“I can help you increase that bond, to find her as soon as we can. I’m worried about her and her strength… or lack thereof right now.”
“Do it,” I said. I couldn’t worry about the curse and all that entailed.
I needed Danna to survive this, and I would do whatever the fae suggested.
“Give me your hands,” Circe said.
I held out my hands, and she took them.
She closed her eyes, and her magic rose around her. I closed my eyes, too, and I let the magic wash over me, trying to give into it, but Circe let go of me and yanked her hands back.
“What?” I asked.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What?!” I cried out.
Circe shook her head. “No, that’s not how I mean it. Something isn’t right. Something dark is blocking my magic. It’s like…”
“A curse,” I said grimly. “Yeah, I know.”
Circe frowned. “You’re cursed.” A statement, not a question.
“Yes.” I felt the familiar wall rise up around me, guarding me.
I was cursed, I was a screw-up, I couldn’t even save my mate thanks to this bullshit.
“What happened?” Circe asked.
“I don’t know much, because I was so young,” I said with a pseudo-nonchalant shrug. “Promised to a dark fae at birth, the promise was broken, the curse fell in place and ruined the rest of my life. Storybook stuff.”
Circe frowned. “You were an innocent child.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s what I’m told.” I was getting more and more upset. Danna needed me, but I couldn’t help her because I couldn’t find her… because of this fucking curse that made everything in my life a living nightmare. Would I have to live without love forever?
“No, you don’t get it,” Circe said. “Your innocence means that the curse doesn’t have a hold. You didn’t choose it, so you don’t have to wear it.”
I frowned. “I have no idea what you’re saying.”
“Here,” Circe said.
She grabbed my hands and pulsed so much magic into me I struggled to keep my balance. I was suddenly submerged in magic, drowning in it. It pushed into my lungs, making it impossible to breathe. I gasped for air, frantic, the panic taking over.
And then, the water was gone, and all I could see was white light.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
I couldn’t see Circe, but I could feel her.
“I’m getting rid of it,” Circe said.
She came into view slowly. I blinked at her. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” she said. “Your father should have taken you to see the fae to help you. Why didn’t he?”
I clenched my jaw. “He wasn’t the sticking-around type.”
“And no fae picked up on this?”