Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (51 page)

“Thank
you,” Aria said, taking it from him gently.

Shawn
sighed. “If you didn’t see them, that knife isn’t going to be enough to prove
they did it.”

“Well,
Adam saw them, but he’s too chicken-shit to say anything. Where exactly does
that leave us?”

“…I’ve
decided I’m not going mention what I saw this morning. But this is partially
your fault, Christian.”

“You
think I don’t know that?”

“This
isn’t his fault,” she murmured.

Shawn
didn’t argue the point. “I’ll tell the Dean I saw them coming out of your room
last night. He’ll believe me.”

Ariahna
frowned. “But we don’t really know that it was them.”

“Christian’s
right, I’ve seen Trent with this knife before.”

“And
so have I, but that doesn’t mean he did it. Do you know how many people
probably own a knife just like that one?”

“Adam
admitted he was with them,” Christian countered.

“Do
you really trust him?” she muttered. “He could be lying. For all we know, it
could have been him.”

“Trust
me
,” Christian laughed. “Adam does not have
the balls to do
this on his own. If he had, the only damage would be some
missing
underwear. Whoever did this did so with real malice. If I was putting
together a list of people capable of this level of callousness, it would be two
names long.”

“Let
me deal with it,” Shawn said. “I’ll make sure I have my facts straight before I
say anything. For now, just—keep that cat out of sight.”

Christian snapped a few photos with his phone as Shawn
shuffled out
into
the hall. “What do you say I help you clean this up?”

“That’s
okay,” she mumbled. “You don’t have to.”

“I
want to.”

Ariahna
looked over at her dresser, suddenly feeling uncomfortable that her panties
were all over the floor and hanging over the drawers. She should be worrying
more about the letters, about the picture in her hand, or perhaps her locket,
which seemed to be missing. But what was she worried about? That Christian
could see her underwear.

She
walked over to it hurriedly, grabbing them off the floor and throwing them back
inside before slamming the drawer closed. She felt dirty just knowing they’d
gone through her things like that. Christian turned her around, and Aria found
herself pressed between him and the dresser.

“You
missed one,” he grinned. “Can I have them?”

She blushed at his request, trying to snatch them away as
he held
them just out of her reach. “Christian, give them back!” she said
embarrassedly.
She was trying not to smile. He was teasing her.
What a jerk
, she
thought, trying to convince herself that she didn’t find it completely
adorable.

“I’m
joking,” he said, setting them down on the dresser. He was still pressed up
against her, pushing her into the drawers. His hand curled around her waist.
The smirk on his lips had her heart thumping against his chest. Christian
snapped his fingers and the room transformed behind them. The word burned into
her comforter disappeared and a few broken items fixed themselves, while others
beyond repair simply vanished.

“Now that that’s done, how about we go down to breakfast
together? I
think
I’ve got a plan to put an end to all of this.”

“Somehow,”
she whispered, “I’m afraid to ask.”

Chapter 44

Vardel Academy had transformed into a deadly hornet’s
nest. The last thing it, or any of its students needed was more ammunition –
more things to gossip about. Yet it seemed that that was exactly what they were
going to get. Christian stepped into the cafeteria, fully prepared to aggravate
the horde.
Aria
looked up at him with uncertainty as he took her hand, smiling down at her
reassuringly. He found them a seat in the center of the room beside
Dallas,
Scarlet, and Eliza. The three of
them seemed perplexed as they joined them at their table. Eliza leaned over to
murmur something in Scarlet’s ear, and Dallas sat back, staring at them in open
curiosity. Christian wouldn’t have guessed Dallas could look so disapproving.

“What’s
this? Now you’re eating breakfast together?”

Christian
turned to look at him calmly. “We’re dating,” he said.

Eliza
choked on her orange juice, coughing as Scarlet slapped her on
the back. She clearly had an opinion on that. Namely,
that he’d either lost
his
mind, or his
end game was so clever not even she could see what was in it
for him. She
noticed Scarlet quirking an eyebrow at Aria in question. S
he
appeared to be just as startled as the
rest of them.

“Dating?”
Dallas said with a harsh smile, showing teeth.

“Dating,”
Christian confirmed. “Do you need a definition?”

“I
think you might,” Scarlet muttered snidely.

“Scarlet,”
Aria whispered, “please.”

Scarlet
pursed her lips at Christian but remained silent.

“You
three are going to spread the word,” he said. “Text, tell your friends, send
out god-damn letters for all I care. By lunch, I want everyone to know that
we’re together. Got it?”

Dallas
stood wordlessly, looming over him for a moment before stalking off and
disappearing through the back doors.

“What’s
with him?” Eliza mumbled. She turned back to Christian, trying to ask with her
eyes if he was really serious. She knew Christian. He
wasn’t the dating type. And if he was going to go down that road with
anyone,
why would it be some nameless nobody instead of someone of
similar social status? She couldn’t understand it. “Are you sure this is what
you want?” she asked, pulling out her phone reluctantly.

He
nodded.

“Whenever
this little game you’re playing blows up in your face,” Scarlet said, “your death
will be painful and slow.” She shot Aria a worried glance. She would make
Christian pay if he hurt her again, she could do it with ease. But it wouldn’t
matter if the girl she’d grown to actually care about was destroyed along with
him. “You know where to find me when prince charming shows his true face,” she
said, leaving the table.

Eliza
hurried after her.

“That
went well,” he said with an ironic smile.

“Why
would you tell them that we’re dating?”

“Why
do you think I told them that?” he asked.

Honestly,
she didn’t have a clue.

“Okay,
let me ask you this. Do
you
think I’m playing a game?”

Aria
frowned at him in thought. “I think there are better ways to ask someone out if
you’re not,” she said.

“I’m
trying to protect you.”

“…I
see.” That wasn’t exactly the answer she wanted.

“And who’s going to protect you when I kick your ass?”
Rome
asked, slipping
into a seat beside him. Kaleb floundered near the table for a moment like he
was considering sitting with them, and then walked off, apparently having
changed his mind.

“And
why is my ass being kicked?”

“Kaleb
just got a text on the phone he commandeered from some unsuspecting student.
Funny how both of you failed to mention to me that you’re dating now.”

“Believe
me,” Aria said, “I was one of the last to know.”

Rome
shot her a puzzled glare. “Okay, now I’m confused.”

Christian sighed. This wasn’t much fun anymore. “Somebody
trashed her room last night and
I’m tired of people talking shit about her. If she’s seen with me, then it
should stop.”

“Great,
so what am I supposed to do now, wait until you two ‘break-up’? Either you
didn’t think this through, or you did, and you’re just an ass. I can’t be seen
with her now.”

“Huh,”
Christian grinned. “That worked out better than I thought.”

Rome
shot him a dirty look.

“Consider
it payback.”

“Payback
for what?” Rome said.

“What
you did might come back to bite me.”

Rome
felt more lost than when he’d entered this conversation.

Christian
leaned forward, keeping his voice low so Aria couldn’t overhear them. “I know
you sent that text,” he breathed.

“With
what phone?” Rome stressed. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but it wasn’t me. Though
I have my suspicions about who it was.”

“It
wasn’t you?”

He
shook his head. “No.”

“What
are you two talking about?” Aria asked.

“Nothing,
don’t worry about it,” Christian said.

“So,
are you mad at me, or are we okay?”

Ariahna
thought Rome was asking Christian until she noticed him staring at her. “What?
No, we’re fine,” she smiled.

“Then
maybe we could start going through those letters together at lunch?” he
suggested.

“About
that,” she said, “I looked through them yesterday and there wasn’t anything
helpful, so… You know, I think I’m going to head to class. I’ll talk to you two
later?”

Rome
nodded slowly.

Christian
just kept blinking at Aria as she walked away. Why didn’t she want to tell Rome
what she’d found? he wondered.

“So
who trashed her room?” Rome asked roughly.

“And
here I thought you just didn’t care.”

“Are
you going to tell me or not?”

“Why, so you can go and do something stupid? No, I don’t
think so. Besides, I’ve already got it handled,” he said, finally looking away
from Aria’s retreating back. “What I don’t have figured out is why she just
lied to you.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I’m
not sure if I should say or not,” he admitted. Rome looked beyond worried. “I’m
not entirely sure she’s going to class.”

“Okay,
either you’re going to start talking, or I’m going to make you,” Rome said. “Your
choice.”

Christian
sighed.

“She
found out how to break the curse through those letters.”

“Really?”

“Don’t
look so excited.”

They
stared at each other for a long moment.

“To
break the curse, she has to sacrifice her magic to the yew tree,” he whispered.
“And doing that might… kill her.”

“What?”
Rome said, jumping up from his seat.

A
few people turned their heads to stare.

It
wasn’t until that moment that Christian realized why
Ariahna might
not have wanted to tell Rome. He was already gone,
weaving through tables and chasing her out into the hall. “Rome, stop,”
Christian said. “Maybe she just wasn’t ready to deal with this. We should give
her a day or two.”

“A
day or two to what?” he said. “Decide whether or not she’s going to sacrifice
her own life for ours? I’m not going to let her do that.”

“I
don’t like it any more than you do, but it’s not our choice to make. There’s
nothing we can do. That tree either gets its mojo back or the Artisan gets our
heads on a silver freaking platter. It’s called a curse for a reason. There’s
no other way.”

“There
is
always
another way. You just have to find it.”

“Short
of giving up your magic for the decrepit old tree, I’d say you’re out of cards
to play.”

“That’s
it,” Rome said. “How do I do it?”

“Whoa,”
Christian breathed. “Slow down, I was freaking joking. We don’t even know if
that would work.”

“It’s
worth a shot, right? Plus I stand a better chance at not being killed—given
what I am,” Rome whispered.

Christian let out a deep breath. “I think you’d just need
her wand? But
see,
that’s not going to work. We can’t use her wand, only she can.”

Rome
drug Christian into an empty classroom to continue talking in private. “Does a
witch just know how to give up their magic? Is it common knowledge?”

“No,
I don’t think so. Why?”

“I think the wand is just supposed to act as a conduit,
then. It’s the
tree
that’s going to take the magic, so it shouldn’t matter
who’s on the giving end.”

Christian
laughed. “Giving end,” he snickered.

“I’m
being serious,” Rome growled.

“Right.
So, how are you going to get the wand from her?”

“Do
you know where she’s keeping it?”

“She
has it on her.”

“Then
that won’t be hard. Just meet me at the yew tree at midnight. I want you there
just in case anything goes wrong.”

“Yeah,
speaking of going wrong,” Christian drawled, “what am I supposed to tell her if
you’re not breathing tomorrow? You do realized it could kill you, werewolf or
not?”

“I
don’t plan on dying, but… Are you in love with her?”

Christian
clenched his jaw. It was bad enough that he’d blurted
that
out to Adam and Shawn. It was a miracle that he’d even been
able to tell
her
how he felt. “Yeah,” he shrugged. Rome gave him an
indignant look. “Yes, I’m in love with her, alright?”

“So you’d never hurt her again? You’d take care of her,
and
protect her, no
matter what?”

Christian
sighed. “What are you getting at?”

“Just
answer the question.”

“No,” he said, “I’d never hurt her again. And I’d look
after her. Which if you hadn’t noticed, I’m already doing; so what’s with the
third degree?”

“I
just had to make sure.”

Christian
watched Rome rush towards the door.

“Where
are you going in such a damn hurry?”

“Where
do you think? This might very well be my last day alive. I’m certainly not
going to waste it on going to class.”

“If
you’re going to the strip club you’re going to need cash,” Christian grinned.
He pulled out his wallet and handed him a few hundred dollar bills. Rome looked
beyond offended. “I’m kidding,” he said. “But if you’re going to spend the day
with her, then you should at least have some money to take her on a proper
date.”

“How
do you even have this kind of money?”

“I
hand you five hundred dollars and that’s what I get?”

“Did
you steal it?” Rome asked.

Now
it was Christian’s turn to look offended.

“Okay,
but I can’t take this. I have no way of paying you back.”

“Don’t
worry about paying me back. It’s a drop in the bucket,” he shrugged. “I have a
trust fund.”

“You
have a
trust fund
? Are you kidding me?” Rome said.

“No,
I’m not kidding you. How do you think I can afford to go to a school like this?
I don’t even know how much is in it. I just keep withdrawing, and the ATM keeps
spitting out money, so…”

“I
get Henry, and you get a trust fund,” Rome said disbelievingly.

“Just promise me you’ll survive tonight and half of whatever
is in that
account
is yours,” he said.

“What?
No. I can’t take your money. It wasn’t left for me.”

“Clearly it was left by
our
father. Joseph Grant,
whoever the hell
that is,” Christian breathed.

“Joseph
Grant?” Rome mumbled. “…What’s your point?”