Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
That must have something to do with his curse. I frown at the arched double doors Silas left through, realizing that in the short period I’ve known him, he does seem hyper on edge sometimes, fingers twitching and looking ready to kill at the drop of a hat. Suddenly I can’t think about anything but the haunting pain in his red irises when he’d looked at me outside the greenhouse.
Most of them killed each other. Including my parents.
He was vulnerable in that moment, trying to connect with me by opening up about our pasts.
But he can’t know about mine.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I make a mental note.
Paranoia for Silas. I have no idea yet what my other matches’ curses are, but as much as it eats at my gut to even think about…maybe making Silas suspicious of me and preying on his paranoia will be the final nail in the coffin where he’s concerned.
And if I can get him to drop me as their keeper, I bet the others will eventually follow.
Kenzie’s sharp gasp of dismay draws my attention to where she’s gawking at Dirk’s phone screen. “Gods, I heard it was bad, but that’s…really bad.”
Curious, I lean over and see that Dirk has a picture of the burning pyres, apparently taken by some other student before the faculty arrived. It’s a graphic image of four headless legacies burning on makeshift wooden spires in a courtyard, black smoke ascending from the bodies dressed up to look like members of the Immortal Quintet—complete with each flag of the Four Houses hanging in shreds. Written in blood on the courtyard wall behind the morbid scene are five words:
Monster spawn deserve to die.
Vivienne sees the picture, too, and clutches her stomach as she turns green. “Oh, gods. Is—is that someone’s head on the ground? I think I’m going to puke.”
Poor thing really won’t have the stomach for combat after graduation.
Kenzie looks mildly disgusted, too, and Baelfire huffs at Dirk. “Put that shit away before you make my mate sick, too.”
“Oh—sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up right now,” Dirk says quickly, shooting me an apologetic grimace just as I take my first bite of mashed potatoes. “Sorry if that ruined your appetite, Maven.”
I finish chewing and swallow. “Oh. Right. That’s disgusting.”
Bael’s brows go up. “You’re taking another bite.”
“Because I’m hungry.”
Now, he looks like he’s trying not to laugh. “Strong stomach. You’re kind of a psychopath, aren’t you, Boo?”
Only out of necessity.
“I just don’t understand why someone would do something like that, even if they’re anti-legacy,” Vivienne mumbles, still looking queasy. “Why focus on the Immortal Quintet? They’ve sacrificed so much for everyone, and they’ve always been kind to humans.”
I almost choke on my next bite but manage to swallow. It’s better to bite my tongue here. The last thing I want is more people here suspecting me of being involved in the anti-legacy movement, especially in the wake of the pyres.
Feeling Baelfire’s eyes on me, I glance up at him. He frowns, opens his mouth to ask something, and then shuts it again. He shakes his head, leaning and dropping his voice so I’m the only one to hear him.
“You know…you can tell me anything, Maven. Literally anything. I’m always on your side.”
“Pick a different side,” I mumble, gathering my plate to leave.
Because there’s no winning with me.
Baelfire, of course, tries to follow me from the eating hall, even though he’s not done eating, but when I insist that I’m just going to the bathroom, he relents and waits outside. After trying to sense if Crypt is near, I decide I’m alone. Pulling out the crumpled piece of paper Harlow handed me and setting it on the counter, I frown at it.
If it’s not trash, then maybe…
Drawing a deep breath, I chant the words to cast a small ember spell, the flame flickering precariously at the tip of my finger. This is truly one of the more impressive spells I’ve perfected, which is…admittedly pathetic.
Holding the flame under the paper so it will be backlit without burning it, I arch a brow at the writing that shows up out of nowhere.
Thursday. Midnight. Ruins in Everbound Forest. No outsiders.
Outsiders?
This is something I should just brush off. I’m already cutting it close with my mission here, and I’ve just added assassinating a wolf shifter into the mix, thanks to that demon’s request. I’m hardly a reckless person, and a mysterious midnight meeting in the forest practically screams that someone is going to try to murder me there.
That, or they’re just trying to scare me.
Either way, I can’t wait.
Burning the paper, I snuff out my spell and glance in the mirror, sighing at my reflection. “He’s right. You are kind of a psychopath.”
MAVEN
After two days of research, I’ve decided I’ll sleep like a baby after assassinating Orson Lykoudis.
The name must have sounded familiar because he’s one of the seven wolf shifter pack alphas—namely, the alpha of Northeast Pack located in Pennsylvania. He’s also an idiot who doesn’t know how to cover his shady tracks.
Though I’m hardly savvy on the internet, it didn’t take me long to find articles about him taken to court over sexual assault charges, multiple incidents of wolf shifters dissenting from the Western Pack solely because of his poor leadership, and a shit ton of pictures and videos of him on social media harassing human women at bars and strip clubs.
And, lucky for me, he leaves a massive virtual footprint to follow. I know what bars he frequents and even the names of the beta wolf shifters he usually brings everywhere. None of them are remotely a match for me.
All I have to do is slip in, cut out a wolf shifter’s heart, and bounce.
And hopefully, I’ll have enough time left before the winter solstice.
With a sigh, I shut my laptop—this is the first time I’ve found a use for it after buying it with Kenzie two weeks ago. It’s seven thirty on Thursday night. Most legacies are bar crawling in Halfton, chowing down in the eating hall, or working their asses off getting ready for First Placement next week. That, or they’re enjoying lots of bonding time with their new quintets like Kenzie is currently doing.
My quintet, on the other hand, is…problematic.
For two days, I’ve ignored them, made bitchy passing comments, and continued to smile at Everett every time I’ve seen him in passing just to rile up the others. Silas handed me a potion yesterday to use during Final Placement, and I smashed it on the ground and walked away, but did that stop him from following me around today?
Nope.
Crypt is constantly popping up, stalking me from Limbo, and meanwhile, Baelfire has walked me to and from every class, dished up my plate at every meal, and perpetually kept an upbeat, obsessive attitude. Even when I tried insulting the Decimus family, he just laughed it off and said they’re not for everyone.
I pull out my
Make Them Hate Me list and scoff. I’ve tried most of these tactics—boring, ignoring, mean, high maintenance…
That last one blew up in my face when I decided to try whining about not having a phone, and Silas left one at my door one night. A really expensive phone with a beautiful red cover and all my matches’ phone numbers set to emergency dial—except for Crypt since he has no phone. The device definitely has some kind of magic ward on it to keep anyone else from trying to get into my phone.
He really is paranoid, but I haven’t figured out how to use that to my advantage. Yet.
Besides Everett giving me a wide berth, my matches have been relentless. Legacies naturally part in hallways now to make way for me since Baelfire is still snarling at anyone who gets close to me, and Silas and Crypt are no less terrifying.
But even though the other legacies give me space, it hasn’t stopped the whispers or the stares. And they’ve started to feel even more malicious than ever. Especially if Sierra is ever in the room—she hasn’t dared get close to me again, but she looks like she’s ready to rip my head off at the first chance she gets.
I genuinely want to see her try.
Hmm. Maybe she’ll get the chance tonight. She might be at my mysterious midnight meeting. It could be her and a dozen other legacies plotting to attack me, strike fear into my heart, and tear me to shreds.
I’m looking forward to that.
It just means I’ll have to slip out of here at midnight without any of them being the wiser. Last I checked, Crypt was still hanging out outside my dorm, while Silas and Baelfire were finally, mercifully distracted with other things, like their own upcoming First Placement preparations.
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.