Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (30 page)

She sighed, looking back at the Performing Arts
building as the sound of voices filtered out into the morning air. “Sure,” she
said. At least she’d be able to put off facing the rest of Vardel for just a
little while longer. Rome took her by the hand, leading her around the
greenhouses and out towards the tree line at a near run. They stepped into the
secluded safety of the trees to find sunlight filtering through the branches,
bursting against all the colors of the forest. It made it look like something
out of a fanciful painting.

“If I asked you to run away with me, would you?” he
asked.

Aria stammered in surprise.

“Where would we even run to?” she smiled.

“I don’t know. Anywhere but here, I guess.”

“And why would you want to run away with me? I
don’t think I’d make a very good traveling companion.”

“I doubt that’s true,” he said. “But honestly, after
last night, I was actually planning on leaving. I guess some part of me still
wants to.”

“What?” she breathed, squeezing his hand.

“Don’t worry; I’m not going anywhere. I don’t
even know why I asked you that. I guess I just feel like I could do anything
right now. After being on that stage—after doing,
that
. I guess the
world just doesn’t seem so scary at the moment.”

Rome stopped when he suddenly realized the trail
had led them somewhere much different than he remembered. There was a long,
open walkway scattered with fallen leaves. Trees lined either side of the path,
and entangled branches arched above them romantically. The forest was buzzing
with a warm, otherworldly energy. Other than when he’d first met Ariahna, it
was more enchanting and magical than anything Rome had ever seen. He wasn’t sure
he’d ever felt this connected to nature before.

“This place feels alive,” he whispered, reaching
out to touch one of the trees. Moss grew instantaneously beneath his fingers
and he jerked back, frowning at the bark. “What the heck was that?”

“I think your element is Earth,”
she said, smiling.

“…Do you maybe just want to
see
where the path leads?” he asked, trying not to eye the forest
too intently.

She nodded.

Ariahna was fascinated by the way the light
bounced off the colorful autumn leaves. She thought she’d been through every
inch of these woods, but she’d never seen this place before, and it was filling
her with excitement. There was something about not only being here, but being
here with him, that felt so familiar.

“Did you know this was here?” she asked. It felt
like she’d always known and just hadn’t realized it until this moment. Her skin
was sparking where their hands touched, and she pulled away from him in
surprise. The path ended in a mass of branches twisting through the air to
create a hidden oasis in the middle of the woods. There was a small lake
concealed partially by the confines of the overgrown tree. It was breathtaking,
even though the branches were bare. The tree was the only thing that didn’t
really feel alive.

It felt dormant.

“Rome,” Aria whispered, walking over to the
center of the glen. Fresh, vibrant grass swayed around her ankles as she
approached the edge of the lake where it greeted the gigantic trunk of the
tree. “I think this is the yew tree,” she said. “This… this is The Grove.”

Or what’s left of it
,
she thought.

Rome turned around in a slow circle, taking
everything in. He couldn’t deny it; he couldn’t ignore how this place made him
feel. He felt safe, like he was coming home for the first time in ages.

“I thought this place was lost?”

“How did you know that?” she asked, brushing her
fingers over the trunk of the massive tree.

“I’ve been doing a little research… Aria, I don’t
think it’s a coincidence that we found this place.”

“I don’t think we found it so much as it showed
itself to us.”

“Yeah, I feel that too,” he
nodded. “…Have you experienced anything
weird the last few days?” he asked. “Like the
sound of whispering voices, or flickering lights?”

“No,” she said slowly. “Why?”

Rome took a deep breath and
sat down at the base of the tree,
brushing his palm over the tall grass. “You’re
probably going to think I’m crazy.”

“Try me,” she said, taking a seat next to him.

“The other night, some really
strange stuff happened. I’m talking full-on
vengeful spirit stuff.
Do you remember that guy we saw at the museum, the one who told us about the
curse?”

Aria shivered. “How could I forget?”

“I don’t think he was alive,” he said, pausing to
gauge her reaction. “I didn’t hear him come up, he didn’t have a scent, and he
disappeared in the blink of an eye. I asked Trevor, and he said he didn’t even
see him. I mean, how else is that even possible?”

“…What happened the other night?” she asked
apprehensively.

“The Artisan,” Rome said by way of explanation. “I
know it’s him. It
was the same creepy guy,
talking in the same creepy riddles. Long story
short, we aren’t the only
ones who are cursed. I believe Dallas is too, and Kaleb.”

“Kaleb?” she repeated. That just didn’t seem
right to her. “Wait, if you’re a werewolf, how are you two even friends?”

“It’s complicated, but we understand each other.
I think the fact that we both have magic helps with our… you know, need to want
to kill each other,” he laughed.

“Sounds like a dangerous friendship…”

“Maybe for him,” Rome grinned. Aria bumped into
him playfully,
and he wrapped an arm around
her shoulders. She seemed content leaning
into the side of his body.

“So why do you think he’s cursed?”

“Cursed to be left in the cold,” he mumbled.
“That’s what he said, and he looked right at Kaleb when he said it. He seemed
pissed that he wasn’t alone. That me and him were, I don’t know, looking out
for each other? He said everything comes at a price. I still don’t understand
what he meant by that exactly, but I’m working on it. And I found out that
there is at least one person from each of the six families here, attending this
school
, all at the same
time. It’s all
connected but I just can’t figure out how.”

“And you think Kaleb is…” She
thought about it. “A Graham?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I could be wrong, but it makes
sense, right?”

“Nothing makes sense anymore,” Aria sighed.

“I’m going to break this curse. Hell, if I can
I’m going to break all of them. I think hundreds of years are enough for all
this suffering and death.”

“And how do you plan on going about doing that?”

“Well… I haven’t exactly figured that out yet,
but—”

“Can we just talk for a while, about something else?”
she asked.

Rome smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’ve actually
been meaning to ask you where you learned to play the piano. If I close my eyes,
I can still see you sitting there. I can hear your voice, and—will you sing
something for me? It doesn’t have to be right now, but, promise me I’ll get to
hear your voice again. Maybe we could even sing something together?”

“Maybe sometime. I don’t feel much like singing
right now.”

Rome took a deep breath. “Everything is going to get
better. I promise. Why don’t we just get to know each other a little better? What
do you want to know? You can ask me anything.”

“When did you join the music group?” she asked.

“Wednesday,” Rome said. “But that’s too easy, try
again.”

Aria smiled at him in thought. There were so many
things she could think to ask him, but none of them seemed right for this
moment. They were heavier, more personal questions. Things she wasn’t sure
she’d ever ask – things she didn’t expect him to answer.

“Okay,” she said, “I want to know what your
favorite thing about yourself is.” A confused look came over Rome’s face. “I
just mean, what do you value most about being you?”

“Wow,” he said. “I’m not sure I know how to
answer that question if I’m being honest. The things I like about myself are
often the things I also hate most. I love being what I am, but at the same time,
it makes me
dangerous, unpredictable. Like
last night. I want to apologize for that
. That wasn’t me. Well, it was,
but it wasn’t.”

Aria brushed her fingers over
Rome’s soft stubble, smiling up into his eyes. “It’s okay. You have nothing to
apologize for.”

“Can I kiss you?” he asked.

She dropped her gaze.

“Never mind, I—just forget I said anything.
Please.”

Ariahna felt like she was going to cry.

“I haven’t been honest with
you,” she said. “You’ve been nothing
but kind, but the truth is, I don’t deserve you.
And I can’t do this to you.” It seemed like the world was standing still,
holding its breath. She was sure at any moment the earth was going to fall out
from under her feet and swallow
her whole. It
felt like the words were eating her alive from the inside, until she just couldn’t
hold them in any longer.

“…I slept with Christian,” she whispered.

“I know.”

She looked up at him with a frown.

“I went to talk to you this morning. I was coming
to say goodbye and that’s when I found Christian sneaking out of your room.”

“You knew? And you still—?”

“Nothing’s changed. I still feel the same way
about you. I know he tricked you. He even fooled me into thinking he cared...”

“Did he even tell you?” he asked suddenly.

“Tell me what?”

“How do I put this,” Rome muttered. “There’s a
chance that Christian might be a part of this curse too. I… I think he might be
my brother.” Ariahna was staring at him in open shock. He waved a hand in front
of her face and
she barely even blinked. Her
lips were parted and moving like she was
trying to speak but she just couldn’t
find the words.

“H-How? How could that be possible?”

“I’m learning that my mother wasn’t a perfect
person,” he said.

Aria rose slowly, using the
tree for support. She didn’t know how to deal with this, especially after last
night. She was starting to look at the events of the past week in a different
light. The idea of Christian and her
being cursed was almost so
obvious it hurt. But him and Rome
being brothers
… she couldn’t even fathom that. They were so completely
different, in every way. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she
didn’t notice the narrow recess in the trunk of the tree as she stood. Her arm slipped
right into the hollow and she stumbled against the tree with a startled yell.

Rome jumped to his feet, unsure how he intended
to help. “Are you okay?” he asked. She pulled her arm out of the tree, covered
in cobwebs.

“Oh god,” she breathed. “Get them off.”

Rome tried not to laugh as he brushed her arm
off. Ariahna’s eyes were clamped shut, and her fingers were shaking. “You’re pretty
cute when you’re scared,” he smiled, wiping the webs off in the dewy grass. She
was blushing even though she refused to open her eyes. Rome threaded their
fingers together with a feather light touch,
staring down at her lips. He wanted to kiss her so bad his chest hurt
. He
wanted that taste of vanilla,
that
spark of passion. Rome’s lips pressed
against hers and he cradled her face in his hand, sobering her out of her fear.

Ariahna stumbled away from him in surprise.

“I felt something,” she said suddenly.

“Well, I hope so...”

“No, I mean in the tree. There’s something in
there.”

Rome frowned at her before letting his lips curl
into a grin. His eyes slowly burned to a fierce gold, and he stepped over to
the tree to gaze down into the hollow. There was definitely something down
there.

“It looks like a book,” he said.

Rome crammed his arm into the tight space,
fingers brushing across buttery soft leather. He pulled his hand back,
clutching a small journal. Ariahna stared at it curiously as he turned it over
in his hands.

“Should I open it,” he asked, “or do you think that’s
a bad idea?”

“I don’t know,” Ariahna said. “Can I?”

He handed her the book and she ran her fingers
along the spine, looking for some kind of brand or mark of ownership. “I don’t
think the fact that we found this here is a coincidence either,” she murmured.
It looked old, maybe as old as the tree itself. “Can I hang on to this for now?
Just until we figure out what to do with it?”

“We’re not going to know what to do with it
unless we open it.”

She hummed anxiously. “I don’t know,” she
repeated. “Something is telling me we should just put it back.”

“We can’t put it back. We were meant to find it,
and that means we were meant to read it. Either we do it now, or we do it
later, there’s really no difference. Besides, it’s just a book, it can’t hurt us.”