Page 51 of Cursed

Nicki went on, but her words had the exact opposite of the intended effect, Edeena realized. The curse had gone on as long as it had because no one had taken a stand to bring the family together. Because when each generation had a chance to do something about it—and there were several generations that had met the criteria—no one had stepped forth and committed.

But Edeena wasn’t going to let this generation pass without at least making the attempt. And that meant she had a party to get ready for.

“Will you be there tonight?” she asked Nicki, who was draining the last of her coffee. “Somewhere I can see you?”

“Oh, honey, despite the dress-up craziness, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She grinned at Edeena and waggled her brows. “It’s not every day you get to see a girl give it her all to break a family curse.”

Vince barreled into the punching bag for the third and final round of his workout, but he wasn’t feeling any better. He didn’t know who he wanted to hit harder—himself for caring too much about something that was completely out of his control, or any one of the thirty odd guys that Edeena could pick as her husband-to-be.

“You want to pick on someone your own size?”

Dimitri Korba’s voice rolled over the wide, empty room and Vince straightened, turning sharply as the captain of the Garronia National Security Force strode toward him. Like himself, Dimitri was dressed in workout gear and looked like he’d already gone through a punishing regimen, but he had a smile on his face that indicated he’d actually been enjoying himself.

Now he picked up a pair of boxing gloves and slipped them on, gesturing for Vince to come out onto the large square mat. He moved around to Vince’s left, his gloves up. “You don’t seem to be a very happy man, Prince Rallis,” Dimitri said. “That’s a shame, for someone who has so captured the interest of the queen.”

Vince lifted his brows, and obligingly moved out onto the mat. “The queen? What’s she got to do with anything?”

“If you spend any time in Garronia, you’ll learn she has everything to do with everything she can possibly pry into. It’s her royal right.”

Vince jabbed and Dimitri feinted easily, letting him get comfortable as Dimitri kept speaking.

“In your case, she is intrigued by everything you have brought to her attention, such as the Contos home at Heron’s Point. The queen is related to the Saleris by marriage, but she’s not unaware of the family’s holdings. This home in South Carolina interests her a great deal, however. Then there’s the curse and Edeena’s resolution to resolve it, and your interest in Edeena as well.”

Dimitri was watching Vince’s face, clearly expecting some kind of reaction to his words, and in so doing left his body open. Vince got in a kidney punch before Dimitri could cover himself, sending the big captain spinning around. Dimitri’s face darkened with annoyance, and Vince grinned.

“You’re right, this is making me feel better,” he said. “Maybe we should focus on the fight and leave the talk for later.”

“That’s the problem.” Dimitri paused to deliver several blows to Vince’s head, grunting with satisfaction as Vince blocked him capably, though Vince could tell he wasn’t deliberately trying to score a punishing hit, merely spar. “Later, perhaps sooner than you’d like, you’re going to be cornered by the queen and she’ll demand to know what your intentions are with Edeena. I like you, and you’ve done your best to protect Edeena, even from herself, so I wanted to warn you.”

“Consider me warned, then.” After that, the conversation fell away as the two of them sparred in ever more tighter rounds, with Dimitri scoring major hits to Vince’s shoulder, torso, and even kidneys, though none to his face. When they finally spun away from each other, both men were sweating hard, and Vince winced ruefully.

“I got to get back into the gym,” he muttered, while Dimitri grinned.

“Be glad you will be on display tonight, my friend,” he laughed. “Or you’d be sporting a black eye. You stay much longer in Garronia, we will fight again. It helps you to keep your head on straight, no?”

Hours later, Vince was still breathing a little gingerly when he strode down the hall behind a staff member, both of them wearing equally well-cut tuxedos. The man had come for him precisely at seven p.m., but despite Dimitri’s warning, the queen hadn’t been lying in wait for him anywhere, lurking around corners to spring on him unawares. He hadn’t seen Edeena either. Then again, she had a ball to prepare for. Surely that was an hours-long proposition right there.

“What is this passageway?” he asked now as they turned deeper into the palace, instead of heading out to the main entryway.

“With the queen’s decision to enlarge the ball for more guests, the streets are packed with cars,” the man said in heavily accented English. “Though it’s a bit of a walk, it’s faster to take you the back way, on foot, to the Visitors Palace. We should be there in less than twenty minutes. Most likely you will return this way as well.” The man chuckled. “I cannot imagine anyone will be getting away from the castle easily tonight.”

Something in the man’s words caught Vince up short. It almost made him feel trapped. Then again, they were going to the second formal party in less than a week, and everywhere he looked women were in formal gowns, men were in tuxedos, and even the servers were dressed to the nines.

One thing was for sure, Vince wouldn’t miss all the goddamned dancing that seemed to go on in this country.

When they finally climbed the last set of stairs, Vince couldn’t deny the ingenuity of the passage. The hallway tee’d off sharply here, one path leading deeper into the complex, the other toward what sounded like a thousand people milling around. The man gave him an engraved card and gestured him on, and Vince was left with no choice but to head toward the madness. In another twenty steps, he emerged into a wide foyer, doors flung wide both to a glassed-in atrium style ballroom and also to the steps leading out to the courtyard. The courtyard was thronged with people, and they were barely contained from spilling into the drive. The driveway itself was now lined with cars that crept forward to disgorge new guests.

“Vince!” At the sound of the familiar voice, Vince turned to see Marguerite and Caroline rushing toward him, Rob and Cindy Marks on their heels.

“Where is Edeena. Does she know? Did you tell her?”

Vince smiled, accepting Marguerite’s impulsive hug despite his damaged body, then setting her back. “She doesn’t. Your secret is safe.” He’d gotten the call from the girls the morning after he’d traveled to the farm country with Edeena. Both sisters had been adamant about attending the engagement ball, and Marks and his wife had been game to come along. Now the Saleri sisters wore evening gowns, and even Rob and Cindy were dressed in a tuxedo and a floor length gown, respectively. Vince couldn’t decide which of the two Americans looked more awkward. He figured he was probably a close third.

“Flight go okay?” he asked, smothering his smile.

“I do not even want to know how much that cost,” Rob said, shaking his head. He looked around with surprise evident in his face. “And this place . . . I don’t know what I was expecting, but this was not it.”

Another feminine voice called out, and Caroline turned, her face lighting up in recognition. “Go,” Vince ordered and she headed off, Cindy right behind her. He continued then with Rob. “Caroline and Marguerite should be safe here anyway, but make sure none of their own family members leave with them.”

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