Eternal Love: (The Cursed Series, Book 4)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  Trent rolled off the bed, all ease and graceful movements, and stood in front of me. “I don’t do things because I’m expecting anything in return. Kindness is its own reward, remember?” He winked.

  I smiled despite myself. Of course, he’d remember exactly what I’d said to him back when we’d first met, when I’d taken responsibility for being late to class and suffered through detention because of it.

  “I do these things because I want to, because I love to see the look on your face. I like making you happy. And I don’t want anything for Christmas because I already have everything I want.” He cupped my face with his palm, his thumb stroking my cheek. “I have you, Chloe.”

  I stared up into his piercing blue eyes, my heart tripping over itself, swelling with so many emotions I was ready to burst.

  “I love you,” I whispered, because there wasn’t anything else I could say. There weren’t enough words in the English language to tell him how I truly felt.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE:

  Love Potion

  “WHERE ARE WE GOING?” I ASKED.

  Aunt Beth turned down the car radio and twisted in her seat to look at me. “To see Christmas lights. There’s an elderly gentleman who lives on what used to be a horse farm. His wife was housebound for medical reasons, but she loved Christmas, so he started putting up lights that she could see from inside. Every year, he’d string more lights, and eventually, people started driving by, and then stopping.” She smiled. “It’s grown so much over the years, and when his wife died—rest her soul—he continued in her honor. Now, it’s a local attraction.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  That sounded like something Trent would do. I wished he was here with me tonight, but Aunt Beth insisted tonight and tomorrow was family time, which meant I was going two full days without seeing Trent.

  “We go here every year on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition,” Abby said. She didn’t look up from her phone when she spoke, and that meant she was probably texting Isach.

  “And how far away is this place?” I asked.

  “Not far.” Aunt Beth twisted back around in her seat, turned up the volume on the radio, and hummed along to the Christmas carol that played.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened my messages with Trent.

  Me: I MISS YOU SO MUCH!

  Trent: MISS YOU MORE.

  I smiled, even though it annoyed me when he said that. He always insisted he missed me more, loved me more, felt more whenever we were together, but I disagreed. So what if he had heightened senses and emotions? He’d had decades to learn how to handle them—all of these feelings and sensations were brand new for me.

  Trent: YOU SHOULD LEAVE YOUR WINDOW OPEN TONIGHT SO SANTA CAN BRING YOU GIFTS.

  Me: WE PROMISED NO GIFTS!

  After he’d refused to give me even one idea of something to buy for him, I’d demanded he agree not to buy me anything, either. I should’ve known he wouldn’t follow through on our deal. But now it was seven o’clock on Christmas Eve, I had no gift for him, and no way to get him anything. I was going to kill him.

  Trent: DON’T WORRY. I DIDN’T BUY ANYTHING.

  I read and reread his text a few times. He didn’t buy anything, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get me anything.

  “We’re here,” Aunt Beth announced.

  Glancing up from my phone, I was shocked to see a line of cars waiting to park. Wow. This was quite the popular spot, and now I was really curious. “Do we drive through to see the lights?” I asked.

  “No. We walk,” Uncle Dean said. “Most of the displays have been moved to inside the barns, so it’s not so bad.”

  Good thing I’d dressed warm. Then again, I hadn’t left the house in less than three layers since the first time it had snowed. I was officially not a fan of the constant cold temperatures and snow.

  Twenty minutes later, we were parked and headed toward the front gate. Aunt Beth had her arm looped through Uncle Dean’s, and he seemed to naturally lean closer. I smiled, reassured to see that marriage and love could withstand time.

  My parents hadn’t exactly been a good example of “for better or for worse”—the second things hit “worse,” my father took off. Granted, he’d done that for me, and my mother had been in on it, but I still didn’t understand why they couldn’t have faced things together. Seemed like both of them protecting me would’ve been better than leaving my mother to raise me alone.

  I pushed away the depressing thoughts and stopped in line behind Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean. Another five minutes later, we were inside the gate. We hadn’t taken more than a few steps when at least a million lights caught my attention. A myriad of colors twinkled and sparkled like polished gems against the crisp, clean snow.

  “Whoa,” I whispered, eyes wide.

  “Isn’t it amazing?” Aunt Beth asked.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this.” I spun around slowly, trying to take it all in.

  Small vendor carts stacked with Christmas candies and cookies lined the main pathway. A hand-painted sign stood in the middle of the path. To the right were the barns with themed displays. To the left was a gift shop and hot cocoa bar. And straight ahead was Santa’s workshop.

  “This way.” Uncle Dean turned to the right.

  I followed, my gaze constantly moving, though I had no idea how I’d ever be able to see everything. There were just too many lights and displays and hand carved statues.

  It took almost an hour to make it through all the barns. We made a quick pass through Santa’s workshop on our way back to the gift store. Being inside the buildings wasn’t so bad, but walking from one to the next wasn’t pleasant. Wind whipped, blowing my hair around my face. I should’ve put it up.

  Heat blasted me as soon as I stepped inside the gift shop, and I rubbed my hands together. Scents of chocolate, marshmallows, and peppermint permeated the air. I inhaled deeply. My phone buzzed, and I snatched it out of my pocket, fully expecting another message from Trent.

  Isach: TELL YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE YOU NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. WE NEED TO TALK.

  I whipped around. Isach was here? Where? Did Abby know?

  “Um.” I cleared my throat. “I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I started toward the restrooms before they could stop me, not that they would, but I didn’t need Abby deciding to go with me.

  When I saw the sign for the women’s room, I glanced around. Isach stood near the back corner of the building, lurking. I suppressed a shudder, looked around once more to make sure Aunt Beth wasn’t watching me, and then I slipped around the back of the building.

  “What are you doing here?” I whispered.

  “Looking for you.” He smiled.

  I rolled my eyes. “And this couldn’t wait until after Christmas?”

  “No.” He shook his head, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, you’re leaving the day after Christmas, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. Right.” I leaned against the building. “Okay, so what’s going on? Is something wrong?”

  “I’ve been looking into that thing you asked me about,” he said.

  He had my attention now. I straightened, my heart suddenly thundering in my chest. “And?”

  “The good news is Ivy isn’t lying to you. It can be done.”

  Hope exploded inside of me. I could have a baby with Trent. He was going to be so excited when I told him. Wait… “What’s the bad news?” I asked, my tone full of dread.

  Isach blew out a breath. “It requires a very powerful and difficult spell. I don’t possess the type of magic needed to create the potion. Ivy does, but she’s not powerful enough on her own.”

  My shoulders sagged, and all the hope from a moment ago deflated. I hung my head, refusing to let myself cry. I knew this was next to impossible, and Isach had just confirmed that. Giving up on this dream would be better for me—I needed to accept I’d never become pregnant, never give birth to a child of my own. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make, t
hough, because I wanted an eternity with Trent.

  Suddenly, everything made sense. I lifted my head. “So, that’s why Ivy needs you. She needs your power,” I said.

  Isach nodded. “Yeah, but we both know she’s not doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She’s going to want something.”

  “What more could she possibly want? I’ve already agreed to break the curse,” I said, frustration lacing my words.

  “I have no idea.” He paced in front of me, his steps hard, as if aggravated. “But whatever she wants, it’s gotta be big. Something she knows we’d never agree to. Why else would she offer you something like this?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but she seemed really… adamant that I take this offer. She sounded almost threatening when I talked to her.”

  “Well, it’s not like she can do this on her own. She knows that.” Isach stopped pacing and now stood in front of me. “I could give her the magical boost she needs…”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’d do that? For me? Why?” I crossed my arms.

  When Isach agreed to look the other way so Trent could change me, I could understand—he wanted something from me in return. But he now had what he wanted, and I had nothing else to offer him.

  “Because eventually, I’m going to need something from you, so consider this me paying you in advance.” He grinned.

  Sighing, I shifted on my feet. I could only imagine what Isach might want from me, or when he’d tried to collect. And who knew if I could even give him what he wanted?

  “But we have no idea what she wants,” I said.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” he said. “I have to admit… I am curious. I never thought Ivy would want to see me again, so the fact that she does is intriguing.”

  “You want to talk to Ivy?” I asked with disbelief.

  “Yes,” Isach said coolly. “But you need to think about this, Chloe. Really think about it. You’ll be making another deal with Ivy, the leader of what will soon be the most powerful coven in the world. Magic always comes at a cost. You’ve already paid a high price for her breaking the bond. The price for something like this… it’s going to be astronomical.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. There was always a cost to everything. The question was: was the cost worth the reward? I wanted to be a mom, but more than anything, I wanted to make Trent a father. No matter how many times he told me he was okay with how things were, I knew better. He wanted this just as badly as I did.

  “I’ll have to go against my own coven. Again.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “Working with Ivy is a risk, and if my coven finds out…” He shook his head.

  “Then why are you telling me any of this? What do you want out of this deal?” I asked.

  Clearly, he already had something in mind if he was considering doing this—and he’d obviously put a lot of thought into this.

  “See?” He grinned. “You’re learning. Magic comes at a cost.”

  I gave him a dirty look. I’d been trying to keep him out of this—admittedly, I’d done a horrible job at that—but if he wanted something from me, why not get something from him, too? Our biggest obstacle, though, was going to be Ivy and whatever price she wanted us to pay.

  He chuckled. “All right. Easy. I don’t know if Trent told you, but witches don’t age the same way humans do. We can live to be a couple hundred years old.”

  My jaw dropped, and understanding slammed hard into my brain. “Abby’s human.”

  Isach gave me a sad, knowing smile. “Yes.”

  “And you want me to what? Convince Trent to change her, too?”

  I’d made the mistake of mentioning that once, and he’d flipped out. There was no way he’d agree now, especially when he had no idea I was attempting to make a deal with Isach and Ivy.

  “Maybe.” He shrugged. “There’s still a lot Abby doesn’t know about me. I’ve been telling her little by little, but I haven’t gotten to the part about the slow aging yet. I have no idea how she’ll react.”

  “You realize if she does become a vampire, she will never die, right? But you will. How’s that fair to her?” I kept my voice low to ensure no one overheard us.

  Isach had no clue what that would mean for Abby, how it would destroy her.

  “Unless she changed me,” he said casually.

  My jaw dropped. Was he friggin’ serious? Could a witch even be with a vampire? Weren’t there rules about that sort of thing? There were—Ivy had told me so when she’d tried to convince me to join her coven. And could Isach actually become a vampire while he was a witch? My head spun with all the questions. All of this was too much to handle right now. I needed time to process everything he’d said.

  “Look, I’ve been gone too long already. I need to get back before Abby or my aunt come looking for me.” I glanced over my shoulder as if they’d be there simply because I’d mentioned them.

  “Just think about everything, okay?”

  Hugging myself, I nodded. “I will.”

  And there certainly was a lot to think about. If I decided to move forward with this deal—providing Ivy’s price wasn’t too high—I’d be altering a lot of people’s lives.

  “Thanks, Isach.” I hurried back to the gift shop.

  As soon as Abby spotted me, she waved her arms frantically. “What took you so long?” she asked.

  “There was a line.”

  “Well, look who showed up.” She grinned and nodded her head to the right.

  I glanced in that direction and found Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean talking to Whitney and Trent. They were laughing and having a good time. My heart kickstarted at the sight of Trent, and I weaved through the crowd to get to him.

  “What’re you doing here?” I asked, sliding my arm around his waist.

  “Chloe,” Aunt Beth said with a laugh. “That’s no way to say hello.”

  “Sorry.” I frowned. “I’m just surprised to see him.”

  “Whitney insisted we come,” Trent said, wrapping his arm around me.

  “You’re welcome,” Whitney said, winking at me.

  “Jax and Sean are here somewhere,” Trent said, his hold tightening. “Isach tagged along, too.”

  I froze. So, that’s why Isach was here. He hadn’t come just to talk to me. That made his sudden appearance a lot less creepy.

  “Isach’s here?” Abby’s face lit up, and a second later, as if speaking his name had conjured him, Isach strolled into the barn. “Can we please stay a little longer?” Abby asked her parents, her tone pleading.

  Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean shared a knowing smile. “Your mom and I are going to go on the sleigh ride. You guys have half an hour, and then I expect you to be back here so we can go, okay?” Uncle Dean said, his expression firm.

  “Thank you, Daddy.” Abby bounced with excitement and gave him a kiss on the cheek before taking Isach’s hand and dragging him away.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  With a nod, Uncle Dean escorted Aunt Beth out of the barn. Only then did I notice Whitney had disappeared, too. Where had she gone?

  I was about to ask when Trent took my hand and led me from the barn. We didn’t go far, though, and he stopped inside of a smaller building that had a live band playing Christmas carols. Picnic tables lined both sides of the walls, and a small dance floor had been created in the center of the room. Who would dance to Christmas carols?

  The smell of fried foods, coffee, and donuts filled the space, which was, like everywhere else, packed. The band began to play “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and dozens of people sprang to their feet and crowded onto the dance floor. I smiled, their joy contagious.

  “Did you bring me here to dance?” I asked, turning so I faced Trent.

  “Nope. I brought you here for that.” He pointed at the ceiling.

  I glanced up. Mistletoe hung from the rafters. My breath caught, and then Trent’s mouth lowered to mine. My eyes fluttered closed, and I sighed softly.

  His arms were wrapped tightly
around me, his hands pressed flat against my lower back, drawing me closer and closer with each second our lips remained locked. “Merry Christmas, Chloe,” he whispered. “Only three more things on your list.”

  I smiled against his lips.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:

  Christmas With Dad

  I SQUEEZED TRENT’S HAND AND TOOK a deep breath. “Ready for this?”

  “Yup.” And he really didn’t seem fazed at all that we were standing on my father’s doorstep.

  Me, however, I was a ball of nerves. Our plane had landed an hour ago, and we’d taken a car service from the airport to my father’s house. Dad had offered to send Declan, but I’d never been comfortable being driven around like that. Besides, I’d needed the time to calm myself.

  Being back here was weird, especially with Trent in tow. I was officially the daughter bringing her boyfriend home for the first time. I swallowed hard and pressed the doorbell.

  “Chloe!” Larissa greeted me with all the pep of a cheerleader. She grabbed me in a hug. “I’m so glad you made it.” She stepped back, holding me out at arm’s length. “You look great.”

  I smiled. “Thanks. Larissa, this is my boyfriend, Trent.”

  She turned her gaze on him. “Trent. Good to see you again.” She then gave him a hug, too, and my jaw hit the ground so hard I was positive I’d broken it.

  Trent hadn’t mentioned meeting Larissa before. He only told me he’d spoken to my father. But with the way she hugged him and welcomed him, I could only assume she liked him, possibly more than Simon.

  “Well, come on in.” She waved for me and Trent to enter. “Frank,” she shouted over her shoulder. “Chloe is here.”

  “Low-ee!” Little Frank’s voice rang out from the living room, followed by his unsteady footsteps as he barreled into the kitchen. “Low-ee!”

  Hearing him call to me like that again was a mixture of utter joy and total despair. I dropped my carryon bag to the floor, crouched, and opened my arms. Little Frank flung his body at me. I caught him and squeezed.

  “Hey, buddy,” I said, my voice thick with emotion.