Page 9 of Cursed

Her gaze darted to the exit, and for a moment, I thought she might actually run for it. But she was smarter than that; she wouldn’t risk turning her back on me.

“You...” Her voice trembled as she pointed a quivering finger my way.

Soft purple magic glowed at the tip of her finger.

She was trying.

It was almost endearing.

“You’re nothing but a monster,” she hissed.

A chuckle escaped my lips as I dropped my gaze to her quaking hand. “Exactly,” I replied and relished how her accusation felt like a compliment. “I learned to hunt— I had no choice. And now? Now I crave the chase.” My smirk returned as her pale magic suddenly flickered out. Nervously licking her lips, she took a step back, but I walked past her and fell into a large armchair, completely at ease. “You should do the same. You won’t last long as Lucian’s bride if you can’t… hunt.”

Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes flicked towards the door again. She had to know… she couldn’t run. Not from me.

“But... why?” Her voice was hushed, a fragile plea echoing in the cavernous library. “Is it solely for amusement? For power?”

I shrugged. “Does it matter? The reasons are of no consequence.”

She swallowed hard; her pale skin drawn tight over delicate bones. She seemed so small, so frail in the face of all that was laid out before her.

“But... you can’t— He can’t expect me to—”

“Oh, but he does.” My grin broadened at her words. “You should be eager for it. Isn’t that what you’ve been doing all this time? Accepting the will of others? No arguments— No complaints?” I asked. My words were barbed with unnecessary venom, but she needed to hear them. If my fathertrulyintended to have her as his bride, he would get a shell of the woman she could have been. My brothers and I would see to that.

Avril recoiled as if she’d physically been slapped.

“I’m not—” she protested weakly, but stopped when she saw my dismissive gesture.

“Spare me,” I drawled lazily. I stretched my legs out and crossed them at the ankles. “Your feeble attempts to convince yourself of your strength are amusing at best.”

She took a step back, her petite form almost swallowed by the ominous shadows that loomed between the towering bookshelves.

“I’m stronger than you think,” she insisted. Her eyes bored into mine with a stubborn resolve, as though she was daring me to challenge her. To break her.

I let out a low chuckle and relished the tremor that passed through her at the sound. “We’ll see about that,” I murmured darkly.

The color drained from her face at my words and her eyes widened with terror. But the flicker of defiance was still there even as I slowly rose from my seat. As I towered over her, I relished in the way she shrank back against the packed shelves.

“You don’t scare me,” she said, although her voice quivered.

“Do I not?” I replied with an arched eyebrow. My magic seared through my hands like an electric jolt. It churned the surrounding air with a ferocious energy and her breath hitched in fear as green tendrils curled around her and dragged her toward me.

And then, with a flick of my wrist, I had her pinned to the rough-hewn stone wall of the library. Green wisps of my magic danced and writhed around her slight form. “You’re right,” I drawled, my voice dripping with feigned sweetness as I caged her against the ancient masonry. “I’m not trying to scare you,” I clarified. “I’m trying to remind you of your place in this house…”

Her breath hitched, and I could sense the wild beat of her heart against her ribs. Every flinch, every gasp, and every tremor that rippled through her was like music to my ears. She was full of fear and reluctant desire— and a barely hidden lust that rang through the hollow cathedral of the haunted library.

So much for the trembling virgin.

“Y-you can’t...” she stuttered, struggling against the ropes of magic that bound her.

“Oh?” I chuckled, enjoying how the sound echoed ominously through the room. “And who’s going to stop me? You?”

The spark in her eyes flickered for a moment before flaring brighter than before. “Yes,” she whispered defiantly.

This was not an answer I had expected, and it took me aback for a brief moment.

This woman... no... this little sparrow dared to defy me?

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