Page 25 of Cursebreaker

Gabriel’s jaw tightens as he reaches, albeit slowly, for the keys dangling from his belt.

“My darling,” Will murmurs then, and when I look at him, he’s already staring at me, his gaze soft. “Perhaps it’s best we leave them on for now.”

I grit my teeth. “And what happens if we’re attacked? You won’t be able to defend yourself.”

Will huffs a laugh, his eyes dark. He flashes his teeth in a pained smile. “I think I’ll manage.”

A phantom ache lances across my throat, where Will’s teeth tore through my flesh. I ball my hands into fists at my sides. “Take them off,” I repeat. And then, holding Will’s gaze, I add, “I’m not afraid.”

Gabriel dips his head. “Aye.”

He removes the chains, tucking them inside his worn leather jacket, and Will rubs his sore wrists, holding them close to his chest.

There’s an uncomfortable stretch of silence before Eliza beckons Gabriel from across the ship. I turn to look at her over my shoulder, her arm looped through Lewis’s, and when I catch her eye, she winks at me.

Subtle, I mouth, my cheeks hot.

When I face Will once more, I find he’s taken a step closer to me, his gaze fixed on my neck.

His throat bobs as his eyes meet mine. “I never wanted to hurt you,” he says hoarsely. “Yet, from the moment we met, I feel that’s all I’ve done.”

I take in his face—the smattering of freckles that dust the bridge of his nose, his dry, cracked lips—searching for any trace of the boy I met when I first came to Bludgrave Manor. But it’s as if he were a shell of his former self. Hollow. Haunted. I touch his cheek, wincing at the sharpness of the bone protruding there, and when he closes his eyes, nuzzling into my palm, a tear slips out, rolling to meet the space where my thumb strokes his feverish skin.

“None of this is your fault,” I whisper.

He lifts his hand, clutching my fingers in his, and at his touch, warmth flows through my veins, easing the tension in my shoulders. “I’m sorry—for everything. I should have tried harder—when we were at Castle Grim, I should have made it clear how I feel about you sooner.” His chin wobbles, but his expression is determined. “I’m going to fight for us. I’m going to make up for everything. You’ll see.”

I lean in, my breath catching at his words.

His words.

You deserve to be loved with actions, not just words, Eliza had said.

I want to believe Will. After all, he’s saying everything I’ve ever wanted to hear. There was a time when I would have melted at the way he’s looking at me now, as if I were made of starlight. The words my darling alone would have made my heart leap—my darling, as if I belonged to him. As if I could find a home in him—not a ship, not a place, but in his heart. Somewhere I could be safe. Somewhere I could feel whole.

I can’t help but wonder if there’s something wrong with me—if it’s my fault the butterflies in my stomach no longer stir at his promises. Perhaps when we’re both free of our curses, I’ll feel different. Perhaps he’ll be different.

“Well, pirate?” Henry’s voice must startle Will, because he lets go of my hand, putting distance between us once more. But Henry doesn’t seem to notice as he throws his arm over my shoulder. “Ready to save the world?”

I elbow him in the ribs, and he groans, but he pulls me closer still, a grin revealing dimples in either cheek—dimples that make him look even more like Will.

I fish the compass out of my pocket, flip open the lid, and watch as the arrow spins wildly before pointing west—toward the abandoned estate.

Toward Havok, Morana’s kingdom in the Burning Lands.

I glance at Will and find him eyeing the compass with his familiar, calculating stare.

“Ready?” I ask him.

He looks up at me, and I think, for a moment, I see a twinkle of amusement in his green eyes. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Moonlight bathes the caved roof of the abandoned manor house in silver light. Even after the sun has set, balmy heat stifles the air, and dead grass crunches underfoot as our group passes through the cemetery to the left of the estate, weaving between cracked, blanched tombstones strangled by weeds. The manor looms, casting shadows over the monuments, but as my eyes adjust to the dark, I manage to read a few of the names. These people lived here, I think. This was their home. Now it’s nothing more than a house, haunted by the dust and bones of the people who once laughed, and danced, and dreamed within its walls.

I think of Bludgrave Manor, sitting empty all but for the two guards, Gylda and Hugh, who stayed behind when the rest of us made the journey to Castle Grim. What’s become of them, I wonder? When no one returned, did they abandon their posts? After Calantha and the Underlings took control of the Eerie, did the queen send soldiers to Bludgrave? Did they arrest Gylda and Hugh for their association with the Castors? With me?

The wind howls, cutting through the skeletal black trees. A low, chilling moan comes from the manor house as it seems to sway, and I tense when I think I see something move out of the corner of my eye—a dark figure standing near a door that looks as if it was torn from its hinges ages ago. But I blink, and the figure is gone. Still, the wind seems to whisper, brushing against my ear, He’s here.

I touch the band of braided leather at my wrist. After what took place at Castle Grim—after Morana had so easily disarmed me of the trinket—I know it can’t protect me the way I once believed it could. And without the enchantment around my heart—now that the Shifter’s venom flows freely through my veins—I’m certain that if the Underling general were to emerge from the ruins of the manor house and command me to slaughter my traveling companions, I would be powerless to disobey.