Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
“Fuck off,” I say at the same time as Baelfire.
“I haven’t had a chance to see how you are in combat,” she goes on, folding her arms as she glowers up at Crypt. “But if you can lose an ear, you can lose much worse.”
I must be missing yet another thing because I don’t get the ear comment at all, but the Nightmare Prince just waggles his eyebrows. “Like my cock? You wouldn’t want me losing that, hmm?”
“I was thinking your head, but feel free to prioritize the much, much smaller one,” she shoots back smoothly.
I cough, Baelfire bursts into laughter, and Silas smirks. Crypt just looks delighted.
“Did you just trash-talk me, darling? Hardly fair, considering you haven’t seen it. Ask nicely, and I’ll show you how very not little it is.”
I hold up a hand. “Nope. Everyone needs to keep their fucking pants on.”
Crypt grins. “Unless we want to use this room for an orgy instead.”
“My vote’s with him,” Baelfire says, raising his hand.
Maven looks slightly flushed as she rolls her eyes and turns to Silas. “Never mind. Let’s start with you.”
He folds his arms defensively. “The others need training far more than I do.”
“Oh, my gods. This is like dealing with four butt-hurt toddlers,” Maven huffs. I can’t drag my eyes away as she ties her hair into a high ponytail, exposing her very kissable neck. “Look. Obviously, you’re all powerful legacies, but you can’t rely on your abilities alone. That’s where your blind spot is and why we’re here. So in this room, there will be no magic, no ice, no shifting?—“
“It’s not like I can right now, anyway,” Baelfire injects.
“—and no slipping into Limbo during combat or whatever other shit you can do,” she adds, glancing at Crypt. “In here, it will be pure, physical combat. I’m going to kick your asses until you all stand a better chance of making it out of First Placement and future combat alive. I’m not losing you guys.”
My protest dies on my tongue with her last words, and my heart sort of melts into a gooey puddle of mindless warmth.
I’m not losing you guys.
Meaning…me included?
I swallow and look away. “Yeah, okay.”
The others mutter their agreements, seeming equally flustered.
“Good. Then let’s begin.”
EVERETT
Arati save me.
She’s trying to fucking kill us.
Baelfire slumps to the ground beside me when his turn on the mat ends early. His turn has ended early every time because, apparently, the oversexed idiot gets too aroused every time Maven pins him, and he has to tap out early to cool off.
He wipes the sweat off his face with a grimace and leans back against the wall like I am. “How does such a tiny person put me in a fucking headlock? I’m like three times her size.”
“Try ten times, you behemoth,” I fire back, watching Silas take a defensive position on the opposite side of the mat from Maven with a determined set to his jaw.
The only one of us who hasn’t been brutally taken down repeatedly by Maven has been Crypt. She’s pinned him a few times, but the asshole refuses to play by the rules and keeps slipping into Limbo to pin her down from behind and whisper what I assume are filthy things into her ear.
The last time he did it, Maven had enough and head-butted him, and we haven’t seen him since. I’m pretty sure he’s letting his nose heal in Limbo while he enjoys watching the rest of us fail.
I watch as Silas rushes her and tries yet another tactic. Maven easily outmaneuvers him before he ends up pinned to the ground with his leg stuck in an incredibly uncomfortable-looking position. He swears and taps out, and the pure amusement on Maven’s face has me smiling.
She really likes combat, doesn’t she? And she’s insanely good at it. I know I should be using that as a reason to convince myself I don’t want her…but godsdamn me, I love that look on her face. She can win as many sparring matches as she wants with me—I don’t mind the sore muscles and bruises if she’s happy.
Baelfire elbows me hard, knocking the wind from my side. I shoot him a glare. “What the hell?”
He just shakes his head. “Cockblock curse,” he whispers. “Stare at Silas instead. Pretend you like his ass more.”
I really hate him so much.
Silas gets to his feet and tips his head. “Why is it that touching during combat isn’t a trigger for you?”
“Touch is an entirely different beast during combat. I was never conditioned against fighting. In fact, it’s what I was turned into this for,” Maven shrugs as if it’s that simple.
Immediately, my mouth tastes like bile. I can only assume that the Entity is the one who conditioned her and…
“Turned you into what, exactly?” I manage to ask through clenched teeth.
She ignores the question and nods to Silas. “They’re still licking their wounds and egos. Get back into position.”
But he has his scheming face on, the same one that used to make me anxious as fuck when we were kids. “No, I want to know, too. What are you, Maven?”
“The girl who’s about to kick your ass. Again.”
He smirks. “Goading me won’t work.”
She stretches as if to work out a kink in her shoulder. Again, I can’t look away, and my hands itch with the urge to rub out whatever discomfort she’s feeling. If she let me, I would massage her entire body. She must get really worked up and sore—after all, if she’s pushing us this hard, I can only imagine how hard she pushes herself.
I don’t like that. I want to see my keeper comfortable and content. I want to spoil her in every possible way.
My mouth goes dry when she abruptly strips off her oversized, baggy shirt, leaving behind a form-fitting black undershirt. Silas and Baelfire stare hard, too, and Crypt finally reappears in the mortal realm to check her out as he leans against the wall.
“All right. I’m officially ready for another round,” he says too eagerly.
For once, I agree with him. But Baelfire must notice how much I enjoy seeing her in something tight because he elbows me hard again. This time, a grunt escapes. The sound draws Maven’s attention to us.
As soon as her eyes are on me, I dutifully look away like this is the most boring experience of my entire life. But I can still admire her in the reflective glass she’s standing in front of.
That tight shirt shows off a bit of her midriff and lower back. I’d like to kiss all of it. I know my cheeks are turning red the longer I can feel her studying me.
“Fine. That’s the prize,” Maven says finally. “You’re all in desperate need of motivation, anyway.”
“Not anymore,” Crypt smiles. “That’s a lovely shirt.”
She rolls her eyes. “Here’s how it works. If any of you beat me on the mat, I’ll tell you what I am.”
That has all of us hooked. I can see the resolution set in as Silas rolls his shoulders back and retakes his stance. “You’ll keep your word?”
“I always do,” she says sweetly, then pins him again in less than two minutes.
Only the gods know how long our private training lasts. It feels far too long before Maven calls it and says we’ll do this again tomorrow. Apparently, she thinks this torture is valuable, but I decide I won’t protest because she might wear another tight shirt tomorrow. I might pray to the gods for that tonight.
As we emerge onto the main level of Everbound Castle, the others automatically head toward the quintet apartment. I turn down the hall that will take me to my office, which has a passable faculty apartment attached. But it’s like the gods cursed all of today for me because I hear Silas calling Maven’s name and realize she’s walking right behind me.
I halt in surprise, scowling down at her.
She keeps her poker face. “We need to talk.”
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.