Page 73 of Savage Hope

Florentine’s didn’t teach us about the blood kin curse. They merely taught us to fear it. Rightfully so, I guess. Fearing it is the right action, but other than summarizing that fact, we know little else.

“I’m going to take your silence as an acknowledgment that there’s more for you to know. Would you agree?” Sommers asks, and I nod, even though I wasn’t the one to speak out to begin with. I’m not the only one, though. Almost everyone nods. All of us who are new, it seems. “The blood kin curse began almost four hundred years ago. The story goes that a witch who fell in love with a vampire, a wolf, and a human was left heartbroken when the quadrants denied their love among supernaturals. That love, uniting all, was tainted by the prejudice of others. She was so heartbroken when the war broke out, killing her men, that she tainted their ancestral lines for all of eternity. Witches included, because no quadrant offered her a sliver of grace. None but a few humans, but by the time she learned of this, it was too late.”

I gape at her, as do the others, hanging on her every word as we learn where all of this began. It doesn’t feel fair to be tangled in a blood curse because of someone else’s views. Just because I have a blood connection to those who hurt her, whoever she actually was, doesn’t mean I would have the same views as them…does it?

To love multiple men and have them love you back…what must that be like?

My cheeks heat as my heart races faster.

“How has a cure not been found after so many years?” Helena asks, and I hum in agreement, confused about how we’re still here after so long.

Professor Sommers sighs like she feels the same confusion we do. “There is a whole faculty of witches, humans, vampires, and wolves dedicated to finding an answer. Why one hasn’t been found yet is unknown, and all we can hope for is the answer to reveal itself one day soon. Until then, we have to figure out what part of your past you must recall to unlock the sigil from your body.”

29

POLARIS

Days have passed since my first sigil class, but the bangles that render me powerless remain firmly in place. Sitting at the witches’ table in the dining hall, the plush velvet cushioned seat beneath me, I will them to disappear from existence, yet the desire only seems to make them feel tighter against my flesh.

Crossing my hands, I run my fingertips across each one as my eyelids close. I take a moment to focus on my breathing as I rack my brain, desperate to remember something from my past that will help lead me to my future. But nothing jumps to the forefront of my mind, and when I pry my eyes back open again, the bangles haven’t loosened an inch.

I sigh, sagging back in my seat with defeat as the world around me continues while I internally combust.

“What’s the matter, trash? Sad you’re not a vampire?”

A shiver runs down my spine at the sound of the deep, booming voice. His presence oozes around me, making it impossible to escape.

I don’t want to look, and I know I shouldn’t, but even as I think those words, my gaze tilts to his as he leans against the dining table beside me. The sneer curling his lip is filled withvenom as his eyes narrow, watching his words poison the space between us.

“Go away, Blaze,” I mumble, instantly missing Bryony’s presence today. She’s been keeping her distance since I’ve barely said a word to her, but I can’t deny the fact that I miss having her around in times like this. But if she were here now, all I would do is try and hide behind her, and that’s not what I need. What I must do is learn to survive on my own and acknowledge that doesn’t always entail hiding away or plastering myself against the wall to make myself invisible.

Trouble seems to be looking for me, and whether I like it or not, I need to start addressing things head-on. Or try, at least. Without getting myself killed. That’s the most important part.

“Ah, so you have heard of me and my legacy,” he states, folding his arms over his chest with an air and regalness that I’ve never witnessed before.

What the fuck? His legacy? This guy thinks way too highly of himself.

I try to sink my teeth into my tongue to keep my mouth shut, but it seems once I decide to stand my ground, there’s no turning back. “If that’s what you’re calling it.” I look away, acutely aware of my cheeks heating under his intense stare, but the longer I look at him, the more they threaten to heat for another reason.

It’s not fair that someone so mean can simultaneously be so handsome. Imagine if his looks were tainted every time he was cruel. What would he look like then? I get the feeling he’d be unrecognizable.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he snaps, and before I can turn to glare at him, his fingers clench around my jaw, forcing my eyes to meet his.

I can practically feel his fingerprints burning into my skin as his eyes bore into mine. The piercing blue pools darken to analmost navy as his jaw ticks. I want to scream and cry and run for my life, but it’s impossible with the hold he has on me.

Choking in a breath, I keep my gaze fixed on him as I speak. “Remove your hand from my face.” The words are slow, precise, and stronger than I feel, but he doesn’t relax his hold. All I see is his jaw clench tighter and his eyes ignite as he swipes his bottom lip along his teeth, making me gulp.

Maybe standing my ground was not the right thing to do.

Gulping, my skin tingles with panic, but I manage to keep my stare aimed at him until a voice booms from behind me.

“You can leave her alone now.”

Tatum.

I’d know that voice anywhere after our night in the forest. I haven’t really spoken to him since, but we’ve smiled in passing, each one reminding me of the moment we shared, the pain we unraveled.

“Ah, Tatum, I should have known two sad souls would find each other,” Blaze says with a grunt, his amusement diabolical as my pulse thunders in my ears.

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