Page 128 of The Warlock's Trial

“That’s right after Christmas,” Nadine said.

I nodded. “If we haven’t broken the curse by then, we need to terminate. We can’t wait longer than that.”

Nadine sniffled. “Okay. We’ll give ourselves until Christmas, and if we don’t break the curse by then, we’ll have to face the alternative.”

I wrapped Nadine in my arms and drew her close. My tears fell into her hair as I thought of the heartbreak that lay before us. Something occurred to me just then.

“It is along this path that she will face her greatest joy and her greatest pain,” I whispered.

Nadine drew away from me. “What did you say?”

I furrowed my brow as the pieces came falling into place. “It’s something Santos said the night Hattie and I summoned him. He asked if I was sure I wanted to save you from the demon’s spell, because as he put it, It is along this path that she will face her greatest joy and her greatest pain.”

“I already lost my grandmother, and that’s the greatest pain I can imagine,” Nadine said. “If at the end of this we have our baby boys, then they will be our greatest joy.”

When she said that, it was like a huge weight had lifted off both our shoulders. These boys would be our greatest joy, no matter what happened.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me what Santos said?” she asked.

“I didn’t want you to expect suffering,” I admitted. “I didn’t want you to feel like you didn’t have a choice, because your destiny wasn’t written yet.”

Nadine drew a deep breath and snuggled close to me again. “I don’t know what our true destinies are, but I know we’re supposed to be together, and I know we’re meant to be a family—all of us. We’re going to break the curse, and we’re going to be a family, Lucas.”

Nadine couldn’t know the future, but when she said that, my fear began to subside. We’d fought greater odds before; we could do it again.

She touched her belly again, and I placed my hand on top of hers. Joy filled my heart. Nadine was right about that. Whatever we were meant to do, being parents was the most important destiny of all.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into all this,” I whispered.

“You mean getting me pregnant? Lucas, that’s not something to be sorry about.”

“No, I mean the Reaper’s Shadow curse. There’s nothing that could stop me from being with you, but I’m sorry you were cursed to do it. I wish I could’ve found a way to break the curse before we ever got together.”

“We can’t change the past,” Nadine said. “And there’s nothing you could’ve done differently. No one can break this curse but me.”

“I could’ve kept it in my pants,” I teased. It felt good to joke with her, because the rest of this had felt so heavy. I didn’t want that for us. This should be the happiest time of our lives.

Nadine chuckled. “I’m the one who gave you oral and ended up with kidney failure. We got intimate, so I got sick.”

“Do you really think it happened that way?” I wondered.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think I would’ve ended up with kidney failure whether I was cursed or not.”

I stroked her hair. “I wish I could’ve given you a better experience. We spent so much time trying to rationalize what we were doing so that we wouldn’t trigger the curse. I wish we hadn’t had to worry so much.”

“You gave me the best experience,” Nadine argued. “We took things slow, and that’s okay. What a fucking stupid curse anyway. Sex is just a concept, and we never should’ve had to rationalize any of it in the first place. I’m sick of feeling as if our love has brought destruction. I don’t want to believe that anymore.”

“This curse nearly broke us, and it never should’ve had a hold on us in the first place,” I agreed. “No one else should get a say in our relationship, certainly not some guy who lived two-hundred years ago. I hate that this caused so much hurt and shame. I want to heal that part of us together and move forward without fear of hurting each other anymore.”

Nadine offered a smile. “I’d love nothing more than that. That starts with acknowledging that we aren’t at fault. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

My eyes scanned her beautiful features. “You’re right. All we did was love each other deeply, and that shouldn’t be a curse.”

She shook her head. “Never.”

Desperate wanting overcame me, and I placed my hand on the back of her neck as I pulled her close. Nadine grabbed my hip, drawing me into her. We melted together as passion surged through the kiss. Our hands roamed each other’s bodies as our pulses quickened in sync.

“I can’t believe I put two babies in you,” I said between breaths. “It’s so fucking sexy.”

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