Crap. That sounded bad.
“What is it?” Luka looked panicked at the letter and crystal on the floor.
The witch bent and peered at the card. “She’s been cursed. A life curse. If she tries to harm the sender, she will be harmed instead.”
My stomach dropped. “No!”
Maz was mine to kill. Ihadto.
“But she’ll be okay if she doesn’t touch Maz?” Luka strode over to me and pulled me into his arms.
The witch nodded. “She will.”
Luka smooshed me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me.
Demi hugged the witch. “Thank you, Raven.”
I sank into Luka’s embrace and tried not to freak out. If I laid a finger on Maz, it would harm me? I wondered what would happen if she tried to bait me into attacking her?
Luka must have been thinking the same thing, because he looked over at Raven as Demi moved to walk her out. “How do we get the curse off of her?”
Raven frowned at me. “Someone else needs to kill the sender.”
Luka went rigid beside me, and I looked up into his eyes.
‘Remember when I told you I couldn’t kill Morgana because of the Sire-Fledgling Pact? You said you would kill her for me…’
I nodded, knowing where this was going. How could I ever forget that steamy moment in the shower?
‘I will kill Maz for you. Mark my words, my love.’
I nodded, feeling the rightness of that. I would kill Morgana for him, and he would kill Maz for me.
“Thank you,” I told the witch, and she gave me a smile before stepping outside with Demi.
A few moments later, Demi returned and cleaned up the crystal and card, throwing it into the trash. “Is now a bad time for the meeting? Sawyer and the others just got in and we have so much to tell you both.” She looked at me curled in Luka’s arms and I broke free, shaking myself.
“No, it’s fine. I need a distraction. Besides, the curse is done. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
She bobbed her chin up and down. “Alright, then, let’s do it.”
I reassured my mom that I was fine about fifty times, and then Luka and I walked with Demi over to the main meeting hall in the castle. Luka had arranged some light catering for those in our group who still required food, and we sat around a large table, chatting.
“You go first,” Demi told us as she tucked into a huge roast beef sandwich.
Luka and I exchanged a look. Where did we even begin with our story of Night City?
“So, they are led by a vampire who is going mad,” I started off.
“But we made an ally and left her with my phone,” Luka added, and then we launched into the whole story and everything we did and saw.
Sawyer’s mouth opened when Luka told him about the fighting.
“He fought you?” Sawyer asked.
“It was weird. It wasn’t a real fight. He wanted to show off and test me and Aspen,” Luka told him.
Sawyer whistled low. “Sounds tough, but glad you got invited back in a week. I’ll join you.”
