Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
“How much time do you have?”
“This is a non-smoking room. And if you’re going to be naked, at least take a damn shower.”
Crypt ignores me, exhaling a long breath of smoke as he swings one arm in a circle like he’s testing where it connects to his body. When I look at Silas and Baelfire to see if they’re going to be any help with the naked psychopath bleeding all over this suite, Bael shrugs. Of course, our resident shifter isn’t bothered by the nudity.
“He’s coping. We’re all trying to until she gets back. Leave him alone.”
I’m floored. “You’re defending him? I thought you hated him.”
“Him, hate me? Not at all. We’re best mates now,” Crypt drawls.
Baelfire rolls his eyes. Before I can say anything about it, Maven’s voice finally drifts through the bond.
Silas? Can you have the etherium ready for me?
He’s already moving, withdrawing the briefcase from his pocket void and laying the smooth pieces of the clear, paradisical substance on the table.
Are you hurt? Is everything okay? I demand.
Where are you?
Her voice is slightly strained.
No, yes, and Spain, but not for long.
On cue, a bright flash of light floods the room. Then it’s like the weight of the world drops away from my chest, and I can finally fucking breathe again as I wrap Maven in my arms, pulling her tightly to my chest.
She’s covered in blood, but at least she seems uninjured—except for a nasty bruise on her forehead. As soon as I notice it, I let one of my hands cool with frost and gently press it to her head to help with the swelling.
“Etherium?” she yawns, rubbing her face.
Shit. She looks dead on her feet.
I let her go, and we all watch as our keeper grabs a shard of etherium and whispers in a language I don’t know. But then again, Silas doesn’t seem to get all of it either, judging by the frown on his face.
The shard darkens from a glassy nothingness to something more like a black opal, as if it’s now containing something dark. Maven exhales like the life force was weighing on her. She picks up another piece, wiping her brow and tossing a weak smile at us.
“You can all stop quietly freaking out. I just didn’t realize how taxing it would be to have the life forces of immortals inside me.”
She repeats the action with another piece of etherium. Then she turns to examine us like she’s worried we’re the ones who are about to topple over when it’s clear that she’s extremely exhausted.
Although, I guess she did leave us looking pretty damn bad.
“We’re okay, baby,” Baelfire assures her, pulling her into a big hug.
Crypt pulls her away from the dragon next and kisses her deeply, resting his forehead against hers as she shakes her head. I don’t hear what they’re saying, so they must only be talking to each other telepathically.
Finally, Maven peeks over at me, zeroing in on my shoulder.
“I’m fine,” I promise quickly.
“Tell us everything, sangfluir,” Silas murmurs.
Maven glances at the etherium on the table. “I killed Del Mar.”
We all stare at her in shock before I speak.
“You what?”
“I said I?—“
“I heard what you said,” I clarify, frustrated. “How the hell did you know where he was? Why the fuck didn’t you tell us that you were going to do this?”
She stares at me like I’m missing the obvious. “You were unconscious.”
“I meant before we were unconscious. Damn it, Maven.” I rub my face.
“Now, now. Don’t hold back the details. I hope it was incredibly gory,” Crypt pipes up, a sick smile of excitement twisting his face.
“Not nearly as much as I would have liked,” she sighs. “To be honest, the fight was disappointing. I thought he would present more of a challenge,” she grumbles, rubbing her bruised forehead. “Douglas is much more fun to fight—although the last time we fought, he took a cheap blow to my head. He loses some brownie points for that.”
Silas examines her forehead, using necromancy to heal it. It’s still weird as hell to think of him as a necromancer since I was taught they were worse than demons.
But hey—at least he can heal our keeper. No complaints about that.
Then I frown. “Wait. How do you know what brownie points are if you grew up in the Nether?”
“Lillian used that term a lot. I don’t really know what it means,” she shrugs before glancing between us. “I was surprised you four didn’t try to follow me.”
Bael folds his arms, lifting his chin. “We were busy.”
“Doing?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I fold my arms, too.
“I would, actually.”
“Too fucking bad. Take not knowing as your punishment for running off and leaving us here like useless sacks of potatoes,” I grunt, my irritation returning.
Maven’s eyes flash. For a half second, as our keeper turns to me with a deathly glare, I regret all my life choices.
“Punishment? I must’ve misheard you.”
Nope. Stay strong. It doesn’t matter how scary she can be—I’m digging my heels in with this one. It scared the hell out of me to wake up with her gone yet again, so I lean down to give her my most chilling look.
“You’re the keeper of this quintet, but we’re still a fucking part of it. If you’re going to do shit without telling us and leave us all bleeding and panicked for hours on end, then we don’t owe you a single godsdamned explanation about what we were up to while we were forced to wait around for you.”
Silas’s brows go up. Baelfire whistles low and takes a measured step back from us, shaking his head like he thinks this is it for me. Meanwhile, Crypt is enjoying the show like he can’t wait for Maven to hand me my ass.
Maven goes toe to toe with me, her dark glare caustic. “The reason I left you four here was to protect you while I took care of things?—“
“That you didn’t tell us shit about. I had no idea Del Mar was in Spain or that he was your next target. Did any of you know?” I wave at the others.
“Leave me out of this,” Bael says, raising his hands as if to show he’s unarmed.
Silas shakes his head in answer. Crypt shrugs, absentmindedly spinning one of the life-force-containing etherium pieces on the table like it’s a fancy top.
“No, they didn’t.” I turn back to her. “And you know why? It’s because you don’t fucking tell us anything. You’re so adamant that we’re yours now, and that’s more true than you even realize. But if we’re your quintet, then treat us like a damn quintet and tell us about your plans before they happen. Don’t just run off and let us wonder if you’re ever fucking coming back.”
My voice breaks slightly at the end as my emotions get the best of me. Maven still seems pissed, but she looks away.
“Put yourself in our shoes,” I press. “How would you handle it if the roles were reversed here?”
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.