Page 9 of Cursed Beasts

The window lowered, dropping my other bag on the floor but he kept his gaze forward. “I didn’t want you in the first place. I’m just glad your sisters didn’t turn out like you. Thank the goddess, you’re no longer my problem.”

I knew my father always treated me differently because I wasn’t magically inclined, but he had never outright said anything to me until tonight. The venom in his voice was something I knew would stay with me for the rest of my life.

I watched the lights of the Mercedes drive away and that sinking feeling in my gut only intensified when I realized I wasn’t the only one outside anymore.

4

ZEV

It was the day the Belladonna arrived. The magic was always the weakest before she got here, giving us more awareness before three am.

A bath was already ready for me, so I could rinse off the day’s grime. I got dressed quickly, knowing it would not be long till she arrived. Aeon and Lucien were already waiting in the dining room. The latter was pacing the room while Lucien was looking at the food on the table, filling a plate.

“He showered, it must be a good day,” Lucien said, taking a bite out of a potato.

“I wish I could say the same for you,” Aeon joked.

“I shower more often than both of you together,” he said with a mouth full.

I wanted to be annoyed with them, but it seemed we only really came together when a Belladonna showed up at our door. The years were making us drift apart. I looked at the food on the table, picking up a steak without bothering to get a plate.

I bit into it, savoring the flavor of the rare meat. The potatoes looked too good to pass up, so I ended up grabbing a plate and putting a few on it before I sat down to eat quickly.

“You think it will be different?” Aeon stopped pacing, picking up a potato and popped it into his mouth.

“Everyone of them has been similar. What would make this one distinguishable?” I shrugged. “Why would this time be any different?”

“Tonight feels unusual.” Aeon stated.

“What do you feel?” Lucian looked up at him with apprehension in his gaze.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell if it’s good or bad.” He rubbed his chest like something was nagging at him. “It’s like trying to remember a dream. I know something is there, but I just can’t grasp what it is.”

“Have you had any premonitions?” Lucien put his hand on his shoulder.

“No, I haven’t, but that means nothing. I haven’t gone looking for answers.” He looked at both of us. His multicolored gaze was alarming today. It seemed more vibrant as if his magic was making them so striking.

“Do you think we have anything to worry about?” Lucien asked, still eating.

“I don’t know, I say we need to be alert, making sure we don’t let our guard down.” He looked stressed out.

“Will it ever end?” Lucien looked up at me and then Aeon.

I wanted to tell him that I had lost hope a long time ago, but I didn’t know if I had the heart to tell him. Lucien was the youngest out of all of us and he still had some of that youthful innocence. Despite our unfortunate circumstances, he still had some of his playfulness.

“I still like to believe it will,” I said, catching Aeon’s gaze, but his expression said he had just about given up hope, too.

Lucien took a deep breath, like he hadn’t believed a word I said. He continued to eat but I knew he was feeling disappointed as he had the most taken away from him.

Aeon and I had been given time to live life, see what it had to offer, and enjoy some of it. Lucien was still trying to figure outeverything. We were put into this situation two days after his twenty-first birthday, which I think made it worse for him.

The sound of the gate opening brought my attention back to our current predicament. The Belladonna was finally here.

The first time seeing them always felt like a kick in the face again. They always looked similar with their dark hair, blue eyes, and skin so light they looked like they glowed. It seemed their genes were the dominant ones because they all looked the same. They all looked like her.

I walked out of the dining room, hardening my expression and stifled all of my emotions. This game of cat and mouse was getting exhausting, but every single Belladonna who stepped foot in our home was always the same.

All of us stood at the entrance at the top of the stairs seeing a sleek car pull up. Cars seem to change more and more, but I still couldn’t get over the idea of machines that could transport you to different places.

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