Page 12 of The Cursed Sebastian Storm

“Wow, okay.” Sebastian tried to sound enthusiastic, even if the idea of PhD-level research on anything to do with magic made his head ache. “The only issue is my long-dead relatives already messed with the veins. The instability is really dangerous.”

“But the fuel cell is holding it all together.”

“Yes and no.” Sebastian took a fortifying sip of coffee. “Messing with the veins, even stabilized, has consequences. The magic responds, and don’t get me started on how it riles up the shades.”

Eli gave him a funny look. “I’m not going to go out there at night.”

Sebastian ran a hand through his hair. This was too risky. The transfer spell had caused the veins to explode with power. There was no way Sebastian could predict what Eli poking around might trigger.

“The magic could be dangerous regardless of the shades. It knocked James and me around pretty badly.”

“But you handled it.” Eli crossed his arms like he was gearing up to argue. “Getting blasted off my feet won’t be the end of the world. Not when the research potential is this extraordinary. I can handle myself.”

Eli was right. Getting knocked over wasn’t the end of the world, but far worse could happen. Except Sebastian couldn’t explain how dangerous the veins were to Eli when he was still hiding it from James.

“Let’s talk to the others tonight and see what they think,” Sebastian said to put Eli off. “Just don’t go out to Storm House without telling me.”

“Of course not. I’m not going to trespass. If I’m doing research, I need permits and permission.” Eli’s expression turned dreamy. “This is going to be great. A more complex research project is exactly what I was looking for to kick off my career. And you and I can hang out more if you want to see what I’m doing. I promise it’ll be fun. Veins are so interesting.”

“Sure.” Sebastian was knocked for a loop by Eli’s desire to include him. It was like he assumed the two of them would become friends.

Seeming happy with their discussion, Eli left to shower and get ready for his day.

Sebastian couldn’t help wondering what Eli would think of him when he learned the truth about his parents’ deaths. He might not be so keen on friendship then.

James and Eli’s parents died in a car accident out on North Road. Sebastian had had no idea how close the crash site had been to Storm House until he’d found that old newspaper tucked away in his upstairs sitting room. The article he’d read had mentioned the mile marker where the car had been found the morning after the crash: September 23, 2009. Meaning the crash happened late at night on the twenty-second, the same night Uncle Stephen and his mom had transferred the curse from his sister Kira to him.

Sebastian had found the notes on the curse transfer spell tucked next to the article about the Grays’ deaths. He could imagine Stephen reading the paper and putting it all together. The blast that had emanated from the veins that night, knocking them all down. The loud noise Sebastian had sworn he’d heard off in the woods. At the time, he hadn’t known what it was and had wondered if he’d imagined it or if it had just been the energy exploding, but the article cleared that right up.

They’d heard the car crash, but with all the chaotic magic, no one had realized the noise had come from the road beyond.

The blast had knocked the Grays’ car off the road, smashing it into a tree. The speed at which the vehicle had been traveling, combined with the impact of the blast, would have created a much more forceful impact than anything the Storms had experienced in the clearing. The car hadn’t lost control, as the article stated. The crash was their fault. Sebastian’s fault. His family’s fault. They had killed two innocent people that night, all so Kira could be saved from Storm House. They’d been so reckless with magic that they hadn’t even noticed its consequences.

After realizing what they’d done, Stephen must have tucked the instructions inside the paper. Sebastian remembered his uncle acting unlike himself a few days after they’d done the spell, when the article would have appeared. Stephen had been upset and angry at Sebastian’s mom when they’d left to go back to Phoenix. This had to be why. No wonder Stephen hadn’t gone back for the instructions or clipped the article and archived it. He’d probably wanted to forget it ever happened.

But it had happened, and Sebastian knew. He should have told James that day in the dusty sitting room, let James piece it together as he had. Instead, he’d hidden the truth and stopped James from looking at the paper. He’d let James be excited they’d found the instructions. But he couldn’t keep this from James forever. Especially not if Eli wanted to go messing with the veins. Sebastian wouldn’t let Storm House kill any more of James’s family.

The curse had ruined both their lives, taken their childhoods, and twisted them in different but equally traumatizing directions. James should never have had to bear the burden of his parents’ deaths, and he had a right to know that the man he wanted a relationship with was at the root of all his heartache, the reason he had to grieve his parents at fourteen, the cause of his anxiety and fear over losing people. He had a right to know all of it and decide for himself how much more of Sebastian and this curse he really wanted in his life.

Sebastian cleaned up the breakfast dishes, his mood the lowest it had been since James had started coming to Storm House. He hadn’t expected to feel like this so soon after finding freedom. He needed to do something to keep his mind occupied so he didn’t get stuck in a downward spiral.

Before going out for the day, Eli had let Sebastian know he’d gotten a text from James saying he was at work and hadn’t had trouble feeding the chickens and leaving Storm House. This should have comforted Sebastian, but the idea of returning to the house still made his chest pinch.

He decided to make some bread. Baking soothed him. He enjoyed it, and there was no reason to give up the hobby just because he could go to the store and buy things. He dug around in the cupboards, looking for everything he needed, wondering when exactly baking had turned from a chore to a hobby.

He’d learned to cook with his uncle and had been uninterested at the time. But he’d gone along with it because there hadn’t been a lot of other distractions at a house with no TV, video games, or internet. Then, when he’d first been trapped on his own, he’d resented having to do everything by hand and had grumbled about every meal he made. He knew then that his uncle had used all those cooking lessons to secretly prepare him to survive being isolated in the outdated house.

Now, he was choosing to bake, hoping it would make him feel better. It made no sense.

After a thorough search of the kitchen, Sebastian’s fresh bread plan was thwarted. James and Eli didn’t have any yeast. Sebastian could bake something else, like sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, banana bread, the list went on, but he’d been set on plain old bread.

He supposed he could walk to the General Store and buy dried yeast. How often had he wished he could easily go grab something he’d run out of? Sebastian kept Storm House well stocked with essentials, but he’d often run out of his treats. He’d be dying for a potato chip and would have to wait weeks for his next bulk order to arrive.

James had left Sebastian a spare key and his laptop in case Sebastian wanted to go online. He placed the key in his pocket before slipping James’s jacket on. He had no idea what to even do on the internet anymore. He had no one to message. So he was going out instead.

Sebastian walked to the front door. Nerves fluttered uncomfortably inside him. He didn’t understand why. Walking the few blocks to the town center was no big deal. He didn’t particularly want to be alone in James’s house all day, so why was it equally hard to go out?

He opened the door, annoyed with himself. Pushing away his discomfort, he locked up behind him, shoved his hands in his pockets, and stalked down the street.

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