Page 91 of Cursed Heirs

“That’s right, little angel, let go,” he uttered, pulling his mouth from mine, only to slick his tongue over my throat, then kiss along the path he’d made.

He lifted his head then grasped either side of mine.

And then he hesitated.

“It’s okay, Ore,” Xavier said, coming over to us.

“You’ve got this,” Talon told him as he joined us too so he and Xavier were either side of him facing me.

“Got what?” I asked.

Orpheus stroked the pads of his thumbs over my cheeks, warming me, soothing me. “I needed you in this relaxing-into-me state before I could attempt it.”

“Attempt what?”

“Shh,” he said, when he noticed my worry. “You’re infected with a mass amount of black magic by Constantine. My father spelled you, but it’s not taking root because he was too weak when he performed it. So I’m here to give it a jolt. Tal and X are here too so we can also re-establish our bond with you, to pull you to us, and away from him.”

“Do it,” I said.

He frowned. “Just like that?”

“I want him gone. I need out of here. Whatever it takes, even if it’s absolute agony, and the fight of my life, I don’t care.”

“It won’t be agony, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Ore, if you’re talking no pain at all, you could hurt yourself. The amount of black magic you’ll have to employ in the outside world to do this will be more than we planned, more than you’re used to,” Xavier warned him.

He looked out at him and Talon. “I don’t and she’ll never leave here.”

“Orpheus,” I spoke. “I don’t want you hurting yourself to save me. We can’t make choices like that between each other.”

Regret shone in his eyes. “Sometimes there’s no other way, Alena.”

He blew right through any further discussion then, as he suddenly invoked his power, warmth permeating my head at the point of contact.

It quickly morphed into a pins and needles sensation and I looked to see him grimacing, his hands shaking.

“Orpheus—”

“I’ve got it. Just hold on.”

It wasn’t me who needed to hold on.

He was clearly in pain and causing himself distress in the outside world that I couldn’t fully see here stuck in my subconscious.

And then I watched his stunning purple eyes fill with flecks of black.

“No. Stop, you’re taking in too much.”

“Ore,” Talon protested, coming to him and moving to pull at his arm.

But then Xavier was there with a burst of speed, pressing a hand to his chest. “Let him see this through. Have faith in him. Just like he had faith in us to bring us here. He didn’t go italone this time, he made a point to work alongside us, to do this together as a unit. It means something. It means a fuck of a lot actually for him.”

His words managed to placate Talon—well, only just. He still looked incredibly on edge, worried, and freaked out.

And he wasn’t alone.

But this was Orpheus Hart.

---