Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
Kenzie wipes tears from her eyes with a half-laugh, half-sob. “Right. Not touchy-feely. Fuck, you really are my moody monk, aren’t you? Oh, my gods! How the hell—what—where in the world have you?—“
She’s struggling to get out a single question, so I speak instead, ignoring the way my veins are still pumping with lingering panic.
“You have claws now. Congratulations.”
“Y—yeah, my quintet was bound at a temple in Hastings after you…” Kenzie sniffles and shakes her head, waving off that noticeable topic change to arrest me with a serious look. “May, how in the world is this possible? You were absolutely gone this time. Your guys’ curses came back, and everyone’s been mourning you, so how in the world did?—“
Somewhere in the distance, an inhuman shriek rises before it falls too quiet. The tension clinging to my muscles starts to creep into my spine, a subtle warning that danger could strike at any moment.
I stand with my weight on my left foot, brush snow off myself, remove my outermost coat, and hand it to Kenzie. “Let’s talk somewhere we won’t be sitting snacks for shadow fiends.”
She sniffles and nods, getting to her feet and blowing a blond corkscrew away from her face. “Right. Yes. Sorry, it’s just—gods, I can’t believe you’re actually standing here like this. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve wished I could talk to you again, just to chat or tease you or tell you about all the wild shit that’s happened and…” Her voice breaks and she clears it before fanning her eyes. “Oof, I seriously can’t stop crying. Sorry, I’m just really fucking overwhelmed.”
As elated as I am to see Kenzie again, it’s strange that I don’t remember the time I spent missing her. I know I did, but there’s just a big blank when I try to remember thinking about her in Paradise.
I’m shit at fake empathizing, so I offer a smile. “Your lioness is a badass.”
“Right? I love shifting,” she half-gushes, half-sobs before wiping her face and taking a deep breath. “Okay. I’m good. Back to being just plain hot instead of a hot mess.”
A thought crosses my mind as I survey our surroundings again. “Who’s Randy?”
“Oh, right! I almost forgot what we came out here for. Randy is Jackie’s husband. He went out with a scouting group earlier, but he’s the only one who didn’t return. He either got lost or…well, eaten by something,” she grimaces.
“Jackie from the Witch’s Brew?” I frown, thinking of the heavily pregnant woman I met in Halfton what feels like forever ago.
Kenzie nods, picking through the snow for her winter boots, which are somewhat salvageable compared to her other clothes. “Halfton is kind of close to some high danger zones, but Randy is one of our best scouts. It just kills Jackie every time he goes outside the walls, but this time it’s way worse than usual because—did you know it’s common practice for humans to bring their six-month-old babies in for a divination at Koa’s temple, just in case they’re picked as saints or the gods want to bless them or whatever? I had no idea, but anyway, Jackie is taking their triplets to Koa’s makeshift temple soon and she’s freaking out that Randy hasn’t returned yet.”
“Makeshift,” I repeat, distracted when a couple of ravens flutter to settle in trees nearby, watching me.
“Well, yeah, all temples are makeshift because—oh, shit.” She straightens to look me in the eye, a boot in each of her hands. “Yeesh, you don’t know about that, do you? Okay, how do I phrase this in the least bitchy way possible? Um…May, your matches went off the deep end. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I feel awful for all of them because losing you royally fucked them up and I can’t imagine losing my quintet or us having our curses come back, but like…your guys have not had a good six months. Everything I hear about them is all murdery and terrifying. They’re actually the reason that there aren’t many temples left, on account of…”
“Crypt,” I guess, recalling the ripped-apart husks in Syntyche’s temple.
No wonder I thought it looked like my Nightmare Prince’s handiwork.
“Honestly, I’m not sure who’s worse: him or Everett.” Kenzie visibly shudders. I can’t tell if she’s being serious because I can’t imagine my upright, sweet elemental doing anything shudder-worthy. “Also, Baelfire, since he’s pretty much burning down Canada. Those three turned into totally unhinged, brutal, violent psychopaths. We’re talking monster-level crazy.”
And I thought I couldn’t wait to see them before.
“Although it’s been a while since I’ve heard about any more horrors left behind by Crypt,” she grumbles, slipping into her boots before setting off in the easterly direction Halfton should be. “Come on. Gods, I hope Randy is still alive.”
“He is.”
“Wait, really? How do you know?”
If he died in these woods recently, his ghost probably would have gravitated to me by now.
But before I can say that, a bright light flashes in my peripheral vision—a transportation spell. Old training kicks in hard, and I tackle Kenzie out of the way before rolling to my feet despite the pain that zips up my right leg.
A microsecond later, my new knife is in my hands, the etherium blade at the throat of the caster who just appeared beside us.
“Wait!” Kenzie yelps, scrambling up from the snow. “Don’t hurt him!”
I blink when I realize that this guy has his only arm raised in surrender, his eyes wide as he holds perfectly still. He looks different enough that I almost didn’t recognize him, but the way that he carefully avoids showing too much of a reaction tips me off.
“Felix?” I frown.
Kenzie’s alarm suddenly makes sense, and I narrow my eyes at the caster.
As in, her caster.
I fucking knew it.
I pull the knife away, but he’s still watching me in stunned silence. For the years I knew Felix in the Nether, he was always malnourished, painfully thin, and nearly devoid of color, just like everything else there. Now, although his skin still has a slight gray quality to it, his hair is darker, and his eyes are a vibrant hazel. His face is no longer gaunt, which makes him surprisingly good-looking. He’s filled out, still lean but much healthier.
Life in the mortal realm looks good on him.
Felix is still staring without giving away much expression. “You died.”
I shrug, because I’m not sure about the technicalities.
“But you’re back,” he says slowly, processing.
“So far.”
“How?”
I shrug again.
Felix scoffs, reaching up to rub the spot I almost cut into his neck. “Good to know you still really suck at conversing.” He turns his attention to Kenzie, spotting her torn clothes and immediately moving to her side. “Dirk found Randy, and they’re headed back to the stronghold. You look like you’ve been crying—are you all right? Did Maven scare you? Is that why you shifted?”
His careful composure has dropped away, and now he’s practically oozing worry and pure adoration, stroking his keeper’s cheek with stars in his eyes.
It’s so sappy that I gag, which earns a glare from the atypical caster.
Kenzie beams at him lovingly. “I thought she was another changeling, but it turns out she just has a lot of explaining to do—but she’s back and I’m so fucking excited to see her take charge and make heads roll! I mean that metaphorically, but knowing her, it’s probably also kind of literally.”
She turns back to me, suddenly extra emotional again as her shifter emotions swing hard and fast.”Whatever absolutely wild, unhinged explanation there is for this, I’m just so happy you’re back. Gods, I really, really missed you, monk.”
Emotion tries to cling to my throat, so I clear it and brush off more snow to avoid eye contact. “Missed you too, slut.”
Not that I have a recollection of it. But still. Six months without her? That would be awful.
“Don’t call my keeper a slut,” Felix huffs, putting his scarf on Kenzie.
“Aww,” Kenzie boops his nose when he falls into step beside us on the way to wherever we’re going. “Don’t worry, it’s our thing. Okay, May. I’m ready. Hit me with it. What’s the plan?”
“Get warm as soon as fucking possible.”
She laughs. “I meant after that. If there’s one thing I know about my badass bestie, it’s that she always had—
has a plan,” she corrects, her voice catching like she’s still adjusting to the idea of having me back.
I consider her words. Before I was taken to Paradise, I had a lot of shit to do. Freeing the Nether humans to fulfill my blood oath, taking out the Immortal Quintet for my revenant purpose, keeping my quintet out of harm’s way, trying not to die permanently…basics like that.
Now? Aside from tracking down my quintet, no supernatural promise or purpose is driving me. It all comes down to what I want to do, and it’s true that I have a few things in mind.
Vengeance. Sex. A bit of torture, if I have time.
But first…
“Outside of your quintet and mine, no one can know I’m back yet,” I decide out loud.
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.