“Any time spent with you is, regardless of the circumstances.”
“Um…” I didn't know what to say in response to his smoothness.
I stepped into the main living room, struck again by how pristine and perfect it was. It was austere, yes, but so was he. At least on the outside. Like him, the space was gorgeous. An enormous glass window provided a view of a moonlit beach. Massive waves crashed on a rocky shore, the pale light making them sparkle like diamonds. It was magic, but it looked real. Through the bedroom door, I could see a sliver of the grand piano that sat in the corner.
The lid was up, as if he’d recently been playing.
It hadn’t been up last time. Then, the piano had looked untouched for years. Centuries, maybe. The thin layer of dust on it and the air of neglect had been hard to miss.
“Have you been playing the piano?” I hoped so. If he had been, I liked to think it was because of me, an indicator that he cared about me.
Crazy and fanciful, maybe, but hell, I was crazy and fanciful.
He nodded. “Yes.”
I raised my brows, hoping he would continue. Of course, he didn’t.
We weren’t there in our relationship. I cared for him more than I wanted to admit—more than made sense, even—but now wasn’t the time. I had Mac and Seraphia to think about.
“Can I offer you anything?” Grey leaned against a heavy armchair, relaxed and casual, a predator, a lion lounging on the Savannah, ready to strike.
Oddly, I wanted him to. I shivered.
“No, thank you.” We’re Cursed Mates! I wanted to scream. But we still didn’t even know what that meant.
“Are you here about the Council and joining a guild?”
“No.”
Though I should be more worried about that, considering my status. I didn’t belong to a guild. None would have me, as we’d both recently learned. A few days ago at a ceremony to help me find my place in Guild City, I’d been rejected by all.
It didn’t matter that I didn’t particularly want to join one. I’d wanted the option, for God’s sake. I needed to be a member of a guild to stay in the city. As things stood, my days here were numbered. Especially since some Council members seemed to hate my guts, like Ubhan the sorcerer. Miserable bastard.
I shook the thought away.
“I thought I’d see you before now.” I nearly slapped a hand to my mouth. I hadn’t meant to admit that. It was like saying I cared for him.
I did care for him, but I’d never tell him. Once we’d learned we were Cursed Mates, we’d agreed not to pursue the attraction between us. It was too dangerous.
Even so, he’d asked me to stay with him after the Council meeting three days earlier. I’d said no. I was afraid, afraid of how quickly things were moving between us and of our status as Cursed Mates. He, it seemed, had temporarily lost his mind when he’d asked me, and now I’d lost mine by admitting that I’d hoped to see him.
Cool and collected, nerd. Play it cool and collected.
“It’s too dangerous,” he said.
“Of course. Because of the Cursed Mates thing.”
He nodded. “You had a vision of me drinking you to the death. I can’t ignore that.”
I shivered at the memory. Obviously, he was right. We didn't know the exact specifics of our situation, but we knew enough.
“I’m trying to figure out why we are what we are,” Grey said. “And how we can stop it. Until then, I thought it wise to avoid it entirely.”
“Avoid me, you mean.” I nodded, trying to appear nonchalant. “Clever.”
The briefest pain flickered in his eyes, and I wondered about the piano. Did he play that when he was distraught?
Did a man like him even become distraught?
That was probably the wrong word for it.
“Fate has plans for us,” he said. “Being Cursed Mates is rare—exceedingly so. Until we know exactly what lies in store for us and how to avoid it, it’s too dangerous. But when I learn more, you’ll be the first to know.”
Until then, it was just…this. Distance.
It made sense. There was no arguing with something so rational.
I shoved away thoughts of pianos and Cursed Mates and handsome vampires. I had far bigger problems right now, and the Cursed Mates thing could be dealt with later. Especially if we kept trying to ignore what was between us.
I pulled the book from my bag and held it out to him. “This is why I’m here.”
He frowned at it, then met my gaze. “What is the issue, specifically?”
I flipped open the book and showed him the missing pages. “Someone tore them out, then enchanted the book so that I couldn’t see who did it or what the pages were about.”
“I have a feeling this is about more than a vandalized book.”
“A lot more.” I could tell him all about it, but it’d be far better to show him. “I need you to come with me.”
The Devil
Carrow led me through the bustling streets of Guild City, her stride long and confident. I couldn’t keep my gaze off her golden hair. It glinted in the weak sunlight. She’d given me back the full range of my vision. Thanks to her, I could see color again, taste things as they were meant to be, feel things.
She had brought me back to life.
I reached out for her, an unconscious gesture that shocked the hell out of me. Quickly, I curled my hand into a fist, lowering it to my side.
Cursed Mate.
I hadn’t lied when I’d said that I was trying to lean the specifics of the phenomenon, but it was proving to be exceedingly difficult.
Her vision and the title of our affliction itself were clear enough. We were fated to be together, yet cursed to be torn apart. By me drinking her to the death.
How the hell that would happen, though, I had no idea.
There was something in me…this driving force…that compelled me to protect her. I hadn’t felt something so strong since the blood lust when I’d first been turned. But this…
I couldn’t let anything bad happen to her.
And this was all my fault. My touch was tainted. It had been so since I was turned. How could I be anything other than her Cursed Mate?
The obvious solution was to ignore her and us, but Carrow was hard to forget. It had been impossible not to think of her, and I was accustomed to avoiding things.
Things that I wanted.
I’d never wanted a person before—not like this—and it took everything I had to fight the pull between us. No matter how much I wanted her, the Cursed part of our situation hung over our heads.
“Where, exactly, are we going?” I asked, trying to drag my attention from her.
“Almost there.”
She led me down a narrow alley between buildings. The rough stone snagged the fabric of my suit, and I shifted so that I could move silently through the space.
We arrived in a quiet square at the edge of town. It was familiar—every place in Guild City was familiar—but I hadn’t been there in decades. Centuries, possibly.
“What’s happening here?” I frowned at the wall, feeling the faintest pulse of dark magic. I stepped toward it, and Carrow grabbed my arm. Awareness raced through me at her touch, and I suppressed the faintest shudder.