“Was it witches or vampires?” I ask her.
She stares at me wide-eyed. “I have no clue. It was the strangest thing. One minute we were having a conversation, the next, darkness. Then the pain started. Like a knife being sliced across me. Thankfully, I had my knife, so I was able to defend myself.”
For the first time, I notice the blade in her hand, drenched in blood.
“I couldn’t tell you who it was either. I have no idea who attacked us. I’ve never been attacked like that,” Ambrose says.
“Ambrose,” Lumi says, her voice full of relief.
My heart stutters at how warm and full of joy her voice sounds when she says his name. And I know in that moment, she truly could fall in love with him again. I’m the thing getting in her way.
He smiles at her.
She smiles back.
There’s a second of silence. Of unspoken words between them. They’re communicating mind to mind. Bond to bond. I could slip inside. I could hear what they are saying.
But I don’t.
“It had to be the curse,” Riven says, looking at both of them.
“What do you mean?” Lumi asks him.
“Ambrose’s curse. There is no evidence of witches or vampires. That means one of us tried to kill her. We blacked out. Have no memory of it. We tried to kill her to fulfill her curse. It could have been any one of us.”
Everyone looks at me. But there are no black spots in my memory.
“Nyx saved us. He wasn’t trying to kill us,” Lumi says.
But some of the people in the room aren’t convinced from the looks on their faces.
“Brax and Talonis were with me the entire time. Others might have tried to get you, but when the curse comes for me, I’ll succeed. I’m a killer. I’m made for this. No one will be here to save you from me,” I say.
Lumi looks at me, seeing the truth in my words. But she doesn’t cower away from me. Doesn’t fear me. Doesn’t beg Ambrose to use his magic to lock me up. And that’s exactly what scares me. It’s almost like if she has to die, she’d rather it be at my hand. Because she knows I’ll be following right after her in death. And in death, might be the only time we can truly be together.
“There’s another problem,” Sylara says, interrupting.
Everyone’s eyes but Lumi’s turn in her direction.
“The wolf shifter curse is getting worse. It took everything in me to shift, when usually I can shift as easily as I breathe. I watched all of you. It’s happening to everyone. We have to figureout how to break all three of the curses or…” Sylara doesn’t finish her sentence. She doesn’t have to. We all know the stakes have been raised. If we don’t find a way to break the curse for the wolf shifters as well, we could be stuck as humans or wolves. Both thoughts are terrifying. We’d rather die than have no control over shifting. And Lumi, who is staring at me with concern in her eyes, knows that better than anyone.
Chapter 9
Ambrose
“I’m sorry,” the words tumble out of my mouth. Without thought, but it doesn’t make them any less true. I don’t know who attacked us or how. All I know is that it was my job to protect her, and I failed.
“It’s not your fault we were attacked,” Lumi says.
“It is. If Riven is right, then my curse caused someone to attack us.”
“It could have still been the witches or vampires, but even if it was your curse, it’s still not your fault.”
I sigh. “I’m your mate. I love you. I’m supposed to protect you. I failed. I didn’t sense the danger. And I was lying on the ground instead of protecting you.”
“You were attacked and unconscious. And your connection to Nyx saved us. I was able to communicate with him because of you.”
I stare at Nyx, who is still glaring at me like I’m the reason Lumi was severely injured. And for once, I don’t blame him. Except I’m still angry with him for what seemed like trying to sabotage my date with Lumi. I don’t know if he was doing more to help or hurt. Still, I can be the bigger man when it calls for it.