Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
Crypt is oddly quiet, staring at one of the stained-glass windows. Before I can ask if he’s going to bother joining us on Earth anytime soon, Silas sighs again and scrubs his face.
“Before she collapsed, Maven was trying to tell us that she can’t break our curses because…because she has no heart for us to bind ours to. That’s why she was trying so hard to reject us.”
Dear gods.
I swallow hard as my stomach sinks. Here I was, holding out hope that my curse could be broken at graduation so I could finally let myself adore Maven. But if there’s no chance of that…
I really should leave, but I can’t seem to make myself move.
“Well?” Silas sighs. “What do you bastards have to say about it?”
I consider it for a long moment. The truth is…I never thought the gods would ever bless me with a keeper. Until I met Maven, I assumed I would remain lonely until I finally passed into the Beyond.
But now, I think of myself as Maven’s. And I think of her as mine, even if I can never actually have her. Even if my curse separates us forever.
“The gods made her my keeper, and I won’t question them,” I murmur.
Baelfire nods. “Not having my curse broken is going to fucking suck. But whether I’m cursed or not, she’s my mate. So nothing changes for me.”
Crypt says nothing. Whatever his curse is, he doesn’t seem bothered.
Silas is quiet for a long moment, and then he sighs. “If the gods chose her to punish me even further, they couldn’t have picked a more frustrating, heavenly demise. Nothing changes for me, either. She’s ima sangfluir.”
Whatever the hell that means.
But at least we’re all on the same page.
“Here’s the plan,” Silas goes on. “We won’t say a word to Maven about knowing where she’s from.”
Crypt finally reacts, leaning against the wall and pulling out his lighter to fiddle with it. “Speak for yourself. You three fucked up last time by omitting your asinine little wager, so now I will keep no secrets from our keeper.”
“I’m with Stalker Boy. No more keeping shit from Maven,” Baelfire agrees.
Silas hesitates. “We all know how secretive she is, and now we know it’s for good reason. I doubt she feels she can trust us right now. What if we tell her we know, and she goes back to thinking we’ll kill her? If she wakes up and we assault her with questions about her past and her so-called noble purpose, it will make our standing with her far worse than it already is.”
That’s all true. We need time to absorb this, anyway.
“We’ll ease her into knowing that we know,” I suggest.
“Suit yourselves,” Crypt rolls his eyes. But then he looks at me with an expression more serious than I’ve ever seen on him, which is fucking weird. “I don’t think Maven was harmed by your curse, Frost. I have my own theory. But if any of you asks follow-up questions about what I’m about to share with you?—“
He halts, and his face darkens as he glances down at Maven. As if on cue, her brow furrows, and she makes a soft sound of distress in her sleep that has frost prickling the tips of my fingers.
“What is it?” I demand.
Crypt says nothing. He just vanishes, and a moment later, Maven relaxes, returning to a deep sleep. Silas, Baelfire, and I exchange glances. He obviously just helped her with a nightmare.
Having a lot of nightmares makes sense for someone who’s experienced the terrors of the Nether firsthand. I really hate that thought, but there it is.
The Nightmare Prince returns, acting as if he didn’t just drop everything to soothe our keeper.
“As I was saying, there will be no follow-up questions regarding what I’m about to share with you. But Crane, you may find a way to make this information useful for Maven thanks to your knowledge of plants, no matter how broken your mind is.”
Silas’s face twists bitterly. “Thanks a fucking lot, bastard.”
“Compliments are my specialty.” Crypt pulls out one of his strange cigarettes, handing it to Silas. “I smoke reverium from Limbo to ease the strain of passing between planes of existence. It’s quite potent. Dulls much of the pain. Plane-walking takes a heavy toll on the mind and body.”
Hang on. “If bouncing back and forth between here and Limbo causes you pain, then why do you?—“
The Nightmare Prince’s purple glare is piercing.
Right. No follow-up questions.
“Why are you sharing this?” Silas asks, turning the cigarette between his fingers as he studies it with genuine interest.
“According to that prophetess, Maven’s heart is somehow in the Nether while she’s here in the mortal realm. That means she’s caught between planes just as I sometimes am, which may be why she collapsed earlier. I doubt reverium would do her any good since it’s Limbo-specific, but perhaps there is something…”
Silas’s eyes light up with understanding. “There might be another substance or plant that could take the edge off for her. Something native to the Nether.”
Crypt nods.
I stare at Maven’s profile. If Maven is from the Nether, it raises a thousand and one questions. How did she survive? How did she escape? Was she all alone? What kind of hell has my beautiful keeper been through?
“No wonder she didn’t even know what ice cream was,” I mutter.
“Or how to drive,” Crypt agrees.
Silas goes very still. “What are you talking about? She drove herself to Pennsylvania.”
“That she did.”
“Are you telling me that you let her drive all the way there knowing that she’d never driven a fucking car before?”
Crypt grins. “She made it in one piece. Our girl is a quick learner.”
The blood fae pinches the bridge of his nose. “One day, I’m going to kill you.”
“Better make it soon since your sanity’s expiration date is quickly approaching.”
They continue bickering quietly, but I back away from the bed, still staring at Maven’s sleep-softened face. More than anything, I want to be here when she wakes up so I can make sure she’s all right. But despite Crypt’s doubts about this being caused by my curse…I’m not taking any more chances with her.
No matter where she came from, I’m going to protect my keeper. Including from myself.
Before I leave the room, Baelfire catches my eye. And instead of the glare or disgust I usually see on his face, he nods once in begrudging understanding before I close the doors behind me.
MAVEN
“I’ve got you, Mayflower. Whatever you’ve been through, you’re safe now.”
I frown softly into the darkness of my closed eyes as my senses return to me. This feels…off. Normally, when I wake up after one of my episodes, I’m freezing and feel like shit.
But right now, I feel good. No headache. No lingering pain.
What bizarre witchcraft is this?
And I’m warm.
Really warm. So warm that I can’t help sighing because it feels so damn nice. I’ve never experienced a heated blanket, but Kenzie once told me they were a gift from the gods straight out of Paradise. Now, I’m pretty sure she wasn’t exaggerating.
Wait.
Mayflower?
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