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 learn 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.
“Don’t go near it,” she warned. “There’s dark magic around the wall. It cursed Mac and Seraphia.”
“Seraphia? The librarian?”
“Yes. You know her?”
“Not well. But I quite like the library.” I hadn’t read much in decades, but the library was quiet and imbued with an energy that soothed me when the memories became too dark. It was a meditative place for me.
I turned to look at her and stilled. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
She snapped them shut. “Are they glowing?”