Page 14 of Cursed

Dim candle light flickered against the walls and dancing shadows twisted and writhed like tormented souls across the tall bookshelves that lined the walls; their movements seemed to mock me, as though they wished to remind me of how easily I could become one of them.

Across the room, a crystalline orb floated above Lucian’s desk, its surface pulsated with a malevolent red glow. It hovered there, a heartbeat of dark energy that sent chills racing through me. I felt its pull—an insidious allure that made my fingers twitch with the urge to reach out and touch it so that I could brush my fingertips across it and feel its warmth against my skin.

But I knew better. I had learned far too many lessons about the cost of curiosity in this wretched place.

“Ah, Avril,” Lucian’s voice sliced through the thick silence, smooth and cold like ice gliding over steel. He stood by the window, silhouetted against the moonlit night beyond, a predator biding his time. The shadows clung to him and twisted around his lean form like tendrils of darkness.

“Come in.”

Was that amusement in his tone?

I remained rooted to the spot as my heart drummed an erratic rhythm against my ribs.

The door creaked shut behind me and a chill swept across my skin.

He turned toward me and leaned back against the window frame, arms crossed over his chest, a picture of casual menace. “Are you ready to apologize for your betrayal?”

The orb that hovered above his desk pulsed slowly, and my gaze darted toward it before I looked back at Lucian.

His invitation hung heavy in the air, taunting me.

Apologize?

The word was strange on my tongue, an unwanted and bitter taste that lingered and threatened to make me gag. I met his pale stare, searching for any hint of mercy or reprieve.

Silence stretched between us.

I wouldn’t apologize.

I’d done nothing wrong.

He was the one who should—

My breath hitched in my throat as I battled against the fear of what he might do to me—

“You remind me of your father,” he mused, as his cold eyes swept over me. He pushed away from the window and walked toward me. The shadows swirled around him like a cloak, and I fought the urge to step back. “Dario Velez… He thought he was very clever. Perhaps even invincible… Arrogant bastard.”

His tone shifted, smooth and laced with malice. “Your father plotted against me, you see.”

The daughter of a traitor.

With every word he spoke, dread pooled in my stomach, a heavy stone sinking deeper.

“I—”

I struggled to find my voice—but did he want me to answer him?

“Ambition has its price, does it not?”

I didn’t move as he crossed the room with slow, measured strides.

Why was he telling me this?

“I don’t know,” I muttered.

His smile was like poisoned honey.

“Your mother,” he paused dramatically, as though he was savoring my growing unease, “was the one who revealed his treachery. She was… loyal. And loyalty is— rewarded.”

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