“Reyna,” he said, his voice breaking. “You can’t leave me like this. I don’t want to live without you.”
“I am not the one leaving, Lorcan. You are.”
* * *
He awoke with a start. His breath rattled from his lungs as he stared into Reyna’s face. She leaned over him, her dagger biting into his neck. His heartbeat slowed. The edges of his vision went dark. The Cursed One flared to life inside him, desperate to take control. Lorcan fought him back, just barely.
She leaned forward and peered into his eyes with a single braid tossed over her right shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
He swallowed hard, his neck bobbing against the blade. When he tried to speak, the Cursed One twisted Lorcan’s tongue and nailed his mouth shut. There was nothing he could do but hiss.
“Hmm.” She sat back, straddling him. “Maybe we need a little more blood.”
She drove the tip of her blade into his skin. Pain flared in his neck, blinding him. He groaned and bucked against her. Something kept his arms bound above his head. Glancing up at the bedposts, he found ropes around his wrists.
Reyna had bloody gone and tied him up!
If she wasn’t trying to kill him, he might find it exciting.
He roared at her through lips sealed shut, trying to get her to understand that he was in control. With a detached nonchalance, Reyna lifted the blade to her eyes and turned it this way and that. What the hell was she doing?
She slipped her finger along the blade. Blood pooled on her skin. Smiling, she withdrew her hand andflickedthe blood across the room. Droplets landed on the bed, the floor, and the wall. Some even hit a book he’d been reading before sleep. “There. Now I’ve spilled your blood.”
He narrowed his eyes. What the hell was she doing? His blood ran cold. There was only one explanation for her preoccupation with his blood. She’d been cursed. Somehow, the Cursed One had gotten to her. Memories were fragmented in his mind. The past few days were nothing more than paint smudges against a dirty canvas.
He’d run into Lord Illernan on his way back from the Dryads. And then…he’d attacked his ally. The next thing he knew, he was here, standing beside his bed with blood on his hands. His dreams and memories blended together, and he couldn’t be sure what was real and what was false. The verdant meadows? The caves?
There were flashes of violence in the deep dark, but he couldn’t recall any more than that. Had he attacked her again? Was that why she was here? Had he changed her just like the curse had changed him?
Reyna leaned back over him again, her eyes only inches from his. She searched his face with a clarity that the cursed fae never had. “I’m going to give you a few more minutes, but if you don’t say something soon, I’m going to assume it didn’t work. And if you try to trick me again, I’ll know it.”
The Cursed One screamed into his mind, weakening Lorcan’s resolve. Pain flared in his gut, as sharp and deadly as a blade. Reyna’s tongue stuck out between her teeth as she stared at him, waiting, clearly deep in thought.
He thought back to what she’d asked him.Did it work?
Realization crashed down around him. She knew how to undo the curse. The Dryads had given her the answer, just like the Cursed One had feared. And she was here now, trying to save him from this blood-crazed madness. His heart began to race, hope building in his chest.
She was going to undo the curse. It would all be over soon.
The Cursed One laughed.
Dread tripped through him as the enemy’s fingernails slipped over the edge of Lorcan’s consciousness and tugged. Hope burned away, falling to ash. Whatever Reyna had tried, it hadn’t worked. The Cursed One was as strong as he’d ever been, and if Lorcan didn’t stop him, he was going to—no!
A wicked smile curved his lips.
43
Reyna
Hurry up,she thought to herself. She squinted down at Lorcan, wondering why the hell he was just lying there silent. Was he confused? Had his mind been scarred by what he’d gone through? Maybe he wasn’t ready to talk yet, but if he didn’t say something, how would she know if it had worked?
Even the cursed version of Lorcan had prattled on whenever he saw her. He wouldn’t be able to resist getting a threat or a jab in. The pure and utter silence was more than a little unnerving.
Maybe that was the point?
Suddenly, he smiled. Reyna leaned forward, her dagger still at his throat.
She shouldn’t dare hope it had worked, but she couldn’t help herself. Even in his silence, she had recognized the warmth in his eyes. A fondness that seemed impossible to imitate.
