Page 22 of The Curse

My eyes widened. What better way to torment Corbin than to make him spend eternity looking at the bed where he and Nico had made love over and over again. Well, I guess we had. Other than the visions Corbin had put inside my head, I had no recollection of Nico’s time spent with the high witch. I only knew that Nico loved him. That I loved him, too.

Then. Now. Forever.

Slowly, I walked to the mirror, concentrating on trying to see if there was an illusion there, hiding the man I loved. No,trappingthe man I loved. There was nothing though. Only my own sad reflection gazing back at me. I tilted my head. I looked like Nicholas, not Nicodemus. Was I a disappointment to Corbin?

Never. I see only your heart, my love. Another breathless laugh.Okay, I see more than your heart. You’re even more beautiful than before.

“I bet you say that to all the Nico’s,” I teased to the empty room. I was only a foot away from the mirror, and I began to realize my energy level was spiking. My fingers tingled and sparkled.

I watched myself in the mirror as a smile curved my lips. “Nico never betrayed you, Corbin. It was a vicious spell. One of Morgan’s witches cast a spell on him and made him have sex with her. There was no betrayal. He wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. I swear it.” I raised my hand and placed it flat against the mirror. I took a deep breath. “Around and around we go, Corbin. Come back to me.”

I felt warmth touch my hand and then the mirror exploded into a million pieces. Every instinct inside me begged that I try to protect my face and body from the shards of glass that flew through the air, but the newfound energy that accompanied all things magic assured me I wouldn’t be injured. One second I was standing there, hand flat against the mirror, and the next minute, Corbin was standing in front of me. His hand was flat against mine, causing sparks to flicker and then erupt into flames. I’m not sure how long we stood there, hand to hand, eyes locked together, with magic flowing through the air between us and all around us. The only thing I was certain of was that I’d spent my entire life waiting for this moment. For this touch.

Even in crowds or with friends, I’d always felt alone, and now I knew why. As my hand rested against Corbin’s hand, I knew I’d never be alone again.

When the glass finally settled, and the flames stopped flickering, I saw Corbin, standing there in his old-fashioned clothing and looking as young and alive as I was. He really was blond, like I had thought, and he had the same jewel-toned purple eyes as in my dream. Corbin murmured, “Hello, Nico. Welcome home, my love.”

My heart exploded. All the things wrong in my life suddenly turned right. Where there hadn’t been love, love now existed. I felt…shy.

“I’m…I’m not Nico,” I countered, trying to keep gazing into those incredibly intense eyes. He was beautiful, so fucking beautiful. He was too beautiful for the likes of me. “I’m Nicholas.” What I felt for Corbin was so all-consuming and so powerful. But I didn’t want me to be madly in love with a man who thought I was someone else. He needed to know that while parts of Nicodemus might reside deep inside of me, I was still ninety-nine point nine percent Nicholas.

Corbin’s hand dropped away from mine, causing a wave of loneliness to wash over me, nearly drowning me. “Ah, my love. I know who you are,” he said softly. “I also know that my Nicodemus is inside here,” he tapped the side of my head. “But, more than that, I know that you’re Nicholas, the beloved that I’ve spent years waiting for. I can’t wait to learn everything about you, Nicholas Jeremiah Bailey.” After he uttered those words, he reached up, gripped the sides of my face, and his lips crashed against mine. Splinters of light and sound exploded in my head. Peace and happiness wrapped a loving cocoon around my heart. I felt loved and cherished. Warm. Content. Every fucking good word I could come up with. That’s what Corbin’s kiss did to me.

He broke off the kiss but didn’t remove the hands that held my face captive. His smile was seductive and held a promise that made me want to collapse against his strength. “That kiss, my love, was to show you all the love I feel for you, and how much you mean to me. It was my way of laying claim to your heart.” He winked. “When I kiss you again, it’ll be to show you how much I crave you physically. I’ll lay claim to your body then, as well.”

“Oh…okay. That sounds…good.” Fuck, I sounded like a total idiot. If I didn’t snap out of it and show a dab of intelligence, he might try climbing back into the mirror. “I mean, fuck, yeah.”

His eyebrow arched and his eyes widened. I was afraid I’d offended him, but then a huge grin split his face. “My goodness,” he remarked. “Yes, you are a bit different that Nicodemus. I like it. I like it very much. He was always quite shy and never cursed.”

He was laughing at me but not in a bad way. Still, he was definitely laughing.

“Yeah, I might be a little shy, too,” I mumbled.

“I suspected as much.” He stepped closer and pulled me against him. When he wrapped his arms around me, I felt so fucking safe.

I felt Corbin’s body tense up and then relax again. What had I done wrong? Had I already fucked it up?

“What?” I demanded. “Did I do something wrong?”

His grip on me didn’t loosen in the least.

“Absolutely not, Nicholas,” he answered quickly. “The power of your magic surprised me for a moment. I suspected there had to be a small amount residing inside in order for you to have found your way back to me, but the witchery inside of you is…amazing.” He frowned. “I heard what you said earlier about Morgan using one of her witches to cast a spell on Nicodemus to force him to have sex with her. I can’t imagine that Morgan would have risked using a powerful witch, but your magic rejects that theory. You’re strong.” His frown deepened. “High witch, strong. Unless…who was your mother, Nicholas?”

“Her name was Rosalie Banks. From the Banks family of witches in Easthampton originally. That’s what I discovered lately anyway.”

“The Banks family,” Corbin answered with a smile. “An old and revered coven. Nathaniel Banks and I were friends after a fashion. He was incredibly strong.”

“My research said that Rosalie was his descendant.”

“Ah. A high witch, then?” His eyes widened, and I thought how sexy those eyes of his were. He smiled and said, “You’re, um…sexy too. If I understand the term.”

“Okay, let’s not do that anymore. Can you stop? I want you to stop. When we have conversations, they need to be vocal. Don’t dig around inside my head. It makes me feel weird, and I don’t like it.”

“Of course, Nico. I’ll refrain fromdigginginside your head. I apologize.”

“Apology accepted,” I said. “High witch, eh? I doubt that. I mean, she couldn’t save herself or my dad from Morgan. As for me, I didn’t even know I had any powers at all until two days ago. I can’t imagine it would be possible for me to have high witch powers tucked inside of me and not have known it. Surely some of it would have shown up at some point in my life, right?”

“Not necessarily. It could have taken you coming back home or interacting with the coven to awaken your power. Without proper training, witchcraft can lie dormant in a person. As for your mother, the spell Morgan used was too dark to fight. It was drenched in blood.”

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