.

Gritting my teeth, I push past the pain and lock my elbows, panting from the effort.

My bedroom door flies open. My eyes fly up, but the building shriek on my lips falls away when I see the dark-haired Immortal standing in the doorway.

Des.

My arms collapse beneath me. I squeeze my eyes shut, dragging in desperate gulps of air, begging my heart to slow its frantic pace.

“Darcie!” The air shifts as Des kneels next to my head. The scent of fresh air and evergreen trees trails into my nostrils. I inhale deep. Tension begins to seep out of my muscles.

“What happened?” His voice deepens. I imagine his hands hovering over my body, debating if he should touch me. I wish he would .

“What hurts?” he asks.

“Everything,” I mumble.

Fingertips brush my cheeks.

Warmth spreads from his touch, pushing away the pain. A sigh passes my lips. My eyelids flutter open, and breath lodges in my throat.

Des’s face hovers inches from mine. He scans my face, then his gaze travels down my body. The heat of his attention warms every inch of skin.

“What happened?” he asks again, his breath brushing against my forehead.

I inhale sharply, then exhale. “I had a vision.”

His eyes snap to mine. “What did you see?”

He already knows. I know he does. But the tight lines pulling at his eyes urge me to answer anyway.

“You.” I lick my dry lips, my voice stronger now that his lingering touch continues to chase away the pain. “And Thane. You were talking with the other Originals.”

He presses his lips together. “I see.”

I wait for him to say more, to admit he saw me there. To tell me he pushed me out of the vision. To explain that his actions are why I’m in so much pain. But he simply stares at me, looking over my weakened body.

“Does this happen every time you have a vision?” he asks.

“No.”

“What was different this time?”

“Other than you pushing me out of it?”

He stiffens. “Yes, other than that.”

“I… I kind of forced it. The others happened when I was asleep.”

Des rocks back on his heels, drawing his touch away from my cheek. Again, he mutters, “I see.”

Pain ricochets through my skull with a vengeance.

“Ah!” I curl in on myself, and my eyes slam shut .

“What is it?” Des asks, the words tumbling out in a rush. “What happened?”

“Touch me.” I croak. I don’t have the luxury of being embarrassed. I need him to touch me and rid me of this pain. Now .

Des’s hand shoots out and takes my palm in his.

I gasp. My body goes limp with immediate relief. My eyes flutter open. “Thank you.”

His features tighten. “This is not normal, Darcie. I need to get you to a healer.”

My grip on his hand tightens. “No. Please… I don’t want to go anywhere.”

Now that supernatural things are happening to me, my gut tells me that if the Immortals take me back to Greece, I’ll be trapped there indefinitely.

“The curse… It’s working.” Lome’s words play in my head, followed by Des’s angry shout.

I watch the Immortal and ask the question burning the tip of my tongue, “Is this happening because of the curse?”

His expression shutters. He doesn’t answer, but his silence speaks volumes.

Careful to keep my hand in his, I push myself into a sitting position, stifling my groans when my sore muscles protest the movement. Des tugs on our joined hands to help.

Once I’m up, I take a deep breath. Pain lingers, but it’s fading with every second.

I look at our joined hands, my thoughts spinning, then try a different tactic. “Did Lome tell you about the cut on my hand?”

If I’m hoping for answers, I might as well try to get all my questions out there.

My gaze flicks up. Des’s lips flatten as he replies, “Yes.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I take it that’s not normal either, is it?”

“Mortals have been altered by our proximity before,” Des says, no longer dancing around the issue .

I gaze at the baby blue rug beneath my desk chair, my throat tightening. “Is it… reversible?”

“If it can be undone, I swear to you, Darcie, nothing and no one will stop me from finding out how.” His earnest words catch me off guard.

My eyes lift to his, and the intensity there steals my breath. Heat flutters low in my stomach.

I believe him, but I can’t shake the thought that what’s happening to me is permanent. Or the fear that ripples through me when I wonder what that will mean for me and my future…

A cold knot of foreboding coils in my chest as I force the next words past my lips, “Why did Lome call this a curse?”

Des’s fingers flex around mine. “It was just a poor word choice. Don’t worry about it.”

A scowl twists my features. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Lie to me.”

He stiffens. Tension radiates off him. For a moment, I think he might pull away. But his hand stays in mine. As much as he might want to retreat, he won’t. He won’t risk reigniting my pain.

“Please, Des,” I whisper, clearing the nervous lump in my throat. “Just tell me. I promise I can handle it.”

His stare softens ever so slightly. “Your ability to handle yourself has never been in question, Darcie.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. “Then tell me the truth. Please .”

He exhales a heavy sigh, the weight of it settling between us. His free hand rakes through his dark hair, tugging strands into disarray. “The Immortal Curse… that’s what we call the ailment that affects mortals who interact with us more than they should.”

My throat tightens. “Mortals like me.”

His nostrils flare. “No, Darcie. Not like you. The curse should never have touched you. ”

The knot in my chest tightens. “Then why did it?”

He tilts his head, then shakes it slowly, lips pressing into a thin line of quiet frustration. “I don’t know. Truly, I don’t. I spent years around Ambrosia, and nothing like this happened.”

Hearing the name of his past One stings. I tell myself it shouldn’t.

Des has repeatedly tiptoed around admitting whether or not I’m the reincarnation of his One, but he has been clear that, no matter if I am, he is not interested in a relationship.

We made out once . My sexy dreams don’t count. I have no claim to him. Hearing about his first love shouldn’t bother me.

But it does. And that annoys me.

“You weren’t with us nearly long enough for the curse to take hold,” Des continues, unaware of my inner turmoil. “I don’t understand why it’s happening, but I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to find a way to end it.”

Des has been alive for all of humanity. If there was a way to combat the curse, wouldn’t the Immortals have found it already?

I lower my eyes and stare at our hands, doubt and fear taunting me. But as I take in his tanned fingers engulfing mine, large and strong, the usual startling shock from his touch has been replaced with comforting warmth.

The agony that had me hunched on my bedroom floor has all but faded.

Oh god… My head snaps up. My bedroom!

My eyes flick over the messy space, settling on the pile of dirty clothes in the hamper with a pair of blue cheeky underwear on top. Then, I take in the pile of stuffed animals hanging in the net in the corner of the room.

Des is in my freaking bedroom.

“Darcie?”

My gaze swings to the stunning Immortal, and heat crawls over my cheeks like wildfire.

“What is it?” His grip tightens. “Is the pain returning? ”

“N-no,” I choke out, then clear my throat. “No. It’s gone, actually. I think you can…” I trail off and look down at our hands.

Des releases my fingers.

I brace myself but exhale a staggered breath when the pain doesn’t return. “Thank the Creator.”

Des huffs a laugh. “What?”

Realizing what I just said, my flush deepens. “Oh. Sorry. It’s just something I heard Bella say once.”

“No need to apologize. It just took me by surprise to hear you speak of the Creator. I wasn’t certain you believed in our higher power.”

I shrug. “It would be weird not to after everything I’ve experienced.”

How could I accept the existence of Immortals and the magic I’ve witnessed without believing there is a divine being orchestrating it all from someplace up high? Or maybe some other dimension.

“Understandable.” Des shifts his weight on the balls of his feet. “Can you stand?”

I lean forward to get my legs under me. Dizziness hits. I teeter to the side and bump my shoulder against my bed.

"Careful."Des’s hands wrap around my bare arms, steadying me as he guides me onto the mattress. He settles beside me, his arm sliding around my back, firm and protective, keeping me from collapsing."Give yourself a second."

Sparks shoot down my arms, racing across my skin before flowing into my veins. The electrifying sensation zips throughout my entire body, reaches my head, and clears away every trace of dizziness.

Goosebumps trail across my skin.

I lift my gaze. Des and I sit sideways, facing each other. His thumb moves in slow, soothing circles over my shoulder .

His green eyes roam my face, and when they catch mine, something unmistakable flickers in them.

Desire.

Memories from my dreams tumble through my mind, vivid and unrelenting.

My chest tightens, pulse spiking, as the thought I’ve been avoiding surfaces at last, insistent and impossible to ignore.

Could my dreams with Des have been real?

Were they… visions ?

Impossible. I didn’t interact with anyone during the vision of the dungeon or Evetta’s trial. I was a spectator. Nothing more.

The dreams with Des were different.

I wasn’t just observing. I was an active participant in every moment with Des. Moments that make heat flare in my chest and pool low in my core, leaving me breathless as I inhale the intoxicating scent of the Immortal sitting beside me.

No.

Those dreams weren’t visions. They weren’t real . But this… this is real.

Des’s stare burns with yearning. If I looked in a mirror, I know mine would be the same.

The string wrapped around my soul grows taut, drawing me to the Immortal. All the reasons why I shouldn’t do what I want to do are wiped away. I press my hand against Des’s chest. His heart thrums beneath my fingertips.

“Des?” My voice comes out as a raspy whisper.

His throat bobs. Flames billow in his eyes. “I should go.”

“No.” I shift my leg to sit more on the mattress, placing my second hand on his shoulder, as if I could stop him from leaving if he tried. “You shouldn’t.”

His gaze drops, resting on the base of my throat. He licks his lips. “I don’t want to. Creator knows I don’t want to.”

My stomach clenches. “Then don’t . ”

He lifts his gaze. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Darcie.”

Oh, but I do.

The unspoken words shine out of his tortured expression, telling me all I need to know. I’m a slave to the desire yanking me to this man—this Immortal. I want Des. Not just in a dream. But for real .

I rise on my knees.

Des tips his head back, his eyes unwavering, as I hover over him. My fingers slide into his hair. A shiver travels through his body, and his eyes flutter.

Delighted by the effect I have on him, my bravery grows. I lean forward until my lips hover over his. “Kiss me, Des.”

His jaw flexes. A muscle ticks in his cheek as his green eyes burn into mine. He doesn’t move for a heartbeat, as if fighting some invisible battle within himself.

“Darcie…” His voice is hoarse, a warning and plea tangled together.

I tilt closer, brushing the faintest whisper of contact against his mouth. “Please.”

With a guttural growl, his control fractures. His lips crash into mine with the force of thunder, the brilliance of lightning, unleashing a storm we can no longer contain.