Page 12 of Cursed Beasts

“That is Zev,” he said.

The other one still had a look of indifference on his face, but with a little more interest in me. He nodded as he passed us.

“And that is Aeon.” I couldn’t help but glance back at them as they walked away.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“My name is Lucien, and this is your room,” he said, as we came up to the end of the hallway, the door was already open as he walked in, and I followed.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. The room was not what I expected, given how big the castle or whatever this place was. The room was small, cold, dingy, and desperately looked like it needed a thorough cleaning. There was only one lamp on, giving me just a little light, but I feared what I would see if there was more light in the room.

“Uh, I think I need a—”

“Alright, we shall see you tomorrow and we can discuss all your questions,” he said quickly, walking past me.

“Wait, I think we—”

“Three am, don’t be late and don’t worry about the noises you hear on the other side of your door.” He gave me a mischievous grin. “Have a goodnight, little Belladonna.”

“No,” I said as he walked out, closing the door; the sound of a lock made me still.

Did this asshole just lock me in my fucking room?

I grabbed the door, trying to open it, and it didn’t budge. Pulling more forcefully, I jiggled the handle. The door didn’t move an inch, making me feel claustrophobic. I clenched my jaw in fear, as the need to feel a more open space made me panic.

I pressed my back up against the door, looking around the room when I noticed a window in the corner. All I needed to do was gather my shit together and just go open the damn window. Breathing deeply, I let out a slow breath before I took the first step towards the window.

I unlocked it quickly, pulling the handle to open both window panes. Once the cooler night air filtered into the room, my anxiety calmed down a bit so that I could finally take a deep breath without feeling like I had a heavy weight on my chest.

The flicker of the candle created creepy shadows throughout the room, making me feel more uneasy. I looked around the room for more candles, seeing another brass candle holder with another candlestick in it. Lighting it quickly, I found another lantern that gave the room a lot more light.

Once I had enough light in the room, I sat down on the twin bed. It was hard and lumpy as fuck. Where the hell had my father left me? Kicking off my heels, I think I might have been in shock because my brain was empty, like I couldn’t fathom why the hell it wasmehere.

I had no fucking magic, no fucking way to break this spell and my father expected me to succeed? It felt like I was being set up for failure. Did he want me to fail so he would have a reason to hate me?

Not having magic had always been rough, but as I got older, it became apparent that us girls having magic and passing on the Belladonna power and legacy was all that mattered. I looked at my luggage, feeling like such an idiot that I didn’t notice something earlier. Now that I looked backed at today, did everyone fucking know?

I ran my hand through my hair, feeling embarrassed that I didn’t know, that I didn’t see the signs. The sound of a loud chime made me jump. I looked down at my watch, seeing it was ten before four in the morning. I desperately need some sleep.

Getting off the bed, I grabbed one of my smaller pieces of luggage; I set it on the bed and opened it up.

Someone neatly packed it with a lot of my favorite clothes. Who the hell had done this, and when the hell did they have time to do it?

They placed an envelope on the top of everything with my name in cursive that looked a lot like Serena’s handwriting. My stomach dropped, worried about what it contained, and I hoped that my horrible thoughts were wrong. I grabbed it, opening it slowly like that would save me.

Katarina,

I’m so sorry. When they told me what was going to happen, I was so upset. It was supposed to be me, but father changed his mind and chose you. I couldn’t tell you, none of us could—

I dropped the piece of paper like it burned me. Tears welled in my eyes at the confession, remembering how my niece threw herself at me, telling me not to go.

I walked away from my luggage feeling stupid. They all fucking knew? Even the people in town? How could I be so fucking blind? How could I not pick up on it?

Feeling the weight of the necklace that Serena had given me, I yanked it from my neck, breaking the clasp and throwing it across the room. She fucking knew I was being sent away, and she didn’t warn me. The betrayal from Serena felt worse.

Now Caston’s request made sense, surprising me a bit because I would have assumed he wanted me gone since I couldn’t give him what he wanted. Now he was free to sleep around.

The room felt like it was closing in on me again while more tears fell down my face. I backed into a wall, sliding down to the floor; I wrapped my arms around my knees, hearing the fabric tear, but I didn’t care.

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