Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
I was not prepared for dirty talk first thing in the morning.
My pulse is pounding, and against everything I know I should say or do to push away Baelfire—because he is absolutely overstepping with this question—I dare to look up into the scorching intensity of his full, hungry focus. He’s leaning down, so our faces are too close together. If I lifted on my tiptoes, our lips would brush. I’d be kissing someone for the first time in five years.
I’m supposed to be nothing but deadly calm. I’m supposed to feel nothing.
Because gods, if I let myself feel this, just for a moment…
Stop wanting him. You can’t do this to them.
“Aren’t you going to answer him, darling?” Crypt asks, materializing right beside us.
I’m ashamed to say I gasp and startle away, but at least Baelfire’s string of obscenities mostly drowns it out as he whirls on the Nightmare Prince with a murderous expression.
“Get your own damn time with Maven,” he snaps, muttering something about a cockblock.
“All my time is Maven time,” Crypt says jovially, offering me a hand. I notice the tattoos circling his wrist curl inward to splay across his palm, a display of swirling symbols and stars that twist around each of his fingers, as well. “Did you enjoy the chocolates, darling?”
It takes a moment to register that he must have left the ones Silas stepped on. Did he do that because of the whole fake period thing? That’s…
Whatever. At least he broke me out of what was almost a huge mistake. Composing myself, I brush past him and ignore
Baelfire’s protests as they both catch up with me. Unfortunately, I run into another one of my matches before I can even step outside.
Silas straightens from where he was leaning against the wall by the vaulted exit. His scarlet irises brush over every inch of me before hardening into a sharp, warning glare as he glances over my shoulder at the others.
“If they’re bothering you, tell me. I’ll cast a restraining curse to force them to keep their distance.”
“Please try,” Crypt says. I don’t bother glancing over my shoulder to see his expression since I’m sure he’ll have that same dark smirk that seems to get under Silas’s skin.
I walk right past Silas, too.
Trailed by three legacies who couldn’t define rejection if they had a dictionary shoved up their asses, I make my way to the back of a large cluster of legacies. The air is brisk today, flurries falling from the white sky in halfhearted gusts of wind that rustle the barren branches of nearby trees. We’re in the farthest reaches of the training grounds today, at the edge of Everbound Forest, so it comes as no surprise when Coach Gallagher, the combat instructor, announces that today we’ll be training in the woods.
“Think capture the flag, only today you will each have a flag for someone else to take. The normal restrictions and limits apply—no severe maiming. And don’t forget that the no-killing policy is still in effect! Legacies caught killing will be punished accordingly, but minor broken bones, cuts, burns, and such is fair play.”
I almost snort out loud. The no-kill ban at Everbound is always weak, but during combat training, most people ignore it completely. It’s not like any of the homicidal monster spawn attending will get expelled from this very mandatory finishing school. Everyone here craves violence and competition. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a corpse or two after the training exercises, especially now that everyone will be trying to weaken newly formed quintets.
“You’ll all be sectioned into specific quarters of the forest to begin courtesy of a faculty member’s spell, which is already set up, and the magic wards around the perimeter of Everbound Forest will keep you in there until the time is up. Keep an eye out since a pride of manticores was transferred into the woods from New Zealand a couple of days ago, and this is their hunting season. Whoever returns with the most flags will be awarded 20 points.”
Legacies murmur to each other because that’s a significant number of points—enough to move someone up the rankings a couple of spots. Everbound University doesn’t use a standard grading scale. Instead, it’s all about placing near the top of the class because that gives you and your quintet higher priority in choosing a career after graduation and the mandatory active assignment all legacies have. Quintet rankings don’t start until next semester, but individual student ranks are factored into their groups.
The coach is still talking, but Bael leans toward me to whisper, “You can have my flag in exchange for the kiss I almost got back there.”
“The only thing you almost got was busted dragon eggs.”
He throws his head back to laugh heartily. I hate that his laughter is so contagious because keeping a straight face around them is already getting hard enough.
Silas is observing the forest to our right as if he’s already planning the best strategy. “Take my flag for free.”
They really must think I need all the help I can get. I’m not about to tell them how wrong they are since I want them to underestimate me, but it’s a challenge to keep from rolling my eyes.
Crypt notices my expression. “Our keeper prefers to earn her own stripes. Isn’t that right?”
It’s annoying that he thinks he can read me. It’s also annoying that he’s right this time.
To distract myself, I sneak a peek at the other students here. I still don’t know the names of most legacies in my classes since I’ve only been here for two weeks, and I rarely talk to anyone besides Kenzie, but the first person I make eye contact with several yards away is none other than Sierra. The redhead who said she would steal my quintet away. For whatever reason, she appears even more pissed off today, her savage glare flipping from me to the guys surrounding me and back. When she notices me looking, she sneers and flips me off.
What a treat she is. Guess I’ll be seeing her in the woods.
Right beside Sierra is a new quintet, fully formed with five legacies from the Four Houses. They, too, have a female vampire keeper with four males. But the stark difference between their quintet’s dynamic and mine is obvious as I watch a guy holding each of her hands, one pressed behind her whispering something in her ear that makes her laugh, and the fourth grinning at them all like a lovesick idiot.
They’re all beautiful—seriously, they could be the metaphorical poster child for bound quintets. The guy on the right kisses the vampire, and the one on her left immediately turns her head to steal her lips for himself. They touch each other so eagerly and freely.
What would that be like?
I look away quickly. That’s not for me. I need to stay focused.
“You all right, Boo?” Bael asks, bending to try and catch my eye. “I have a couple of friends in the quintet you were staring at. If you want me to introduce you to their keeper, you two might hit it off, and then you’d make a few more friends?—“
“I don’t do friends.” That’s another one of my mottos, one I won’t budge on.
Silas tips his head, lips twitching. “Then what is Kenzie?”
“A close acquaintance.”
“And another thing,” Coach Gallagher adds, speaking over everyone. “I know you’re all getting nice and cozy with your new matches since the PDA here is fucking insane, but the quintet rankings don’t start until next semester. So I’m fine with all you additions who tagged along today, but this is an individual training exercise. As such, quintets will be magically separated at the start of combat.”
A chorus of complaints goes up from the others here. But I’m so relieved, I could almost get over my haphephobic tendencies to kiss Coach Gallagher.
Hmm. Maybe I should just to see if that messes with their heads. I mentally add it to my list of possible ways to get my matches to leave me alone.
“And remember that top weight classes of shifters are prohibited from shifting in the woods for this challenge. I’m looking at you, Decimus. We don’t want you burning down half the damn forest since there are a fair amount of rare creatures living in there.”
Bael shrugs it off, shooting me a toothy grin. “Dragons are at the top of the food chain, so I’m used to imposed limits. They like us at the Divide to burn up all the fiends, but I’m a little big for other legacies to take on in practice. But don’t you worry your spooky little mind. I’ll find you quickly.”
“Do yourself a favor and don’t.”
“Gotta keep my mate safe. And warm,” he adds, frowning as he realizes I’m not wearing a coat over my baggy sweatshirt. “Want my shirt for an extra layer? As a bonus, you’d get to see me half naked—and don’t even pretend like you don’t want that. Feel free to touch as much as you want.”
Oh, my gods. There’s no point even trying to with this guy, is there? I need to start being an absolute bitch starting now if I want to have any chance of sparing all of us of this quintet.
I open my mouth to say something scaling, but Silas beats me to it.
“Feel free to go fuck yourself, dragon,” he mutters. He reaches into his pocket—probably for his bleeding crystal. All blood fae have them. “A warming spell will last longer. Hold still, Maven.”
I look at him sharply, taking a step away. “Don’t.”
His jaw clenches, and he’s clearly about to argue, but the coach instructs all the legacies to line up outside the woods to prepare for the whistle.
“I doubt the separating magic will affect me in Limbo,” Crypt muses as he stands beside me, studying the darkness of the woods ahead. “The faculty were rarely so thorough with their spells during my time here. So I’ll see you on the other side, my darling.”
“Stay with her,” Silas agrees. “Plenty of legacies here want to weaken our quintet?—“
“We’re not a quintet,” I mutter, but he talks over me like that’s a non-issue.
“—and Maven will be their first target if they find her. Kill first, act sorry about it later.”
Baelfire pops his neck on both sides, and Crypt slips back into Limbo without argument.
Apparently, they also think the no-kill ban is a joke. Good to see we’re on the same page with that one thing, at the very least.
Glancing to my right, I see an incomplete quintet look away from me quickly, whispering low to one another. Other legacies openly glare at us. It’s clear no one is thrilled about going into this training with the Nightmare Prince, Silas Crane, and a Decimus.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.