Page 52 of The Cursed Sebastian Storm

Eli frowned. “Just doesn’t seem like you’d have enough power to lend if you couldn’t do magic with the veins sucking you dry.”

“Well, it definitely worked.” James opened the driver’s door.

Eli stopped short of the car. “Why didn’t your magical ability diminish after you got trapped?”

James shrugged. He and Eli turned their attention to Sebastian.

“I don’t know.” Sebastian wracked his brain. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Hm…” Eli didn’t appear satisfied by the lack of answers. “It doesn’t seem like Parker or Hazel have had any issues with their magic since the curse claimed them either.”

Sebastian gave Eli a helpless shrug.

They all climbed in the car. Eli leaned forward from the back seat. “It must be something to do with Sebastian being in line to inherit the curse and the rest of us only getting caught up through the secret. We must not be tied to the veins the same way you are, Sebastian.”

“That’s good.” Relief rippled through Sebastian. He may have let go of his guilt for trapping the others, but knowing they might be better off than him still eased something inside him. “Maybe it will be easier to untie you all.”

Eli leaned back and buckled his seatbelt. “If we’re trying to free ourselves by correcting the imbalance, I don’t think it will matter. We should all be equally free when the veins are restored.”

The drive north was quiet after that.

Returning to Storm House in the near-darkness gave Sebastian a spike of anxiety. As he unlocked the gate, a primal part of his brain told him he shouldn’t be out on the grounds, even though he hadn’t spotted any shades. The thought of going inside the house, even the kitchen, made him feel even worse. With the darkness shrouding the property, it was too much like all the nights he’d been trapped here.

James placed a hand on the small of his back. “You okay?”

“Not quite, but it’ll be fine. I’ve got to get through this.” Sebastian leaned into James, who encircled his waist with a steady arm.

“You can face anything, sweetheart,” James murmured into Sebastian’s hair.

Sebastian straightened. “Yeah. With you, I know I can.”

James’s arm tightened around him.

Eli held back under the guise of getting his backpack out of the car. Sebastian was grateful for the moment with James. His feelings for Storm House were so tumultuous. He never quite knew what coming to the property would do to him.

“Being here in the dark is freaky,” Eli whispered as they walked up the driveway.

No one disagreed. They quickly fed the confused chickens and collected their eggs. Sebastian gave some attention to Miss Moo, who was munching the hay set out for her near the barn.

Now that they were deeper into the property, shades floated overhead. The beasts didn’t seem to take much notice of the three of them as they made their way around, so at least there was that. Sebastian was surprised he hadn’t seen any lurking around the house. They’d always been looking in the windows and waiting outside the doors. It was like they knew Sebastian wasn’t home and had lost interest.

The thought gave him chills.

More shades drifted through the forest as Sebastian, James, and Eli walked along the path to the clearing. Sebastian wished he had one of his oil lamps so he could see better. The shadows were deep and dark under the trees.

As the path opened into the clearing, they all stopped. Shades lurked everywhere. Half a dozen circled the fuel cell in the middle, running their hands over it. Others sat in the trees, their onyx eyes fixed on Sebastian and his companions.

“You want to keep going, Eli?” James put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, not taking his eyes off the infested clearing.

Eli chewed on his bottom lip. “We have to. I need that data, and who knows how long this darkness will last.”

“If we try not to startle them, it might be okay.” Sebastian took a step forward. “The shades here were never more than a nuisance unless I messed with the magic in the veins, and we aren’t doing magic. Just grabbing pieces of paper.”

“Exactly.” Eli sounded more confident. He and James followed Sebastian into the clearing. “Sebastian, will you write down the times as I get the papers?”

“Sure.” He took the notebook and manual-wind pocket watch they’d been using to check the time on the property as Eli unearthed his folders from his backpack.

James watched the two of them as they worked, his focus on the shades. The ones preoccupied with the fuel cell didn’t seem to notice them, but the ones sitting in the trees tracked their movements.

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