Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (47 page)

“‘
A
ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not
what
ships are for.
’” He frowned down
at the assessing look on the
stone cat’s face. “Is that right? I think
that’s right.” Neither lion answered as they prowled back over to their
perches, lowering themselves onto their bellies as their eyes turned unseeing
once more. The doors to the study creaked inward just as the sound of footsteps
erupted from down the hall.

“Hurry,”
Aria whispered, shoving him into the room and turning the metal lock behind
them. She pressed her ear to the door, palms shaking against the wood as she
held her breath. The clack of heels stopped on the other side, and she could
hear her mother’s caregiver searching the room with her eyes. The seconds
started to feel like hours, and then she finally heard the telltale signs of
her stalking away. “We can’t stay long,” she said, turning to look at Rome. His
eyes were comedically large.

“You
don’t have to tell me twice. Has your home always been this dangerous?” he
asked. He slipped into a mocking voice, muttering, “Aria, don’t play near
daddy’s office, you might get
eaten
.” He threw his hands out
emphatically, staring back at her with incredulous eyes.

“Seriously,
what the fuck?” he said.

Aria
smiled at him patiently, skipping over his question. “How did you figure out
the answer? Not many people I know would be able to pull out a quote by William
G.T. Shedd.”

Rome
gave her a half shrug. “I read a lot.”

“Who
knew a book could save someone’s life?” she smiled.

“Would
they have seriously eaten us?” he asked.

The
look on Rome’s face told her it would be better if she didn’t answer. Aria walked
over to her father’s desk, opening a drawer and looking through his things. She
doubted he’d keep the wand in his desk, but maybe there would be some kind of
clue or a key tucked away in there.

Rome glanced at the fireplace behind the desk, following
the chimney
up to
the second floor of the spacious office. There seemed to be a library up above,
reachable by two curved, metal staircases on either side.
“Why go to all the trouble to password protect
your office if the only thing in it is a bunch of books? I expected something
more… I don’t know, forbidden?”

Aria
glanced up at him with a smirk. “A lot of these books are on
forbidden subjects. Many of them are banned, in
fact. And I think he
has some even darker tomes hidden somewhere in
here. I’ve seen him coming and going with books that are not on these shelves.”

“Like
books on nahuals?”

“Books
on nahuals are a dime a dozen, but they’re all speculation,” she said. “None of
the ones you can find in the library or at a local book store would have
anything useful in them.”

“You would know.” He watched her pause in her search,
going
silent. “I
just want you to tell me,” he said. “I already know, but I want to hear it from
you. I want you to trust me.”

“…Trust
is a hard commodity to come by.”

“The
first time I asked you if you trusted me, you said yes, without hesitation. And
you didn’t even know me then,” he said.

Ariahna
sighed. “Saying you trust someone and meaning it are two separate things. But
you’re right, I’m just scared.” She bit her lip nervously, staring at the space
of floor between them. “I’m a nahual,” she shrugged, crossing her arms
self-consciously.

Rome
smiled, closing the distance between them. “I want you to know you’re not alone
anymore, that you can tell me anything.” His hands cupped the sides of her
face, bringing her eyes up to meet his. “When I told you that I loved you, it
was more than a feeling. It was a commitment, a promise of protection and
understanding. I will never betray your trust, and I will guard you and all
your secrets with my life.”

She
touched the back of his hands, smiling at him happily.

“I
can’t imagine having never known you,” she said.

“When
we get back, do you want to spend the rest of the day together? Not with the
journal, or anything curse related. Just… us?”

“Yes,”
she breathed. She didn’t even care if that meant
skipping class.
Her father was already mad at her. She was
actually a bit surprised he hadn’t sent her a letter yet. It wasn’t possible
that he’d forgotten finding her necklace at that crime scene. The universe just
wasn’t that kind. Ariahna took Rome’s hand and pulled him away from the desk.

“Let’s
keep looking,” she said.

“So
do you think he has some secret compartment or something in here where he hides
things?” he asked, pressing the tip of his boot against the floorboards
curiously.

“I’m
almost positive he does… This house has a lot of secrets.”

As
they were passing by the fireplace, Rome was suddenly overwhelmed by a scent he
hadn’t smelt in years. It was so strong it was making his eyes water as he
stopped to stare at the hearth.

“I
think something’s behind this,” he said.

Ariahna
frowned at the fireplace. “How do you know?”

“It’s
going to sound strange,” he mumbled, “but I can smell my mother’s perfume. This
has to open somehow.” He ran his hands along the mantle, searching for some
kind of trigger.

“
Recludo
,”
she whispered, flicking her hand at the hearth. The stone trembled, shaking
loose dust and soot.

“What’s
that supposed to do?”

“It’s
an incantation. It’s
supposed
to open or unlock things.”

“It
definitely seems like this can move,” he said. “Is there some sort of spell
that could show us what we’re missing?”

Aria
frowned at him in thought.

“There
is a spell that’s used to reveal what is hidden. I’m not sure it would work in
this case, though,” she said.

“No
harm in trying.”

She
exhaled softly, touching the stone and letting her eyes fall over the cracked
surface of the marble. “
Detego
,” she said strongly. Her eyes widened in
astonishment when the center of the mantle collapsed into a small, pyramid-shaped
concave, situated inside of an equally small circle.

“Um…
What now?”

Ariahna
grinned excitedly.

“It’s a key,” she said, turning and stalking over to her
father’s
desk.
She picked up a paperweight that was identical in
size and shape to the
indent. “I used to play with this all the time
when I was little. I almost broke it once, and I remember my father was
enraged.” She fit the pyramid into the mantle, pressing it in until it was flush
with the rest of the stone.

Nothing
happened.

“…I
don’t get it. That should have worked.”

Rome smirked when he realized what she hadn’t. “You have
to turn a lock to open it,” he said, twisting the circle carefully and with
great effort. It snapped into place and the back of the fireplace receded,
slipping to the
side.

Aria bent her knees, walking through the fireplace and
stepping into a
darkened room. “
Limino
,” she said. Yellow light sprung up from her palm,
illuminating the space and the objects within. As she suspected, there was a
collection of old, tattered books, some rather peculiar artifacts scattered
around, and a few boxes of memorabilia. Along the far wall in a display case
rested the old carved box that housed their family wand. She smiled at it,
turning to look back at Rome over her shoulder as he ducked inside.

“It’s
here,” she said.

Rome
knew he should head straight for the wand. He didn’t. He followed the scent to
a few boxes in the corner. He had to know what was inside – he had to know why
they smelled so strongly of his mother. He pealed back the cardboard as the
flickering light from Ariahna’s hand grew closer. Nestled inside was a stack of
old papers. It didn’t take him long to figure out they were love letters.

“I
have to admit, it’s a little discouraging knowing that we’re following in the
footsteps of everyone who came before us.” He leaned back against the wall,
staring down at the soft cursive. “And it begs the question, if
it was as simple as destroying the wands, why
wouldn’t someone have
figured that out before now?”

“It
could be a matter of greed,” she whispered. “Something as powerful as these
wands… it would be hard to destroy them willingly.”

“Power
or love?” he replied. “I don’t know about you, but that seems like an easy
choice to me.”

“Most
things seem easy enough when all you’re doing is talking about them. Making the
choice, I’d imagine, is much harder.”

He
stared back at her quietly for a moment. “I’m not going to force
you into anything,” he said. “We can take the
wand, or we can leave it
right where it is. That’s completely up to
you.”

Aria
smiled at him gently.

“I
know what choice I’m making. It’s not even a contest for me between love and
power. I just meant… maybe it’s not as easy for everyone.”

She
glanced down at their hands as she threaded their fingers together. Her
thoughts were on their parents – Rome’s mother, her father. The wand was still
in one piece, the curse still upon them, and Donna—she was dead. Her father had
chosen an heirloom over the woman he apparently loved. And now, now all he had
left of her was a box of memories hidden away in a dusty little room. She
sighed, turning to smile at Rome with weary eyes.

“I’d
never place anything above the value of your life.”

Chapter 39

Logan leaned against the back of the bleachers, pressing
his
shoulders
into
the metal. It was an uneventful afternoon, and he and his following of idiots were
all ditching out on class and shooting the shit. But as he swept his eyes
around the circle, he felt as bored as if he was stuck sitting through one of
Mrs. Brill’s lectures. Trent pressed close to his side, eyeing the envelope he
was smacking against his palm like an empty pack of cigarettes.

“This shit is so tired,” he sighed. “Could you two maybe
stop making
out for
ten fucking seconds?” Tabitha and Ian broke apart, staring at
the group with stunned faces. Adam had been
admiring their technique a
little
too closely. “How about we do something interesting for once?”

“Like
what?” Trent argued, flipping his hood up and shoving his hands in his pockets.
“This is about as exciting as this town gets.” Logan’s fidgeting was getting on
his last nerve. He eyed the envelope again, feeling his fingers twitch. “Give
me that,” he snapped, reaching over and ripping it from his hands. Logan fixed
him with a glare and Trent smirked down at the cursive. “Logan, I didn’t
realize you were a redheaded slut,” he said. “Maybe you’d like to suck my dick?
How’s that for entertainment?”

Logan
shot him a sideways glance, glaring at the small silver lighter
Trent had pulled from his pocket. “If you destroy
the one thing I value most
in
this
world, you will come to regret it.” Trent flipped open the lighter,
igniting the flame and narrowing his eyes. He was waiting
impatiently for him
to elaborate.
“Information,” Logan said slowly, raising his eyebrows in a condescending
manner. “…Isn’t it ironic that in a school that spares no expense, student mail
is so easily accessible?”

“What if there’s something important in there, though?”
Brooke
said,
dangling upside down with her legs wrapped around one of the support beams.
“Like a birthday card or something. That would be the worst if someone stole
your birthday cash.”

“What
are you, five?” Trent breathed, dangling a corner of the envelope precariously
over the flame. “Hey Logan, what would you do to get it back? Because I’m just
itching for a fucking cigarette.”

“The more important question is, what will I do to you if
you’re stupid enough to destroy it? Because you know I’m out,” he said, a
dangerous smile playing at his lips. He tossed an empty pack of Marlboro’s
towards him, snatching the letter back as he extinguished the flame with a gust
of air. “Don’t fuck with me again. Having dirty details on someone else is
infinitely more rewarding than whatever little thrill you’d get out of pissing
me off.”

“Are
you guys scared of each other?” Adam wondered. “Or do you two cancel each other
out like a double negative?”

“Do you always ask stupid questions?” Trent replied. “Or
is that
your way of
saying you’d like a beating?”

Logan laughed. “Are
you kidding?
He’s always looking for a
beating
. I
think he likes it. All the physical contact just gives him good feelings,” he
taunted, stalking over and whapping Adam on the face with the envelope.

“Are
you going to stop dicking around anytime soon and read that thing, or what?”
Trent said, giving Ian and Tabitha a strained look out of the corner of his
eye. They’d started making out again, and he smirked, sending
a slow-moving cold slithering out of his
fingertips and up the metal at
Tabitha’s back. She startled, shoving Ian
away.

“What
the hell, babe?” he said, holding his arms up at his sides.

“Why don’t you stick your tongue to that and see what h
appens?” Trent said cruelly.

“Or
maybe I’ll just press your tender bits to it instead,” she said.

“Alright,”
Logan sighed, “enough of this bullshit.” He ripped open the letter and neatly
unfolded the stationary. The thing stunk of brandy so bad
it seemed like it had been saturated in it. “Well,
someone’s been drinking
,” he smirked, noting the stained paper. “
My
Dearest Daughter…
”

Adam
snickered at the formal greeting.

“Fuck,
is this guy serious?” Logan said, grinning and shaking his head. “
I am
baffled by your complete lack of obedience. I would have thought you’d have
learned by now how to properly respect and represent this family, but I see
that you’re just as stupid and incompetent as ever
.”

“Wait,
what?” Adam laughed, leaning over Logan’s shoulder to get a better look. “Damn,
I thought you were making that shit up.”

“Harsh,”
Brooke mumbled.

“Who
honestly gives a shit?” Trent said. “So she’s a dirty cunt with daddy issues. Cry
me a fucking river.”

“…
I
did not raise you to gallivant around on the east side of town in the middle of
the night like some tramp
,” Logan read with a grin. “Wow, I guess even
daddy knows what his precious daughter is.”

“Are
you sure this wasn’t addressed to Tabitha?” Adam quipped.

Logan
actually laughed at that. “I’m pretty sure Tabitha’s parents
have stopped trying. See? She’s not even fazed by
it anymore. She’s
accepted her place in the grand web of give and take.”
He dropped into a stage whisper, leaning towards her as he did. “Speaking of,
meet me in my room later.”

Ian
shot him a mildly annoyed glare.

Adam
craned his neck, reading on ahead without them. “God, I can’t believe Christian
slept with this chick. I need to warn him that her father’s a freaking psycho.”

“Please,”
Logan drawled. “This shit is so weak it’s pathetic. Is he trying to threaten
her, or make her giggle? I’ve heard scarier threats from a preschooler.” The
other’s looked curious to know what they were referring to, so he continued
reading. “
You are lucky we are not having this
conversation in person. Had I not been so busy I might have made another trip
to your school just to teach you a lesson. It’s obvious to me it’s one that
needs repeating. You can be sure I will be beating it into your thick skull
when you return for break. Don’t make any plans, your time is mine.
” Logan scoffed. “Your time is mine? Is
that really the best he could do? Short of adding ‘or else’ to the end of all this,
this is about as uninspired as it gets.”

“Did I hear someone say my name?” Christian said,
stepping under the large understructure. Kaleb followed closely at his heels. He
slowed as they approached the group, dropping into a whisper. “Can I count on
you to have my back? Because things might get interesting.”

Kaleb shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Hey Christian,” Brooke said flirtatiously.

She flipped onto her feet, scrambling
to fix her hair. He couldn’t help
but think she looked like an idiot. “Hey
Brooke,” he smirked, walking up and resting an arm over her shoulders. He had
to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the look she was giving him. “So, what
are you reading?”

“Let’s just say your girl’s got some serious
daddy issues,” Adam breathed, circling a finger near the side of his head.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he
laughed. “Are we talking about a girl I’ve already had between the sheets or
one on my to do list? Because daddy issues can work to your advantage if you
know how to play it right.”

“What’s with the pet vampire?” Logan asked
finally, staring Kaleb down. “Don’t tell me you’re actually hanging out with
this freak?”

“I’d watch your words Logan, or he’ll show you
exactly who the pet is,” Christian warned. “Seriously though, I skipped class
for this? You guys are boring. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Trent was fixing Kaleb with a deadly glare,
ignoring Christian completely. “Why don’t you go back to where you belong? Before
I rip your fangs out of your skull,” he breathed.

Kaleb’s lips twitched up into a smile. “Please,
go on,” he said. “Give me a reason. Not that I need an excuse to tear into you.
The satisfaction of hearing you scream would make it more than worth tasting
your vile blood.”

“My vile blood?” Trent scoffed. “Is this guy for
real?”

Logan shrugged, watching the exchange wordlessly.

“If you think I’m afraid of
some disgusting half-blooded
vampire who was probably conceived in the
backwoods of Lumara, then you’ve got
another
thing coming. How did you even get here, huh? Can’t you tell you’re not
welcome?” Trent pushed away from the beam he’d been leaning against, stepping
over a broken beer bottle in the grass. “Well, now I’m curious. Did your father
rape your mother, or did she just suck the semen right out of him like a good
whore? Who was the monster, and who was the meal?”

“Back off!” Christian said, trying to step
between them. “I don’t really like you, and saving your life isn’t high on my
list of priorities.”

“Someone should have suffocated you as an
infant,” Trent said. Flames burst to life at Kaleb’s feet, and he stumbled back
in surprise.

Kaleb advanced on him quickly as he retreated,
fire licking over his knuckles and spreading across his fingers as he reached
for him. The flames extinguished with a sizzle as his hand curled almost gently
around Trent’s throat. They were backed against the bleachers now, black eyes
meeting tundra blue. He leaned in, feeling Trent’s heartbeat against his palm
as he stopped just inches from his face. “You should learn to control that
tongue, before someone rips it out,” he whispered. Fire danced languidly at
their heels, the soft sound of the flames filling the silence of the group.
“Since you’re so curious,” he continued, “I was not born in the backwoods of
Lumara. I was born in the Capitol, the very hub of civilization. My father, the
man you were just spouting filth about? He’s King; the oldest, and first, of
all vampires. And he’s hung people up on racks and had them flayed for less than
the careless comments that just slipped out of your ugly mouth.”

Kaleb exhaled, and the
flames surrounding them melted back into
the ground. “You don’t think I know where I’m
not wanted?” he said, smiling slowly. “Don’t worry; people have been kind
enough to remind me throughout life. I don’t belong here, and I don’t belong
there with my people. I just don’t belong. But when there’s no place for you,
no one to accept you, you
make
a place. You surrender the need for
acceptance. I don’t need you to validate my existence or tell me that it’s okay
for me to be alive. No has that right.” He leaned back, eyes slipping down to
Trent’s quivering chin. “Maybe if you weren’t trying so hard to find your own
acceptance, you wouldn’t need
to make others
feel like they needed your approval. Oh, and if you say
another word
about my family or my heritage, I will personally drag you to the farthest,
nastiest corner of Lumara and leave you for the starving world to find. If you
think high school is hard, try running for your life from creatures that could
crush you with a finger or turn you to stone with a mere touch. Slavery is one
of the most profitable trades in Lumara, and I know so many vile, heartless
animals that would love to watch that light go out in your eyes. Remember that
the next time you think you have something you want to say.”

Brooke
elbowed
Christian, whispering, “What does
flayed
mean?”

A startled, singular laugh pushed out of his throat,
expelling all the
air
from his lungs in one go. “Seriously?
After all of that, that’s what you’re
hung up on?” She blinked back at
him. “…It means to strip someone’s skin off.”

“Eww,”
she said, making a face. “That’s gross.”

Christian
took a breath, resisting the urge to slap a palm over his forehead. With all
the ruckus, he’d almost forgotten why he’d gone down here
in the first place – Aria’s letter. It was lucky
that he’d overheard
them reading
it. His eyes flicked over to the paper in Logan’s hand, racking his brain on
how to get it from him. Short of snatching it and running he was out of ideas.
Trent and Kaleb were still staring each other down, and he knew if he didn’t
think of something, if he didn’t get them out of here soon, things were going
to take a turn for the worst.