Page 24 of Cursed Heirs

“If I tell Orpheus, he and I can train together, work on this new development with my magic and—”

“Alena, please. Don’t do this. Don’t even think it. Constantine Vale has taken so much from all of us, don’t put yourself in aposition to allow him to take anything more. You’re strong and free. You don’t need to prove the former. You don’t.”

“That might be part of it, but only a small part.”

I highly doubted it was that small to her. “Stay out of it and remember how powerful you are without any of this being a factor. You’ve come a long way and you should be proud. You’ve grown into yourself in so many ways and it’s been a pleasure to watch. Just… when I’m not around… promise me that you’ll remember that.”

“When you’re not around? What does that mean?”

Hell.It was hard to think straight all the while the sound of her pulse was teasing me, that delectable cotton candy scent that I wanted to lick off every inch of her skin and inhale down deep…stop.

“Just when I’m locked down with this new… development, unable to be around the three of you.”

She shook her head vigorously. “It won’t be like this for much longer. You’re just acclimating right now.”

“Some never manage toacclimate.”

“That won’t be you,” she told me, so sure of it. So naïve to that part of me. How could I expect her to love that?

“Xavier, it won’t, okay? Do you hear me, sweet thing?”

I swallowed down my automatic response to tell her there was no hope there for me, that it had been taken the momenthe’dtaken my magic.

“I hear you,” I managed to utter convincingly, even adding a smile.

Well, the smile wasn’t the hard part. It was so easy to smile at her. She brought out so much in me and that was just one thing. I hadn’t smiled so much, laughed, or enjoyed life as much as I had since she’d come into our lives.

And it hurt.

It hurt that I couldn’t stay.

That I had to lie to her now.

That I wouldn’t get to say goodbye. The risk was too great that she’d stop me.

But if I did stay, she’d be gone anyway. Either I’d lose control soon and hurt her—I mean, I couldn’t even be within touching distance of her right now as I was—or she’d see the monster that I really was and recognize whatIhad.

There was nothing to love here.

Not anymore.

I was just a shell.

In taking away my magic, Constantine had taken away the essence of who I was. And now all that existed was emptiness and pain.

The ward barring me taking my leave of the room shuddered for a moment, and then my dad materialized into the room.

He was without his wheelchair now, able to walk, albeit it at short stretches and at a slow, easy pace. Both his eyes were healed now and his skin was red, covering the previously exposed bone in most places, yet still requiring a little more time to complete. Most of his hair had grown back too, there were no longer any tufts, it was just a couple of inches shorter than his normal length. He was able to use his magic, but just in weak spurts. According to Abigail’s assessment, it would take another couple of days for him to be back at top form.

Seeing as though he wasn’t working until he’d healed, he was dressed down in a pair of vibrant blue lounge pants and a black V-neck button down, his feet nestled in a pair of slippers.

He looked between us. “Everything copacetic in here?”

“All good,” Alena said.

“She’s leaving now.” I eyed my dad pointedly. “She needs to.”

“I see,” he responded, warily, knowing I meant that I was right on the edge, too close to jumping her right where she stood and burying my fangs in her throat—and other things.

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