Page 105 of Cursebreaker

I withdraw the dagger from his flesh. Lower it slightly.

He nods slowly, his wicked grin giving way to dimples. “Join me, Aster, and this will all be over. I will spare them all. You have my word.”

My vision blurs with tears and blood. The beast within me growls, low and deep. Join Will. Save my family. Save them all.

The power is within my reach. I can finally be fast enough, strong enough. Enough to keep them safe. Enough.

The rain relents, the dark cloud clearing overhead.

“Aster!”

Titus’s voice penetrates the raging fire, the din of chaos, the haze of temptation, and pierces my chest like an expertly deployed arrow. And then he’s at my side, his cutlass resting on Will’s throat, drawing blood.

I stumble backward, but two hands steady me. Henry.

Will’s expression twists, a look of pure wrath, but then he laughs, revealing sharp teeth. Teeth that ripped into my throat. Teeth stained with the blood of his victims. “Well done,” he says, bowing his head slightly to Titus, genuine admiration gleaming in his eyes. “You’ve not only convinced yourself, but you’ve fooled her as well.”

Titus clenches his jaw. “Don’t make me kill you,” he says, lethally quiet. “You’re like a brother to me, William,” he adds, his voice breaking with the words. “If you care for her—”

In the blink of an eye, Will draws his own sword, and it clashes with Titus’s blade with a resounding clang.

“Oh? Suddenly you care about my feelings for her?” Will smiles like a fiend. “You never cared before—not even when I told you how I planned to ask her to marry me.”

Titus’s throat bobs, his lips pressed tight. He doesn’t glance my way.

“You knew she’d chosen me—that she’d forgotten all about you—and still, if you had your way, you would have stolen her right out of my arms,” Will says, lashing out.

Titus blocks, but his retaliation is half-hearted.

“She’s had quite the effect on you.” Will lets out a low whistle. “Come now, did you really think you could be different? That her love might be enough to truly change you?” He tsks, shaking his head. “No amount of love could change what you are. We both know it. And if you give her enough time, she’ll know it, too. She’ll see that it was never compulsion that drove you to violence. No, no—that came later.” He cocks his head, casts me a conspiratorial glance. “The compulsion didn’t drive you to kill. And the way you revel in your victim’s pain—the way you relish their screams…” He runs his tongue over his bottom teeth. “What was it you called the three of us? Monsters?”

Titus’s face pales, and when Will strikes again, his blade opens a gash in Titus’s left shoulder.

“Do you think she’d forgive you if she knew just how many you’ve killed?” Will taunts, twirling his blade. “If she knew how many innocent lives you’ve taken just because you could? Because you could control your bloodlust but chose not to?” Will cuts his eyes at me, appearing to savor my horror. “I don’t think she will. Do you?” His smile is cruel, his eyes alight with mischief. “No matter, every queen needs a loyal dog. When Aster rules beside me, she might be gracious enough to let you sit at her feet.”

Titus launches himself at Will, his brutal attack as graceful as a dance and as deadly as a tempest even as Will advances on him with vicious, deceptive maneuvers. They match each other blow for blow, moving about the clearing as if they were oblivious to the fire raging all around them.

But Will doesn’t fight fairly. He moves in a blur, sweeping his foot out to trip Titus, who lands on his back in a puddle of blood. He points his sword at Titus’s throat.

“This isn’t over, my darling,” Will says, turning toward me. His eyes shift from gold to red, his arms wreathed in shadows. “It’s only a matter of time before everyone sees you for who you truly are.” He cocks his head, his gaze raking over me from head to toe. “But I’ve always known who you are. Soon, you’ll come to see that I’m the only one who will ever really love you—all of you.”

In a flash of purple smoke, Will transforms, taking the form of a bat. His sword falls to the jungle floor, and Will disappears above the blood-soaked canopy.

There, lying on the ground where he stood, are both parts of the Elysian Navigator.

I meet Titus’s gaze, my heart leaping into my throat. “Why?” My voice warbles in my ears. “Why would he just—Why didn’t he—”

Titus stares at me, his eyes wide, my confusion mirrored in his gaze as he bends down to collect the compass and map. Could it be a trick? Could Will have absconded with the real Elysian Navigator?

A sharp jolt of pain shoots through my leg, and I sway, but Henry’s arms wrap around me from behind, holding me upright as the fire continues to encroach on the clearing.

“Aster,” Henry tries to whisper, but his voice cracks. “It’s all right. It’s all right. Just calm—”

Pop.

Owen arrives with a gust of wind. He appears wholly unsteady as he scans the clearing, his gaze landing on Orella—then me. But there’s no judgment in his bloodshot eyes.

He reaches for me, but I break from Henry’s grasp and throw myself at Orella, scooping her into my arms. I barely feel Owen pull me to my feet before the wind sweeps past us, and an instant later, Owen, Titus, Henry, and I land on the beach in front of the Pearl.