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“That,” the goddess said with a smile pinned on Death, “was a blanket of power cloaking the island. No one will find their way on or off the island until the blanket falls. Fun, isn’t it?”
“To what end?” Death demanded.
“She’s not done,” I muttered, but I was. I was done with these liars, these scheming assholes who knew Nightmare did all this, targeted Ford students, all to get back at Death. Everything that happened was because of him. “This is just the first phase of her plan.”
“Correct, darling,” Nightmare said, beaming as I got to my feet and turned away. “Now we enter phase two.”
I turned my back on them, not caring right now if Nightmare struck me. Byron was dead. Miz killed him. They all lied to me, every last one.
Oh, Cat. Nightmare’s voice was sing-song and taunting, and I only realised it was inside my head when none of the others reacted. Don’t you want to know about Virgil?
I froze. Turned back to her.
Not a word out loud, my terror, or I’ll be forced to murder him. She locked eyes with me. Not by my own hand, of course. But I think Cai here would love to draw more blood, don’t you?
She had my brother.
I do, she confirmed, her eyes gleaming. Death snapped something at her; she ignored him, fixed on me.
“Let her go,” Tor snarled. “Cat has nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, I think your bride has everything to do with this,” Nightmare taunted. In the sanctum of my mind she whispered, One false move and Virgil meets the same fate as Byron.
I thought of the missed calls, the ignored messages. I knew I hadn't been paranoid worrying about him. I knew something was wrong. How fucking stupid could I have been to brush off my worries?
What do you want? I asked, testing communicating with her by thought. I didn’t know if it would work, if she’d even hear me, but a corner of her mouth curled into a pleased smile.
Nothing much.
“Miz,” Tor whispered. “Come here. Please.”
“What do you want, Nightmare?” Death demanded, echoing my words again, sending a shiver down my spine. “To release him, to undo your curse on Cat—what do you want?”
“Hmm.” Nightmare tapped her bottom lip with a long fingernail. “Why don’t we start with you kneeling?”
I clenched my jaw when Death’s knees hit the grass instantly, and no matter how furious and upset I was, I hated the sight of him kneeling before Nightmare.
Stop it, I snapped.
What will you give me, Cat? To release your precious Misery, to undo the curse, if that’s what you truly want.
Yes, I said quickly. To have the shadow of her curse lifted from my soul, to never be terrified she’d make me kill again, to finally be able to scrub the makeup off my face… yes. I wanted to reply that I’d give her anything, but that was too dangerous.
“I’ll lift the curse,” Nightmare said aloud to me, to Death, “but are you so sure of their affections without it, Cat? Are you so sure of her affections without the curse binding you, Death?”
“Just release her,” Death snapped. As if it made no difference to him either way. That was fine. Byron was dead. Miz killed him. They all lied to me. It was fine.
Nightmare’s smile grew as she strode forward a step, batting aside the darkness hurled at her to rest a hand on Misery’s shoulder. “Say the magic word, Death, and it’s done.”
“Please,” he said through gritted , almost instantly a ripple of dense, oily magic spread across Ford’s End, clinging to my skin like a layer of dirt until I gagged. When the magic seeped away, I felt off balance. I remembered feeling the same when the curse first took me, that I’d been taken apart and put back together wrong, and I felt the same way now. I’d gotten so used to the weight and poison of the curse that I staggered now, gasping for air.
Death was at my side in an instant. The comfort of his hands on my face, turning it up so he could scan my eyes, made tears drip from the corners of my eyes.
“It’s going to be alright, Cat. I promise you.”
“You lied,” I said, my voice ragged. I couldn’t stand eye contact; I ripped my gaze away. “You lied to me. She only cursed me to get back at you. I killed Darya because of you, and this—this revenge—”
“It wasn’t malicious, little bride. We’re just so early in this relationship—”
