Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
I heard a raised voice.
Maybe you should break the door down again, Silas deadpans.
Do it,
Everett says, taking that suggestion completely seriously.
Oh my fucking gods.
You four need a hobby.
I have a hobby, Crypt sighs wistfully.
But I can’t enjoy it properly with those damned dreamcatchers up.
Stalking doesn’t count as a hobby, Everett grouches.
Our keeper would disagree. Wouldn’t you, darling?
All right. That’s it.
I’m not letting my quintet pout around in a hallway, I tell them firmly through the bond.
Get your sexy asses dressed, go to the cultist celebration, and wait for me there. Kenzie and I are running late, anyway.
To say they’re uhappy with this arrangement is an understatement, but I block out their protests so I can help Kenzie pick out a pair of shoes. Soon, she’s dressed in the glittery, strappy, short dress with multiple cutouts to show off her back, stomach, and her quintet emblems on one tricep.
When she does a twirl, I smile. “You’re the most inappropriately stunning and stunningly inappropriate pregnant lioness shifter I’ve ever seen.”
She claps and unzips two more dress bags. “Okay! So, I had this little black number. Very elegant, but also very safe. Then there’s this red one. I think you’d look stunning in red, but it is a little bit long…”
She continues chatting about the dresses, but I’m struck with an abrupt pang of missing my guys already, now that they’re not all nagging me. Realizing that I have an entire party to get through before I can be alone with my guys again…
Gut me with a fucking spoon.
Being around people I don’t know is exhausting. Still, I’m sure the bizarrely worshipful cultists will be fine with me showing up briefly. We can just be there for a little bit. Or better yet, if I could find an excuse to leave the celebration early…
I glance at the other unopened bags.
“Do you have something that will drive my quintet insane?”
Kenzie beams. “I love the way your sadistic little mind works, monk. I did bring something a bit more scandalous that could fit you.”
She unzips another bag and holds up the gown. “I wasn’t sure about it, since I know you usually avoid anything too low-cut.”
I shake my head, studying it. “It’s perfect.”
Several minutes later, once makeup has been brushed on, we both stand in front of the bathroom mirror for a final check.
I take in her reflection. “Someone should warn your quintet. You look dangerously good.”
“Thank you,” she gushes. “You look like some divine, otherworldly being who’s about to lure her quintet to bed and devour their souls.”
Aww.
BAELFIRE
Well, I’ll be damned. Turns out, cultists know how to throw a party.
I take in the shindig as Silas, Everett, and I step through the protective wards into the massive clearing in Everbound Forest where the ruins of an old castle used to sit. Dead trees have been cleared to make room for this event.
Multiple tables have been laid out with meat skewers, wine glasses, and bottles of red wine. Several miniature bonfires line this place, illuminating it as the sun sets and providing extra warmth despite the snowless, Spring-like weather.
Most of the cultists here are still wearing black like they’re in mourning, but they’re a much less morose group than they were yesterday. They chow down on the feast and dance to instrumental music being played through some kind of magic charm.
Several dozen Reformists are here in combat attire, toasting each other, drinking wine, and waiting to officially meet my keeper. Some Nether humans are in attendance, too, but they’re a lot more mellow and quiet where they stick to the corners and observe like they’re not sure what to do at a celebration.
Cultists also know how to build a temple in record time.
I examine the new construction in one corner. It’s a small temple partially constructed from the old ruins. It looks more like a cathedral than a temple and reminds me of Syntyche’s ruined temple that my dragon randomly dragged me to before my dragon tracked down Maven.
Gothic architecture. Kind of sinister. Covered in dozens of ominous ravens perched near the steeples as they stare out with beady eyes like the creepy little fuckers are warning everyone away.
“Maven’s gonna love that,” I grin.
Everett nods, but he’s repeatedly adjusting his sharp suit coat as his nerves get to him in the absence of our keeper. All three of us are wearing suits, but I skipped the coat because it’s already plenty warm for a dragon shifter like me.
Silas is frowning at the wards we just passed through. “Whoever put up those wards, they’re a fucking joke. I doubt they’ll keep out mosquitoes, let alone the nefarious creatures that may be lurking in these woods. I’ll have to reinforce them before?—“
“Uncle Baelfire!” Quinn’s voice calls.
I break into a smile when I see my niece racing toward me, dragging Lillian along behind her. The little water elemental is wearing a blue dress with white bows in her hair as she beams at us. She looks a lot like my brother Grady’s quintet members, her birth parents. My mom mentioned that Grady and Aidan were dealing with an urgent outbreak of ghouls near some pretty severe Limbo Zones somewhere in eastern Canada, or else they would’ve come here to see me, too.
“Nice dress, Quinn,” I greet, glancing at Lillian, who’s laughing at my niece’s antics. “Looks like you found a friend.”
“Yeah! She’s super nice and she read me books all day in the library today, and her name is Lilly,” Quinn incorrectly introduces. She looks at Lillian and points at Everett. “His hair’s white and his scar is sexy.”
Silas and I burst into laughter at the look on Lillian’s face, which is almost as good as the completely appalled expression the scarred ice elemental is wearing.
“It’s—that’s not—” Everett sputters before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Godsdamn it, Baelfire, your family needs some filters.”
“She learned it from our keeper, not them,” I laugh before squatting to smile at Quinn. “Where’s your grandma?”
She shrugs, scrubbing at her cheek like it itches. “I dunno. I took Lilly and knocked on the door of the room in the big castle where Grandma’s staying to tell her the party was starting, and Grandma said through the door that they’re busy and they’ll be here later.”
I frown. My mom isn’t the type to blow off anything.
I’m concerned until Lillian clears her throat, seeming embarrassed. “Your parents were preoccupied.”
But still, it’s not like them to?—
Oh. She means preoccupied.
I gag at the same time Silas and Everett pull faces. None of us needed to know that little tidbit.
If you think that’s off-putting, don’t check behind the temple, Crypt suggests through the bond just as I can vaguely sense him somewhere nearby.
Not unless you want to see the three-eyed acolyte shagging the Carter girl. I, unfortunately, will never have the ability to unsee all three of his eyes rolling back in pleasure.
Yuck. Why’d you have to provide that detail? I grimace.
It will haunt your dreams tonight. You’re welcome.
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.