Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
“Right. Anyone else insanely fucking jealous now?” he bites out.
Baelfire agrees, but when Everett is silent, I realize he’s gazing at the new emblem on my chest with unadulterated hope written all over his handsome features.
Our eyes meet. “Does this mean…his curse is broken?” he asks.
Gods, I hope so. Silas was barely hanging on. His curse was the one I was most concerned about—the one I was most determined to find a cure for. Does this fluke mean he’ll wake up in his own head, sans voices?
“Maybe?” I hedge, replacing my clothing.
Everett swallows, stepping closer to me. “Then, if we can figure out how you broke Silas’s curse…if we could end my curse before it gets the chance to hurt you more…maybe I could finally belong to you without ruining everything,” he whispers, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against mine.
He’s never gotten this close to me on his own, and the raw longing in his voice makes my stomach flip. The idea of hurting me clearly petrifies him. I understand that part of him. It’s the same reason I pushed them away so hard at first. I was desperate to keep them out of the clusterfuck that my not-life is about to become.
Seriously, though, Everett’s curse is the least of my concerns—not to mention, I have some doubts about this “prophecy” he received so long ago. It’s something I should talk about with him later. Maybe he’ll even let me read it myself.
But now isn’t the time to dive into that.
“This conversation can wait,” I say quietly, reaching up to brush a streak of dried harbinger blood off of Everett’s jaw. That tiny bit of contact makes my heart pound, but it doesn’t send my stomach careening anymore, a fact I’m still adjusting to. “Right now, we’re too vulnerable. We need to get out of here and find somewhere to lay low.”
Baelfire takes my hand from Everett’s face, rubbing gentle circles on its back. He ignores the death glare that the ice elemental shoots him. “You mean we’re going into hiding to wait for this shitstorm to blow over while your newbie necromancer recovers?”
That…and to set the stage for the next part of my plan.
My theory about Somnus’s totem was correct. It wasn’t glass at all—it was crafted out of etherium. Hearst’s soul amulet was probably the same, which leads me to believe all members of the Immortal Quintet might have their souls tied to an etherium object. Perhaps the gods decided that the best way of sustaining the Divide through their life forces was by tying them to a physical anchor.
Meaning I need to hunt down three immortals and their anchors.
I also need to find more etherium.
Etherium became an integral part of my plan after Felix and I ran countless tests on it and agreed it would fix a significant flaw in my gambit to free the humans. Which is why, during my first two weeks at Everbound, I carefully sought out rumors of another black market dealer known to possess etherium. I don’t have a location or a way to contact him, but I need to get my hands on that substance.
It’s how I plan to keep the Nether at bay after I kill most of the Immortal Quintet. Without it, I’ll fail.
And that’s not an option.
“Yes,” I finally reply to Baelfire. “But first, I need to see if Kenzie made it out of the maze. Wait here.”
When I try to step around them, Everett’s hands move to my hips and steel. His previously tender voice turns ice-hard.
“Baelfire told me everything. We nearly lost you today, and it’s not happening again. Just stay here and keep an eye on Silas. We’ll find your friend for you.”
They nearly lost me? Tough fucking luck because I nearly lost all of them today. The more I think about it, the more dark fury starts to boil beneath my composure. That, combined with the residual power boost from killing Somnus, makes me feel like a ticking time bomb.
But I can’t afford to tap into that monster’s life force now stored within me as fuel. I need to save it until I get my hands on etherium.
I shake my head. “You’re staying. I’m going.”
“Oakley, please just?—“
Before our argument can continue, a loud knock on the apartment’s front door makes us all go still. Crypt vanishes, and a moment later, I hear a shriek at the front door, which he’s obviously opened.
“Gah! Where the hell are your clothes? And why are your tattoos all—oh my gods, are those piercings? Oh, shit. I—I’m so sorry, I did not mean to look down, and I promise I so did not want to know that. I’m just looking for?—“
Kenzie. Thank the fucking universe.
I rush out of my bedroom, followed closely by Bael and Everett. The lioness shifter is standing in the university hallway outside the front door, leaning against Luka. Her orange combat attire is ripped and charred in places. They’re both covered in as much dirt, blood, and sweat as we were earlier. It looks like Kenzie got a nasty cut on her head at some point, gauging from the amount of blood staining her pale hair and crusting down the side of her face. The injury is gone now, thanks to her shifter healing.
She looks like hell and must be exhausted, but her bright blue eyes light up when she spots me.
“May! Thank gods you’re okay! I’m so sorry to ask this, but—” she begins, stepping forward.
But the moment she tries to cross the threshold, she slams into an invisible barrier that knocks her back into Luka with a startled oof.
“Kenz!” The vampire levels us with a vicious glare like that was intentional. “What the fuck?”
For a moment, I’m confused about why she can’t enter since she’s not a siphon who would have to be invited in, but Crypt hums.
“I admit, that pointy-eared bastard’s magic is reassuring.”
Oh, right. Silas spelled this place with an imposing amount of wards to keep anyone except us from entering.
Come to think of it…how the fuck did Pia get in here earlier?
I see that same realization dawn on the others as Crypt tips his head curiously, Everett scowls, and Baelfire frowns.
“So much for reassuring,” the dragon shifter huffs. “How the fuck did she get in here? I mean, she probably saved our lives and shit, but still. Maybe his old spells are weakening from his transition or something? Is that a thing with casters?”
I don’t have answers, but I notice Luka checking over his shoulder at the hallway which is now filled with smoke and the distant echo of shouting from some faraway corridor. Clearly, Everbound University is in chaos after the Immortal Quintet ran off in the middle of a lethal test.
A chill runs down my spine, and my senses sharpen painfully. I look back at Kenzie. “There are shadow fiends in the castle.”
She blinks. “Yeah, there are. How did you—oh, right! You can sense them, like that ugly-ass ghoul back in Halfton. That will be super useful getting out of here because when we finally escaped that stupid maze and made a run for the castle, a bunch of shadow fiends escaped, too. It’s mayhem out there, and we were going to try to take cover in our apartment, but then Vivienne was swarmed by Undead and…”
Kenzie’s voice breaks, and she takes a deep, shaky breath. Luka kisses the top of her head. I know she’s trying to be strong for her quintet. At first glance, she seems bubbly and whimsical, which aren’t traits that legacies see as ideal in a keeper. But I’ve observed her enough to recognize that she hides more of a backbone than most people might guess.
She lifts her chin. “Anyway, I know a good way of getting out of here. The catacombs.”
What’s this now?
“I mean, I thought I knew everything about this castle,” Kenzie says quickly when she sees that she has my full attention. “But while we were running from other legacies and some Undead, I saw Harlow Carter leading a bunch of asscasters into this secret entrance in one of the courtyards, so we followed. It turns out there are these ancient underground catacombs that connect this place to those old ruins out in Everbound Forest.
Dirk and Viv are waiting there. I think that’s the quickest way to escape the university right now, so I really think we should all just group together and?—“
I hold up a hand, my mind racing through the next steps to take to keep my quintet safe. “You had me at catacombs. Where exactly is this secret entrance?”
She rattles off a description of a tiny shed in the corner of the university’s smallest courtyard that seems to hold garden supplies but hides a narrow stone staircase descending into the underground burial passageways. As she speaks, the hall fills with more smoke. More shouting and yelling echo throughout the castle.
I nod. “We’ll go with you.”
“Not to point out the obvious, but this could be way easier. Can’t we just transport out of here with magic? Should be a fucking breeze for your magic prodigy boyfriend,” Luka points out, glancing behind us like he’s looking for Silas. “Huh. Unless he didn’t survive the placement. Tough shit.”
If he doesn’t survive…
My stomach clenches with sharp dread. I’m positive I’m still controlling my expression to seem unbothered, but Crypt takes one look at me and fixes Luka with a stare that makes the vampire flinch.
“I distinctly recall promising to feed you your innards if you opened your idiotic mouth?—“
“Threaten him later when we have more time,” I interrupt to get away from this touchy topic, glancing at Baelfire. “Can you carry Silas?”
“Baby, I’m twice the size of that fucker. Of course, I can carry him.”
“Good. I’m trusting you to get him to the catacombs unscathed.”
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.