“Fliss, this book. It’s dark magic,” Will says shakily. It’s not often I see him so unnerved, and it terrifies me. “Sometimes books like this…they’re more than words. They’re magic itself. They corrupt and enchant and whisper in your ear until you’re lost to madness.”
The late-afternoon sun hides behind a cloud and the study turns gray. The energy pouring from the book is an itch under my skin. But wehaveto know what it says. I’m already cursed. What more can it do to me?
I surrender to the call and eye the yellowed pages, dog-eared and wrinkled from age. An inked illustration tempts me closer and sets my heart alight. There, in carefully painted strokes, are my flowers: Feiyan at the peak, Odyssa on the left and right, and Lunarie at the bottom, linked with intertwining patterns and words in an unknown language. It’s just as Keeper Einar said. It’s a cycle, a conduit.
“Will, I think this is it! I can’t read it, but Card probably knows this language. We should take it with us!”
He grimaces at the wall in refusal.
“We really shouldn’t touch it…” he says tightly, like he’s forcing himself to resist. “I…I shouldn’t read it. I…Oh, fuck you, Bash.”
Will crouches forward and scans the page. I hang on to his sleeve, teeth clenched painfully. The seconds stifle me like I’m deep underwater.
“Fliss,” Will says.
His expression cracks.
He takes a few steps away from the book, out of my grasp, out of reach.
“What is it? What did it say?”
He rubs the tips of his fingers over his forehead and shudders like he’s reeling from a punch.
“Will,” I plead.
Will turns to me with a smile that breaks my heart. He’s forcing it. He’s trying to be brave. His eyes are glossy and strained, his spine stiff.
“It’s…Fliss, it’s possible. It’s instructions on how to break a curse.”
My vision blurs. Tremors cascade down my limbs, clawing at a hope I’d long,longsuppressed. A way to break a curse. I’d never thought it could be real. All attempts have failed. They’ve always taken a heavy toll, like Ruth’s eyes and the withering of the north. As far as I know, breaking a curse has never been done before. I’ve never even considered—
Will grabs my elbow as I sway.
“Breathe, Fliss. We should get going,fast.”
“Why? What does it say?”
“Any magic in that book requires a serious price.”
“What is it? What does it need?”
Will’s eyes bore into mine. He doesn’t want to tell me. He doesn’t want to hurt me. Which can only mean—
“Card,” I gasp.
Will nods.
“It says that when the flowers are gathered and the spell set in motion, a dark curse can be broken with a declaration of true love,” he says. “Once the person has spoken the words aloud, they exchange the life left in their body to cure the one they love. It’s a trade. Balance. A life for a life.”
“A declaration of love.Like marriage vows.”
“Exactly.”
“That must be why they were worried about the ceremony being canceled. They need Card to give his life to break Bash’s curse,” I say,my words tumbling out. “He won’t know what he’s doing. Oh my gods, it’s tomorrow. Card might dietomorrow.”
Will tries to reply—I watch his mouth open, his lungs fill. His words should have come next. Instead, he squints as if his eyes are having trouble focusing and all the color floods from his cheeks. He places a hand on his forehead.
I blink. Did he realize something else? Is it the effects of the book?
