Wicked Curse (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 4)

by Megan Montero

  We are The Lovers, our bond is infinite, shared in the spiritual, emotional, and sexual…

  The depiction on the card was of a man and a woman in an intimate embrace. She rested her head on his chest in the most trusting way, and his arms wrapped around her protectively. Harmony flowed from this card in waves, and it was that exact harmony that Tilly gave to me and that I would now give to her.

  “Help us, now.” I pressed the card to my forehead, trying to gather all of its energy into my body. Make the bond of the lovers. Give me the power to connect our spirits, feel each other’s emotions, and find the passion I know we had. With my heart hammering in my throat, I lifted the card over my head and let it float above us both. It hovered there, my green smoke swirling around it.

  I placed my hand at the center of Tilly’s chest, just under her throat. Her pulse filtered into my fingers, and I felt her blood rushing like it was my own. I licked my lips and spoke the words that carried the weight of generations. The words that bound souls together through all of Evermore. “I am yours, and you are mine. This vow I make to the end of time. Two become one until the setting of our last sun. I bind myself to you through skies of gray or blue. I will devote my life to you and only you. Two become one until the setting of our last sun.”

  I felt the instant pull of my life, my energy. It sucked the air from my lungs and sent a shock through my chest so strong I couldn’t catch my breath. My magic faltered, dimming from bright neon green to a deeper color I didn’t recognize. Dizziness assailed me, and my knees gave out. I clung to the side of the bed, refusing to drop my hand from her chest. Sweat covered my body from head to toe. Every one of my muscles quaked and burned. Bright white light burst from my fingers, and warmth spread over my palm. The heat went from warm, to hot, to burning, to scalding. I gritted my teeth against the pain and refused to move my hand.

  I forced my eyes to stay on her face. “Come on, sunflower. Come back to me.”

  The burning in my hand subsided, and breathing became easier. I regained control over my muscles and shoved my feet under me. I rose next to her, staring down at her beautiful face, willing her eyes to open for me. Long moments passed, and all I could do was listen to that steady drumming of the heart machine. I held my breath, waiting and waiting for something to happen… for her to move.

  Nothing…

  My shoulders sagged. I lifted my hand from her chest and pressed my palms to my eyes.

  “Maze?”

  My head snapped up to meet unfamiliar eyes. “Tilly.” My breath hitched and I had to clear my throat. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”

  Her eyes were bigger somehow—hypnotic, dark chocolate with bright flecks of green. Thick lashes fanned out all around them. She lifted her arms over her head and stretched with a wide yawn. Every move she made was delicate and graceful. “I think so.”

  “B-but you’re okay? You’re… you?” I placed my hand on her forehead, and she leaned into it, then she rubbed her face over my hand the exact way a cat would. So slow, so sensual. Shit, shit, shit.

  She rolled to her side, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Every move was so elegant, so precise. Like I dance I wasn’t clued in on. “I am very much me.”

  Then why did I feel like she was hunting me, about to pounce? The way her eyes locked onto my every movement like a predator. She pulled up her legs and crouched on the bed while wiggling her shoulders and dropping her head down low. “You’re so shiny.”

  “What?” I took a small step back. I didn’t know what the change had done to her, but apparently, cat might now be her thing. I didn’t care; we could adjust to this. We could make this work. Her eyes followed my every move, and I knew I was being hunted.

  “Tilly, Tilly, look at me.” I held out my hand toward her.

  “I am looking at you, Mazerial.” Her words were almost a purr. “I remember you, perfectly.”

  “Then you know I would never hurt you. I’m here for you.” I took a step closer to her bedside.

  Tilly’s lips pulled up at the corners, revealing her tiny fangs. “Oh no?”

  “No.”

  Was there an animal instinct seething beneath the surface of her skin? The instinct to hunt something lesser, something not as strong? “Hey, Til, why don’t you sit down.”

  “No, I don’t think I will.” She leapt off the bed, jumping six feet into the air and diving right for me. Her body extended in the air, so fluid and strong. Her little claw looked razor sharp as she went right for me.

  “Nope.” I turned to the side and wrapped my arm around Tilly’s waist, catching her in mid-air. She hissed and kicked out her legs.

  I threw her back toward the bed, expecting her to land in a heap on the mattress. I was so wrong. She backflipped and returned to her original crouching position. I pointed a finger at her. “Hey! Let’s not play.”

  She gave me a slow blink, then, as though she’d gotten control over some base instinct buried deep in her blood, she shook her head. “Astrid? Where is she?”

  I took a hesitant step forward. “Til?”

  She fell back on her butt and held her hands out in front of her face, examining her little black claws. “Wh-what happened to me? Why am I like, super girl?” Her eyes widened. “Did you turn me into a warlock too?”

  I shook my head. “N-no, you’re something else.”

  “Something else?” Her voice wavered, and she pulled her knees to her chest. I climbed onto the bed next to her and wrapped my arms around her. She froze, then she leaned into me, letting me hold her.

  “It’s all going to be fine. I will find a way to undo this and get you back to yourself.” I ran my fingers over her head, trying to calm her down. She tilted her head from side to side, trying to get me to pet the side of her head.

  She sucked in a sharp breath then startled from my grip and leapt at the foot of the bed. “I remember.”

  I swallowed, trying to move closer to her. “Remember what, exactly?”

  “You.” She jabbed her finger at me. “You and lots of magic and that cat thing. What did you do to me? Did you do a spell on me?”

  “You were dying, and I saved you.” Shit, she looks pissed. What do I do? I shoved my hand into my pocket and pulled out a mini candy bar. “Chocolate?”

  She batted it away. “No distractions.”

  The bar flew across the room and smacked into the wall. I moved to go pick it up, but she wrapped her fingers in my shirt and yanked me up to her. “You didn’t even let me five-second-rule it.”

  “What did you do to me?” She rose to her feet, standing on the foot of the bed. She lifted me up off the bed, holding me over her head. Those eyes burned with power, and I felt it in the choking hold on my shirt.

  “Calm down, Tilly.”

  The door flew open with a loud bang, and Astrid stood in the middle of the doorway. “Tilly, put him down.”

  “Okay.” She hauled back her arm and sent me flying.

  My body hurled through the air. My stomach dropped to my feet. Pain exploded in my shoulder as I crashed into the wall and slid to the floor. The room spun, and I tried to get up. A groan escaped my lips. “That did not go as planned.”

  Chapter 11

  Astrid

  Tilly stood on the end of the bed. She titled her head to the side, eyeing me the way a cat would a mouse. “Tilly, calm down.”

  She hopped down soundlessly, landing on the balls of her bare feet. “I am calm.”

  Her voice wasn’t that of my best friend. No, this was something else, something unfeeling. She glanced down at herself then looked around the room. She peeled her arms out of her dress and let it drop to the floor. She stepped out of it, wearing nothing but her black panties. She turned on her heels and headed straight for Maze.

  His eyes widened, and he held his hand out in front of him. “Til, it’s me, Maze.”

  She said nothing, simply grabbed his leg just above his knees and lifted him upside down. His jacket flew up over his shoulders, and his hair s
tood on end. How was this possible? Tilly was barely over five feet tall, and Maze was a little over six feet tall and laden with muscle. Yet she lifted him like he weighed nothing more than a rag doll. She reached down and yanked the jacket from his shoulders and dropped it on the floor next to her. Then she did the same with his shirt.

  “If you wanted to get me naked, all you had to do was ask.” Maze gave a strained chuckle while dangling half naked upside down.

  “Let’s talk about this.” I took a step closer.

  She glared at me over her shoulder. Her lips rolled back from her teeth, showing those tiny fangs, and she hissed. Beckett, Cross, and Ophelia slid in behind me, ever so silent to not spook her. I didn’t know what to do, how to react. This was Tilly, but it wasn’t her. This creature was strong, deadly, and had the temperament of a bad demon cat. Oh, shit, is she part demon, or part cat, or something else? My pulse hammered in my veins, and I froze like a deer in headlights.

  Tilly examined the black T-shirt she held in one hand and Maze in the other. She shrugged and threw him against the back wall. His big body crashed into the shelves, decimating them to pieces of wood. Vials of potions littered the floor around him, along with all our medical supplies. He groaned and wrapped his arm over his side.

  “Maze, you good?” I wanted to go to his side, but something held me in place. Like any quick movement would spook Tilly, and she would lash out at us.

  Ophelia crept to my side and took a few steps away. She looked Tilly over from head to toe. “I might be girl crushing.”

  Tilly pulled the T-shirt over her head. It covered her arms to her elbows and fell to her knees. Then she threw the jacket around her shoulders and shoved her arms through the sleeves. It draped around her like the biggest blanket. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek over the collar of the trench coat and what sounded like a purr escaped her lips. Maze’s green magic seeped around her, and his tarot cards flew from the inside pocket and swirled around her head. She batted at them the way a cat would bat at a toy. Each of the cards dipped and spun with her movements, exciting her even more. She jumped back to the foot of the bed, leapt onto the headboard, a thin metal bar that she balanced on perfectly. All the while, she chased those damn cards.

  “Maze, knock it off!” I took a step closer to her.

  “I’m not doing it,” he groaned as he staggered to his feet. His face crinkled in pain.

  “What?” I glanced from him to Tilly and back again. How could that be? What in the actual hell was wrong with Tilly? “Well, make it stop.”

  He hobbled to the wall opposite the bed, and I took this as my cue to move the rest of us in place. She was distracted, batting at the cards in a never-ending game of “Catch me if you can.” I waved for the others to slowly surround the bed. I tiptoed my way to the foot of the bed, and Beckett moved to my right, putting him the farthest in the room. Ophelia and Cross moved to my left, with Maze behind us all.

  Maze lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m going to call for my cards. See if you can get her to come down and sit. Calmly.”

  I nodded, never taking my eyes off her. My heart raced in my chest. This wasn’t my Tilly, this was something else. If we could just get hold of her, then maybe, just maybe, we could fix this. Maze held out his hand, and those floating cards all soared to the palm of his hand, his green power flowing with them until both the cards and the power were gone. Tilly had nothing to distract her from us now. She crouched down on the headboard, balancing on the metal pole. Her eyes locked on me, and her muscles tightened.

  “Don’t.”

  But it was too late. She sprung at me. Her arms landed on my shoulder and her feet in my chest. I fell back, splayed out on the floor, yet I held in my magic. I didn’t want to shoot her with my power. She’d just woken up, and we had no idea how she would react to it now. I spoke through gritted teeth. “Can’t… breathe… Til.”

  She tilted her head to the side, and those blond curls fell around the sides of her face. And for the briefest of moments, I thought I saw her. I thought my old bestie was back. Ophelia took a step closer, and the Tilly I knew was gone. Her eyes tracked Ophelia’s movement. The weight was gone from my body, and Tilly flew straight up and backflipped toward O. She reached out and grabbed O’s shoulders and lifted her off the ground using her flipping momentum. As she landed on her feet, O flew up and over Tilly’s head. She tossed O at Cross like a sack of potatoes.

  Ophelia slammed into his chest, and the two of them smacked into the wall, putting a huge dent next to the bed. Beckett jogged to my side and opened his hand. Blue smoke drifted over the floor.

  “No!” I yanked back his hand. “We don’t know how it’ll affect her.”

  Tilly gave me one last look then sprinted out the door. There was no sound of footsteps, only the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut. Beckett hauled me to my feet, just as Ophelia crawled from on top of Cross. Her hair was a massive ball on top of her head. “I take it back. I know I have a girl crush. Our girl is a badass.”

  “That wasn’t our girl,” I said more harshly than I intended. I wanted my Tilly—the one who understood me better than I understood myself. That was something else in a Tilly costume.

  “It was.” Maze limped toward the door. “It was our girl. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

  “We have to go after her.” I took a step toward the door. Maze blocked my way.

  “No, I have to go after her. You have to go after Logan.” His eyes went milky white for a split second then back to emerald green.

  Was he kidding? “She’s my sister. I have to be here for her.”

  “And he’s my brother. I swear to you, I will find her and take care of her.” His eyes bore into mine, and the muscle in his jaw ticked. “Now, I need you to trust me just like I’m trusting you to bring Logan home. The clock is ticking. You have three days.”

  Cross moved to his side. “We’ll help find her. I swear it.”

  “Yeah, I’ll bring our girl home.” Ophelia lined up behind the other two.

  Was I really going to put Tilly in the hands of these three? Did I trust them enough to bring her back? I trusted them with my life. A heavy sigh escaped my lips. This was too much— finding Logan, closing the walls, and hunting Tilly. I didn’t want to leave her. Didn’t want to let her out of my sight. But she was alive, and on the move, and in this world. If anyone could hunt her down and bring her back, it was Maze, Cross, and Ophelia. Tilly would’ve wanted me to go for Logan, and that’s what I’d do… I’d bring Logan home, and Maze would find Tilly.

  I gave a shaky nod. “Okay, okay, bring her home.”

  Chapter 12

  Beckett

  “Keep focusing. I’m having trouble reading where exactly we’re going!” I yelled over the swirling vortex that was my portal. Blue light moved and shook all around us, yet I kept my hold on Ashryn’s arm, trying to use her energy to guide us where we needed to go. I’d used guides before, like Zinnia, but Ashryn was like a stone wall.

  I fought with myself to get to where I thought we needed to be. A white light appeared at the end of my portal, and I dove for it. We popped out the end of it at a run. I stopped just before I hit a sheer rock face. It was gray and looming, giving me the feeling I was trapped. Heavy snow covered the tops of my boots and fell from the sky in sheets, instantly coating my hair in a sloshy frozen mess. Behind me, Astrid flew out, her feet hit the snowy ground, and she slid in my direction. I dropped my hold on Ashryn and swung out my arm, just as Astrid slid right into my side. I wrapped my arm around her hips and pulled her close to my side. “Got ya.”

  Her cheeks warmed to a pinkish red, and she smiled up at me from under her thick eyelashes. “Thanks.”

  Tabi sauntered through the portal and extended her arms out to her sides. Snow swirled around her and gathered in the wild curls that fanned out around her face. Tiny white flakes gathered on her cheeks, giving her ebony skin a silvery shimmer effect. Her lips parted in a huge smile, “Glorious.
”

  “Oh, damn, I am home.” Nova peeled off one of her gloves from her elbow down to her fingers. She held her hand in front of her and chuckled as flakes gathered in the palm of her hands. “Just like winters in Alaska.”

  Her white-blond hair and skin were so pale, she nearly blended in with the snow. The only things that stood out were her onyx eyes, ruby-red lips, and dark goth clothing. In the few seconds I’d been here, the snow had already gathered on my shoulders and soaked my hair. My jeans were drenched through, and there was definitely ice in my shoes. I’d been dressed for fall, in a leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots—not freaking Antarctica. A shiver wracked my body from head to toe.

  “Ash, you could’ve told us to be ready for winter.” I pulled Astrid closer.

  The snow seemed to just drift around Ashryn, not gathering in her sandy-blond hair or on her shoulders. Bright pink tinged the tips of her ears and her cheeks. “In all the excitement, I’ve forgotten something.”

  Her voice was so calm, so smooth, and completely lacking in excitement. I let Astrid step away from me and moved closer to Ash so I could hear her over the howling wind. “What’d you forget?”

  “Something we’ll need to get into the boundaries of Windelos.”

  How cryptic. I threw out my hand and created a portal, right into her room at Evermore Academy. She gave me a half smile and walked through. A moment later she was back, with a large sword strapped around her hips and a dark hunter-green cloak that fell from her shoulders all the way to the ground. She pulled the hood up over her head. “Are we ready?”