Page 86 of The Guardian's Curse

Her head tilted, a flicker of hurt in her eyes. “I don’t know. It just is. And it’s connected to the curse on me.”

The warmth of her touch turned to icy cold in the pit of his stomach. “Curse on you? What do you mean?”

She nodded grimly. “I don’t fully understand how, but I’ve been cursed sometime in the last week or two,” she said. “I think what happened to Lucia after she met Kova is happening to me.”

Confusion and shame swept over him. He couldn’t help staring at Lucia, frozen in her eternal silent sorrow. The thought of Shoshanna’s skin turning gray and cold was enough to make him despair. He had done this to her. If he had kept his distance and resisted his base urges, she would be safe. “Then you must stop this before it gets any worse. We will get you help.”

“From who? The witch who placed the curse?” she said with a sad smile. “I don’t think she’s inclined to help either of us. You said yourself that you’ve been trying for a century to fix it and no one has been able to.”

He shook his head. “But how could she possibly know about you? Unless you’ve kept something from me, you haven’t left this house except for the party at Infinity. And we were never together there. Did you leave without telling me?”

“No,” she said. “My best guess is that she’s still connected to the curses somehow, so maybe she felt it when I was messing with Lucia. But honestly, how she did it isn’t really important right now. My vision has been getting worse and worse every day.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said sharply. She pulled her hand away, and he regretted his sharp tone.

“I thought it was just strain from working so much,” she said. “Until I read those journals, I didn’t put it all together.”

He gripped her wrists. “Then you must stop. Lucia can wait.”

Her springy curls bobbed as she shook her head. “That’s just it. I think it’s going to get worse and worse. If I don’t figure out how to save Lucia, then I’m going to be right here with her,” she said quietly. Though her face was set with grim resolve, her accelerating heartbeat betrayed her fear. “I have to finish before it’s too late.”

A wave of despair washed over him. “I won’t allow it. I will not see you here next to her.” He tore away. “I have ruined you, Shoshanna. I’m so sorry.”

Her brow furrowed. “Alistair, this is not about you and your self-loathing right now. I need to finish this work. And I need you to help.”

He shook his head and gently extricated his hand from hers. “I will not hasten your demise, Shoshanna,” he said sharply. “I forbid you to work on this further.”

Her eyes widened. “You forbid me?”

He drew himself up to his full height. While he lacked Julian’s towering stature, he still dwarfed Shoshanna. “This is my house, and—”

“And I am a grown-ass woman,” she said, raising her voice. “And while destiny may have some plans for us, it sure as hell didn’t grant you authority over me. Don’t think for a second that you get to make decisions for me because of this little red thread.” Her eyes gleamed as she grabbed his hands and held them tight. “Please help me. I don’t know how long I have before I...before I can’t.”

He felt wrenched in two, utterly helpless. He was helpless when Julian was ripped apart by anguish after Brigitte died in front of him, again and again. He was helpless to watch Paris in the throes of his curse, enmeshed in his inescapable nightmares. And now, he would know the unique torment that Kova felt, the same pain that drove him to destroy himself rather than suffer any longer. He would not have Julian’s strength to survive for two centuries with his mate torn away.

He wanted to turn back the clock and keep her at arm’s length, to have never laid his touch upon her. Perhaps she would have been spared such an ugly fate. It was beyond cruel to discover that destiny itself had brought them together only for him to see her snatched away because of the sins of his past.

But her resolve in the face of fear shamed him. Wallowing in his misery in a luxurious little cage was a coward’s way. If this fragile human would fight to the end, then what excuse did he have? And if destiny itself had bound them together, then surely he bore the sacred duty of standing by her side.

“What must I do to help?”

Her gaze softened. “Thank you.” She folded her arms around him and rested her head against his silent heart. Even with the divine warmth of her body and her sweet scent, he already felt the specter of grief looming over them. He could see Shoshanna standing here in this lonely alcove, eyes turned up to him as if to ask Why did you let this happen to me?

When she tried to pull away, he held her tighter. If he could have stopped this through sheer willpower, it would already be done. A small chuckle vibrated against his chest. “We have to work.”

He reluctantly released her. “Tell me what I should do.”

* * *

For the next few hours, they worked on Shoshanna’s spellcrafting. Rather, she gave orders, and he carefully sorted through her ingredients and weighed them on a small digital scale. He obediently followed her directions, but he was plagued with worry as he watched her fumble around the small bags and bottles several times. It was such a stark contrast to the graceful and precise dance of her fingers across piano keys.

After an escalating series of yawns, he finally set a tiny bundle of herbs aside. “You should rest.”

To his surprise, she nodded her agreement. He helped her up and guided her back to her bedroom, trying not to think about the implications of her growing dependence on him. He waited as she washed up, scrubbing her face clean and leaving a pleasant flush on her full cheeks. She perched on the edge of her bed, holding her arms out. “Will you lay with me until I go to sleep?”

“You didn’t even have to ask,” he said. Still, he was pleased that she did. Every little expression of desire bolstered him. He lay down and wrapped his arms around her. “Promise you’ll rest and not keep working when you wake.”

“Hmm,” she said.

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