Page 103 of Cursed

I glanced at Valen and Bastian as they moved around their bikes with their own deliberate motions, but there was an unspoken current flowing between us.

“What do you think Avril’s doing?” Bastian asked.

I glanced at him and caught his sharpened grin.

“We can’t afford distractions,” I snapped.

Bastian’s laughter echoed off the high ceiling.

Valen rolled his eyes and came closer. “Are you taking an SUV?”

I nodded.

“What’s in the scroll?”

I had barely scanned it when I’d taken it from Lucian’s hand. I pulled it from my pocket and handed it to Valen. He unrolled it quickly and a thoughtful frown etched his features. As always, I could assume that the details of our mission would be outlined in Lucian’s secretary’s familiar shorthand.

Valen turned the parchment over. The map of the Sage’s mansion was sketched there with careful precision and marked with numerous points of attention and caution.

Nothing left to chance.

“It’ll be heavily fortified,” Valen murmured as he traced a finger along the outline of the estate’s boundaries.

“They always are,” I responded simply.

“Sounds fun,” Bastian said with a wicked grin. He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

As much as I tried to ignore it, Bastian’s delight at our dangerous assignment was infectious. We’d done this countless times before without any trouble. Tonight wouldn’t be any different.

I snatched the parchment out of Valen’s fingers and tucked it back into my pocket. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Ready?” Valen asked, though it sounded more like a command than a question.

“Always,” Bastian replied. “It’s been too long since Lucian sent us out to do anything meaningful.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Valen strode across the garage and slapped the door control.

As it slid upward, I ran my hands through my hair and then picked up my bag.

“Grab the keys,” I ordered Bastian. My voice cut through the silence as I scanned the darkness beyond the estate’s walls.

Valen lingered at the edge of the door for a moment, and his gaze lingered on the trees that lined the property. Their branches clawed at the sky like skeletal fingers.

“What?” I barked.

Valen shrugged. “Do you ever wonder if there’s anything in the woods?” he asked. His tone was strange, almost playful—

What the fuck was he doing?

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. The edge of my irritation was sharper than I intended. I’d told him stories about monsters in the woods to scare him when he was young—but I’d neverreallybeen sure that it wasn’t true. “Get your shit together. We only have until dawn.”

With a grunt, Bastian returned and tossed the SUV’s keys to me with a flick of his wrist. I caught them mid-air and the metallic jangle echoed in the garage.

“Let’s make this quick,” I said, my tone clipped as I gestured toward the vehicles parked beneath the overhanging eaves. Each motorcycle gleamed under the overhead lights, sleek and powerful. My SUV sat nearby, dark and brooding. I would have preferred to take my bike, but we were going to be transporting cargo—and I needed the space.

Valen shook off whatever had come over him and he strode toward his bike. “Right behind you.”

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