Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
MAVEN
Fresh-fallen snow crunches under my boots as I walk into Halfton at two in the morning. It took more of my magic reserve than anticipated to break out of Everbound’s wards. But so far, none of the Immortal Quintet or their henchmen have jumped from the shadows and attempted to kill me.
Which is disappointing.
But at least it means I can get Kenzie back quickly.
A thick, ominous chill hangs in the wintry night air as I stroll down the middle of Main Street toward the inn at the very end of the small town. The street lights are dim. The only humans who might be awake in Halfton would be on the other side of town, but otherwise, all humans are resting in their beds in this sleepy little town.
Occasional flurries of snow fall while the breeze rustles dead tree branches. Sinister-sounding wind chimes hanging outside dark storefronts toll softly. The ambiance is so eerie it makes me smile.
And then I sigh, wishing my quintet was here with me. Gods, I’m such an idiot for them.
But it’s safer for them that I’m alone tonight to get Kenzie.
I pass by a cemetery before finally reaching the Black Wing Inn. The massive brick building was probably built a hundred years ago, and the owners haven’t renovated since then. A broken porch swing hangs crookedly beside the front door, creaking loudly whenever the cold wind blows. None of the lights are on in the three-story building. A feral calico cat hisses when it sees me and hides in the nearest bushes.
Charming.
Quick and silent as a shadow, I pick the lock of the inn’s front door and slip inside, ascending the stairs until I finally stop at Room 17. Holding my breath, I use a simple common magic unlocking spell, step inside, and turn on the light to find that?—
Thank the fucking universe.
Kenzie lays on the bed in suspended animation, paused in time, staring sightlessly at the ceiling while pale green light shimmers around her from the stasis spell.
Holding my hands over her, I draw from what little remains of my magic, whispering various incantations until, finally, one of them clicks.
The changeling’s lingering spell shatters. Kenzie gasps and scrambles back on the bed, her blue eyes wild and disoriented as she grabs the nearest pillow and holds it like a weapon.
“Unless you plan on asphyxiating me with that, it’s useless.”
Kenzie blinks, focusing on me. For a moment, my throat tightens painfully as I wait to see whether she’ll remember me or not. She might be looking at a total stranger. The changeling was feeding on her memories, so there’s a good chance that she has no idea who I?—
“Maven!”
I’m yanked onto the bed, and Kenzie sobs into my shoulder as she hugs me tight, her body shaking. I shut my eyes, relieved that she didn’t forget me.
It’s still fucking uncomfortable to be around someone who’s crying. Still, I ignore the apprehension dancing along my spine and the cold sweat that starts to prickle my skin to hug her back.
“O—oh, s—sorry,” she hiccups, pulling back and mopping at her face. “I know you don’t like touching. I didn’t mean to grab you like that. I was just so relieved to see you and—and, oh my gods, there was a ch—changeling who looked just like Harlow, and it was inside my fucking head and…I’m sorry, I know you can’t stand crying, but I just?—“
Determined to comfort her even if it feels entirely unnatural to me, I re-wrap her in an awkward hug and clench my jaw against the way my nerves tighten in horror at all this extended contact.
“Cry if it helps. I don’t mind.”
Kenzie takes me up on the offer and cries for another couple of minutes, mourning her lost memories. She finally pulls away and swipes at her eyes again. Her face is splotchy, but she straightens and blows her wild, pale curls out of her face like she’s determined to move on.
“So, um…how long have I been here?”
“A few days. In stasis.”
Her lower lip trembles. “And my quintet? Are they?—“
“They’re safe,” I assure her.
I’ve kept my eye out for them at the dining hall and around the castle, and they haven’t been hurt or picked off. It helps that their emphasis isn’t combat, and they’re not a highly ranked quintet, so they don’t make for a large target compared to many others.
“I remember them, but…I can’t remember much else. I can’t remember my childhood at all.” Kenzie’s eyes water again, and she swallows hard. “It’s like I know what’s happened over the last year or so, but anything before that…”
I keep my voice gentle. “Changelings feed on memories.”
“But can’t I get them back?”
I shake my head, wishing I could offer more comfort.
“That stupid fucking bitch,” she huffs, wiping away more tears. “If I could shift, I’d rip its stupid fake face off.”
“If it’s any consolation, I already killed it. After some mild torture.”
Too mild, in my opinion.
Kenzie pauses. “Huh. Actually…that kind of does make me feel better. Is that bad of me?”
“In my book, not even remotely.” Then I pause. “We need to get back to the university immediately. But first, you should know things changed while you were under.”
Kenzie listens with wide eyes as I quickly explain the precarious situation at Everbound, including the hired legacies keeping an eye on the grad students and the Immortal Quintet’s presence. I don’t explain why they’re there, but I add that they’ve been killing off students.
When I’m done, she takes a moment to absorb all of it. Then she frowns. “Okay, but did anything else happen while I was a stupid snack for that changeling bitch?”
Anything else? “Is the Immortal Quintet hijacking Everbound not enough for you?”
“I mean, that sucks, but did anything happen with your guys?”
“That is such a Kenzie question,” I inform her.
“And that is such a Maven non-
answer,” she shoots back. “Hello? I just went through something really fucking traumatic. The least you could do for me is offer some steamy, nitty gritty relationship details to take my mind off things and make me feel better!”
I snort and stand from the bed, looking around the room for anything else the changeling might’ve left behind, but it’s empty. “I promise we’ll talk more, but later. We need to get back through Everbound’s wards well before dawn.”
Kenzie tries to stand but slumps back with a pained grimace. “Ugh, I feel like shit. Hang on, do I look like shit? Oh, gods, I don’t want to see my quintet if I look gross. I mean, I desperately want to see them…but I want to be my typical, unbelievably sexy self when I do so they won’t be too concerned about me. I mean, I’m supposed to be their brave leader, and we’re all still in that honeymoon phase, so I don’t want to ruin it all by looking like one of the Undead when I return?—“
“Kenzie.”
“Right, sorry. Okay, I hereby put my vanity on hold for at least an hour. Here I go.”
I try to ignore the way my anxiety spikes as I let her lean on me while we quietly leave the inn and make our way down the street. But soon, I have to step away while she braces herself on a tree so I can swallow down the rising bile and get a grip.
Stupid fucking body. It didn’t seem this bad when I was with Baelfire earlier, so why now?
I’m considering using a forbidden transportation spell to get Kenzie just outside of Everbound’s wards when, abruptly, all of my senses fly into high alert. After years of honing my instincts in the Nether, my senses developed a hair-trigger response to shadow fiends. I can sense whenever they’re nearby…
Like I do right now.
I turn in a circle, searching for any sign of the impending threat.
“May?” Kenzie whispers. What’s going on? What are you?—“
“Shh.”
For another moment, we stand in silence…until I catch the slightest movement in my periphery, near the cemetery I passed earlier. Under the faint light of the waning moon, I can just make out a hulking humanoid figure hunched over what I can only assume is one of the fresher graves.
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