Chapter 17

MISTY

I was ready to give up. Yesterday, I spent hours at the Monolith, but no matter what I tried, nothing worked. Melanie came over to teach me meditation, but I couldn’t find that elusive spark Cammy mentioned—if it was even there.

On top of that, I hadn’t slept well. The nightmare had returned in full force and plagued me more than once a night. At this rate, I’d be a doddering eighty-year-old by the time I found a way to release Lloyd from the curse.

I walked into the kitchen bleary-eyed and in a foul mood. I’d heard Tanner and Chelsea last night, which hadn’t been conducive to sleeping either.

Switching on the kettle, I sat at the kitchen table with my head in my hands as Tanner walked in, smelling like Chelsea, a fresh mark on his neck.

“Tanner, any news from Frieda?” I asked.

“Yeah, the guards have been doubled on perimeter duty since my desertion.”

“Hmm.”

We had all threatened the king, and I couldn’t understand why Lloyd hadn’t woken. I wished I knew exactly how the curse worked, but without the information from the grimoire, there was no chance of breaking the curse.

“How will we know when Lloyd wakes?”

“We’ll know,” he smirked. “I left a cell phone in the chamber, and I’m the only contact.”

I snorted. “The battery will have run flat by now.”

“Give me some credit. The phone is switched off, and I left a power bank.” He raised his brows and angled his head as if to say, “Give me my props.”

“You’re not just a pretty face,” I conceded.

Chelsea walked in, practically glowing, wearing the tiniest shorts and T-shirt displaying her mark. Tanner couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

“Prettier than yours,” Chelsea smirked. “You look like you haven’t slept. You moaned and groaned half the night.”

“And you moaned, and he groaned for the other half,” I grumbled.

Chelsea went bright red and giggled, her arm snaking around Tanner, who looked away self-consciously.

“Why don’t you tell us about this nightmare again?” Tanner asked, changing the subject.

I sighed and got up to make myself an extra-strong cup of coffee. My mom didn’t buy coffee; it was always tea, but we’d stocked up and raided Chelsea’s parents’ pantry.

“I told you, it’s always the same.” I froze. Always the same? Fuck. Maybe that’s what the head signified.

“I need a spade,” I yelled and tore upstairs to get dressed.

“What?” Chelsea shouted.

“Get dressed. We have work to do,” I shouted back.

In under five minutes, I had showered and dressed. Coffee was forgotten, and we walked briskly to the Monolith, spade in hand.

“Are you going to tell us?” Chelsea whined, jumping on Tanner’s back so he could carry her.

“I had this thought that the head always lands in exactly the same spot. Maybe it’s buried there?”

“Oh good, so we’re going to exhume a centuries-old skull so you can have a conversation with it?” Chelsea asked sarcastically.

“If you have a better idea, now would be the time…,” I retorted.

“Okay, okay. We’re all stressed, but Misty’s idea is not bad. There might be something else buried with the body,” Tanner said calmly.

“Exactly,” I said, giving Chelsea a dirty look, and in return, she blew me a kiss and sent me a dazzling smile.

By the time we got to the Monolith, I was sweating. I walked to the spot and stuck the spade in. “Here,” I proclaimed.

“I guess you’re up, honey.” Chelsea slid off Tanner’s back and gave him a little push.

Rolling his shoulders, he picked up the spade and started digging. The ground was hard, and it took a while for him to hit something. “Don’t get excited. It could just be a rock,” he said, but we crowded closer.

He widened the hole carefully, and then I saw the yellowed color of a skull. “Yes,” I hissed in vindication.

It took another half hour for Tanner to retrieve the skull from the ground, shaking it to dislodge the soil. There was no skeleton, just the head.

“So, is this him?” Chelsea asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be daft, I see a head, not a fucking skull, but this was Lloyd’s father.”

“Well, there’s nothing special about the skull,” Tanner said, handing it to me.

Feeling a little squeamish, I gingerly took the skull and hoped it wouldn’t open its jaws and bite me for disturbing its rest.

“And?” Chelsea asked.

“Fuck, nothing,” I raged and sat on the ground in defeat. “I’m not a witch, and I’m never going to be able to break the curse.”

Fisting a hand full of soil from the mound next to me, I threw it at the Monolith in frustration and heard a dull clunk.

“What was that?” I asked, sitting up straight.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Chelsea squealed and picked up a small round object. “It’s a fucking pentagram.”

“Give it,” I yelled, digging the grimoire out of my backpack while I cleaned the pentagram on my shorts. I pressed it into the indentation on the cover, and it fused with the grimoire. “Yes,” I shouted, elated.

“Fuck me,” Tanner said.

Flipping the cover open, I watched as writing appeared on the page, wholly absorbed and barely aware when Chelsea and Tanner sat beside me.

“Fuck,” Chelsea exclaimed. “It’s in another language. Can we catch a break?”

I looked at her, nonplussed. “What are you talking about? It’s in English, except for the headings.”

“No, it isn’t, not for us,” Tanner confirmed.

“So, I ~am~ a witch…”

I didn’t know how that realization made me feel. It was a strange thought to be something other than what you’ve always known.

Lloyd had been right. It still worried me that he might reject me, especially now that I knew ~my people~ had cursed him in the first place.

~“He won’t. He’ll be all too happy to live a normal life,”~ Cammy piped up. ~“Besides, Vetus won’t allow it…”~

~“Vetus showed you a few images, and you’re smitten…”~

Live a normal life? He had abilities that no other wolf had. Would he still be invulnerable once the curse was broken and live forever?

He hadn’t even bled when Uncle Zack stabbed him. What if age caught up to him, and he disintegrated into dust?

“Right, let’s get you home so you can figure this out,” Tanner suggested.

“Okay,” I agreed, but even though I could now read the grimoire, breaking the curse would not be easy.

I sat at the kitchen table, paging through it, and despaired. The trouble was, I didn’t know what to look for and what curse was used in the first place. The pages had Latin headings, and I huffed in frustration.

“Chelsea?” I shouted.

“What?” She was busy cleaning before my mom arrived tomorrow, but I hadn’t heard the vacuum in a while and suspected she and Tanner were doing something other than cleaning.

“I need a Latin-English dictionary.”

“What’s wrong with your phone? Just google them.”

I sighed. There were at least a hundred pages. “I need a pen and notebook,” I shouted. “And we’re out of coffee,” I added.

“You’re a right royal pain in the ass. You know that?”

“Why? You hate cleaning…” I grinned knowingly. How easy it was for her… Hello mate, and off you go… Argh!

Tanner came trampling down the stairs. “Okay, I’ll go to the store, and I may as well get takeout. What do you feel like?”

“I feel like punching things,” I said, and Tanner raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know, pizza? But what I really need is some help.”

They just left me with it and thought I could solve everything, as though~ I~ had fused with the grimoire and had all the answers.

Tanner pulled the chair out, placed one foot on it, and propped his elbow on his knee. “Hit me,” he said.

“There is a shitload of information here, and I have no idea what curse was used.”

“I don’t know. Lloyd wasn’t forthcoming, and he’s not the type to push. He thawed a little when I taught him how to drive but avoided answering personal questions.

“On the day of the gala, he called me early in the morning, and it was the longest conversation we ever had.”

“What did he say?” I asked inquisitively.

“Besides what I already told you? He asked me if I could steal the journal from the safe and give it to you.”

“So, he didn’t tell you I was his mate?”

“No, he just said you might be the only one who could help him.”

We sat silently for a while, and I couldn’t help but feel that Lloyd would never claim me. The only reason he saved me was to break his curse.

~“He already claimed you,”~ Cammy said.

~“He marked me, but not in the traditional way…”~

~“There wasn’t time. He was shutting down.”~

~“If he trusted me, this wouldn’t have happened.”~

~“Don’t be a bitch. He’s been through hell,”~ she defended him.

“Okay, we know he wakes when there’s a threat and sleeps when the threat is neutralized,” I surmised. “So why hasn’t he woken?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. It might be that we need to formulate an actual plan with the intent to kill Axel, because Lloyd would be awake permanently every time someone ~thought~ about killing him.

“I’m sure Olivia was thinking that daily. I also think Axel will keep him close if he wakes again. We need to break his allegiance to the monarchy.

“I watched him throw a knife at Axel, and it stopped a couple of inches away from his face. It was the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s more than one curse? I bet he speaks Latin, and it would be so much easier if he were awake.”

Tanner patted my hand. “Probably, but you’ll figure it out,” he said.

“Yes, you will,” Chelsea said, bouncing into the kitchen. “I have faith in you.”

Great. I felt overwhelmed and incompetent. My mom was arriving tomorrow, and I’d made no progress.

I watched enviously as Tanner kissed Chelsea passionately before getting in the car and driving off.

The few kisses I had shared with Lloyd weren’t nearly enough, and although they were passionate, it was a different kind of passion—more punishing.

With a long-suffering sigh, I pulled the grimoire closer and reread the first page.

~Grimoire of the Monolith Nightshade Coven~

~By Kiralah Fortuna McBain~

~In dedication to Hecate, Goddess of Magic. May her wisdom guide my hand and her protection keep this work safe.~

~This grimoire is created to record my journey and knowledge in the magical arts. Herein lie the spells, rituals, and lore gathered through study and practice to be used for the benefit of myself and others in accordance with the highest good.~

~Bless this book, O spirits of light. Guide its reader with your sight.~

~Guard its secrets, pure and true. With harm to none in all I do.~

I turned to the next page, but something had been scribbled on the reverse of the first page. It looked like a pencil was used and then rubbed out. I held it up to the light, but it was too indistinct to make out.

This witch did not sound evil. Was she the one to curse Lloyd? Why would they not retaliate against the king if they were so powerful?

The heading on the next page read ~Praesidium.~ I googled it, and it meant Protection.

The following read ~Benedictiones~, which meant Blessings.

It was grunt work. An hour later, I hadn’t found a single curse, only spells for good, like fertility and even for making it rain.

Frustrated, I shoved the grimoire to the middle of the table. “Show me what I need to know, dammit,” I gritted.

I jumped up in fright as the pages turned faster and faster to the end of the book, just as Chelsea and Tanner walked in.

“You look like you saw a ghost,” Chelsea said, placing the notebook and pen on the table. Tanner was holding the pizza boxes, the aroma wafting into my nose.

Pointing at the book, I asked, “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“The pages turned on their own. Like magic!”

Chelsea and Tanner stared at me, but I ignored them. Grabbing the grimoire, I sat down again and read ~Crystallo—Vita et mors~, which translated to Crystal—Life and Death.

“Ugh, I got so frustrated that I told the book to show me what I needed to know, and this is what I got. Crystal—Life and Death. Fucking useless,” I explained.

“What did you say? Crystal?” I nodded at Tanner. “That might be it,” he said excitedly. “The chamber where Lloyd sleeps has crystals embedded in the walls. I only saw the chamber while he was awake, but they shone like stars; what if they go dark once his duty is done?”

“Life and death could be translated to light and darkness,” Chelsea said.

“You’re right,” I said, and hope flared. “If Lloyd wakes, he could bring the crystals.”

Tanner wrinkled his nose. “There’s just one problem. He can’t release himself from the chamber. You can only open it from the outside, and there are four different locks, but I know the sequence.”

“Then you can open the chamber.” I pirouetted in happiness.

“There’s no way I can go. Frieda said the guards have been instructed to keep their eyes peeled in case I show up. I don’t understand why my link hasn’t broken, but I know Axel, and he’ll have a plan. Let’s just focus on breaking the curse. We can make plans once he is awake and has called me,” Tanner suggested.

I picked the grimoire up and read aloud.

~Materials~

~Yellow candle~

~Golden cloth~

~A mirror~

“That’s easy enough,” Chelsea remarked.

~When the sun is at its zenith point, place the candle on the mirror in the center of the cloth. Position the crystals on the edge of the cloth, then light the candle.~

~Focus your intent and recite the following incantation.~

~By the light of the radiant sun, I call forth the power of one.~

~Illuminate with a golden glow, make these crystals’ brilliance show.~

~Awaken their light from deep within, and let their shine and magic begin.~

~By earth and sky, and flame so bright, I summon forth this crystal light.~

~Wipe away the previous spell so that all may be returned to the natural order and way.~

“We’re fucked. It says to do this in the sun, and the crystals are in the palace chamber.”