The reality of why Prince Azaren wanted the books in the forest so badly came crashing down on me, and I suddenly panicked that they might not be there.
“We still don’t know how to breakourcurse,” Kade growled impatiently like he couldn’t care less about the fae and their struggles. The edge in his voice was enough to get Prince Azaren flicking through the pages of the book in front of him.
As he did so, magic rippled through the room, and Prince Azaren tipped his head back and smiled as his eyes sparked brighter. Wings shot out of Locke’s back, and he frowned as he lifted his clawed hand to touch the fangs that protruded from his mouth. Kade cracked his neck and smiled darkly as his ears shifted to wolf form and then back.
“Oh fuck!” Asher cursed, jumping off the couch as his tail speared through his pants and horns grew on the top of his head.
Only Darian and I were the ones who remained without access to our power. “Guess you were right about the dazra’s power wearing off soon,” I said. “Darian and I were the only ones stung more than once.”
Prince Azaren rolled his neck and smiled. “Yes, well, I’m sorry I don’t have a more helpful answer for you.”
“How do we break the curse?” Locke prompted like he was even keener to know the information now that he was a vampire again.
Asher sat back down beside me, and Prince Azaren cleared his throat. “The code Izla used with the other books mostly all followed a similar pattern, but it wasn’t until I visited Katakin that I was able to crack the code for this one. I spent most of the night trying to piece it all together, but I think I have the answers you’re looking for. From what I can tell, this curse is intended for a single being, not an entire kingdom, and it clearly went wrong when Izla tried to use it. For obvious reasons, I won’t tell you the secrets to how she created the curse, but I’ll share what I’ve gleaned on how to break it. That is, I’ll tellher.” He stared directly at me then, and my eyes shot wide. “I’m an empath,” he said, “much to the disappointment of my father. It’s why I know I can trust you with this. Your friends, I can sense their anger and hatred for the fae, but not you. You’re like a neutral party.”
Kade took a step toward the prince, the violent intent clear in his eyes, but Prince Azaren quickly added, “I’m not going to hurt her. I’ll simply imprint the secrets into her mind.”
“No.” Asher’s voice was as cold as ice. “We have no guarantee you’re even telling us the truth. For all we know, you could be embedding something else into Raine’s mind.”
“It’s true you’d have to take me at my word,” Prince Azaren responded, “but it’s the only way I can pass on the information, and of the five of you, I trust her the most.”
I let out a shaky breath, not feeling at all flattered by his comment and hating the situation I was in.This is why you shouldn’t be nice to people, I grumbled internally. I was all for breaking the curse on Katakin, but I hadn’t thought it would mean I would have to let a fae mess with my mind.
Kade gripped the back of the couch, his fingers digging into the velvet. “We could torture you and force you to imprint the information on another one of us.”
“You could,” Prince Azaren agreed. “But if you allow me to share it with Raine, you’ll know the information is correct. If you torture me for it, I’m just as likely to implant something very different. I won’t give the secrets of the curse to simply anyone. Aunt Izla kept the information hidden, and I won’t be the weak link that shares it with the first monster who tortures me for it.”
Kade cursed, and the rest of us tensed. There was a long beat of silence, and Prince Azaren waited as we thought it over.
I placed my hand on Asher’s, rubbing my thumb soothingly over his skin. “It’s just a bit of information. I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said.
“No,” Asher said again, his body rigid, and I bumped him with my shoulder. I wondered whether he was thinking about his mother. Did he think I’d somehow go crazy if Prince Azaren messed with my mind?
“We came here to find a way to break the curse, and we’re not leaving without it. He’s given us no reason not to trust him, and I’d rather know I have the real information than risk Prince Azaren scrambling one of your minds,” I said.
Asher’s face paled, but he said nothing.
“If you’re the one with the information, you’ll be more of a target when we return to Katakin,” Darian commented.
“Not if no one else knows,” I pointed out.
Asher flipped his hand over, and he entwined his fingers with mine. Glaring at Prince Azaren, he said, “If you hurt her, I won’t just kill you. I’ll make you suffer for centuries.” There was a lethal edge to his voice that I’d never heard come from Asher before, and it was fucking scary. Even Prince Azaren seemed taken aback despite his bravery moments before.
“We’d take turns torturing you,” Locke added, and Prince Azaren’s face grew even whiter.
“Do it,” I urged the prince, snapping him out of the staring competition he was currently having with my monsters. “Implant the information in my mind.”
Prince Azaren nodded slowly, and he seemed to recollect himself before sliding his gaze to me. “It’s a good thing my magic has returned; otherwise, we would be having a very different conversation right now. You need to close your eyes, relax your body, and let me in.”
“Right, relax. Because it’s not like I just invited a fae to poke around in my brain,” I grumbled lightheartedly, but no one laughed.
Coming over, Prince Azaren crouched before me, placing the book on the table behind him. A beautiful illustration of a winged beast was depicted on the left page, and for some reason, I found the drawing soothing as I placed my life in the literal hands of a fae I hardly knew. Sighing, I gripped Asher’s hand tighter and closed my eyes.
Prince Azaren took my other hand in his, and our skin had barely touched before my fingers began to tingle and heat.
“This shouldn’t take long,” Prince Azaren said. I felt the very moment our minds connected, and then his magic was weaving like blue light into me. Images and words flashed behind my eyes, but they moved so quickly I couldn’t focus on a single one.
“Almost done,” Prince Azaren’s voice sounded in my head. More images flashed, and then it abruptly stopped, though I knew the information was still in my mind, the roots having been sown into my memory. I expected Prince Azaren to stop the connection then, but he lingered in my mind like he was trying to dig deeper. “Your bonds.” The words floated softly in my head before the connection was cut off.
