by Rachel Shane
“I don’t want to hurt you either!” she screamed. “I don’t want to do any of this!”
A part of him fought through the fog. “I don’t either!”
And for a single moment, Cole experienced clarity. He was cured. So why he was competing with the girl he liked to be the one to end their own life first? He hadn’t felt the pull until he’d wrapped his arms around her. Until their skin grazed. “Why am I cursed again? Is it because I touched you?”
But if that were the case, wouldn’t the curse have transferred during sex?
Delilah looked up and her eyes locked on something on the grass. Her stare hardened. “I know how.”
Cole followed her line of vision to where his sister stood, talking into the phone. But her head was thrown back, her eyes vacant as she recited something. It wasn’t in a volume Cole could hear, but he caught a few words. She was speaking legalese. The language of witches.
Her palms glowed with energy.
With stabbing horror he realized the truth. His sister was the one who cursed him to die.
Not once. But twice.
CHAPTER TEN
DELILAH
Delilah didn’t know why Jewel would curse her own brother, but she didn’t care. This was the last piece of the puzzle she needed to remove the curse once and for all. Well, that and a drop of Jewel’s blood. All Delilah had to do was crawl out of the grave and stab Jewel with something pointy—in the finger, Delilah wasn’t a monster—but that was difficult to do when all she wanted to do was bury herself alive.
Cole must be stronger than she was because with trembling forearms, he pulled himself out of the grave. He trudged with heavy steps toward Jewel, pausing after each one and heaving his chest like this trek required great effort. It was as if he was pushing against hurricane winds, his face tilting to the side to let out a howl of agony. “Why?” he pleaded, anguish in his voice. “Why’d you curse me?”
Jewel snapped out of her incantation trance. The light glowing in her palms faded. “Stand back and you won’t get hurt.”
Cole scoffed. “You’ve already hurt me.”
Delilah tried to focus on this squabble and not the open grave in front of her, ripe for her taking.
Cole charged for Jewel but with a swoop of her hand, a ring of blazing fire sprung up around her. Cole scrambled backward away from her, panting. The fire ignited blades of grass in a straight line toward the grave, where it rose higher, dancing on the edges until it encircled the tomb fully.
A wall of blaze sent red hot sparks raining down on Delilah. Panic climbed her spine as sweat pooled in the crooks of her elbows.
I could burn alive, Delilah thought. Like my ancestors I never knew. The thought was sweet and glorious. A quick death and then an eternity in the grave.
But she didn’t want the grave. She wanted Cole.
That thought shot through her like an anchor, grounding her to herself. She summoned all her willpower—and actual power. Electricity and energy surged through her. Delilah bid farewell to the earth that was desperately trying to take hold of her. She embraced the air surrounding her, fanning the fire. And then she coaxed all the moisture out of the air with a waggle of her fingers. Earth, air, water, fire—and a fifth element. Determination.
A tidal wave rushed up with a thunderous roar. Droplets of water coated her hair like sea spray. With a sizzle, the fire extinguished. The water flowed into the grave, filling it until it carried Delilah to the surface like a life raft. Her feet met the soft grass and she trampled over the ashes of the fire to get to Jewel.
But Jewel waved her arms like a maestro and directed the trees to her will. Nearby palms bent toward the ground, blocking Delilah’s path and almost crushing her in the process. Delilah let out a growl of anger that ricocheted through her body and made the earth shudder beneath her feet. Dirt fell into the grave and mixed with the water, filling it with thick mud. More trees bent to block her path, trapping Delilah in a prison of foliage.
Lightning flashed in the sky, summoned by Jewel. A bolt sparked down from the clouds and zapped the grave behind Delilah, missing her by inches. Blood whooshed in her ears.
She caught a smirk on Jewel’s lips as Jewel moved her finger across the air to direct another lightning bolt. “You know, I thought watching you bury yourself alive would be satisfying but this is so much better. Now I get to defeat you.”
Delilah’s breath came out ragged. “Me?” she said at the same time Cole said, “Her?”
Jewel swirled her finger at the lightning, toying with it as she dragged until her finger pointed directly at Delilah. Tree branches coiled outward and surrounded Delilah’s wrists and ankles. She struggled against them, pain stabbing her muscles, but it was no use. She couldn’t move.
Jewel whirled on her brother and waved her hand over him while reciting a contract-breaking incantation. “You should be free of the curse for good now.”
He blinked as if he was testing out his free will. “I don’t understand?”
Jewel shook her head at him, and then set her eyes on Delilah. “You’re a lawyer for God’s sake, and you couldn’t figure this out?” Jewel sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but only because when you die, I want you to know you brought this upon yourself.”
“Let her go,” Cole demanded, charging for Jewel.
With a wave of her palm, he flew backward on a gust of wind. “Stay away, little bro. Like I said, I don’t want to hurt you. But I will if I have to.”
“Then why did you curse me to kill myself?”
“Because I knew she’d try to save you. Her vigilante curse ensured it. I’d expected her to find you last night, but she was too busy stopping smaller crimes. So I lifted the severity of the curse on you long enough not to go through with it, and then today I sent you to a doctor I knew would recommend you to Delilah’s law services. From there it was just a matter of waiting.”
Delilah raked a palm over her forehead trying to make sense of this. Jewel was targeting her this whole time? But why?
But that wasn’t the question Cole asked. “Then why did you curse me again just now?”
Jewel clucked her tongue as if to say, Isn’t this obvious? “Because you were trying to save her. So I pitted you against each other knowing that Delilah was stronger and would win out. It would make her more determined to kill herself.”
Delilah struggled against the trees again, grunting. “Why do you want me dead?”
“Ah the question I’ve been waiting for! Care to guess?” Jewel raised a brow at Delilah. “No?” She sent the lightning bolt she’d been playing with down, zapping it just beside Delilah’s foot. Delilah let out a howl of pain as the hot earth seared her toes. “Does the name Robert Rafferty ring a bell?”
Delilah’s ears pinged for recognition but nothing came to her. Just more pain.
Taking her non-answer as a firm no, Jewel continued. “Of course, why would it? He was just another bad guy you got killed in the name of justice. Except he wasn’t a bad guy at all. Yet you killed him anyway.”
Delilah’s heart thumped harder. “What are you talking about?”
“Last year you stormed into a bar where Robert was holding another man at gunpoint. You didn’t even give him a chance to explain, you swooped in trying to save the guy you thought was a victim by taking Robert down. When you knocked the gun out of his hand, you opened up the opportunity for Cole’s first bookie to deck Robert. It was only a punch that knocked him unconscious but he hit his head on the way down. Hard enough to cause internal bleeding. Twenty-four hours later he was dead and the guy you thought was the victim went free. Until I took care of him, anyway. They never did figure out his cause of death.”
Recognition dawned on Delilah. The guy had begged for his life when she knocked the gun out of his hands but she’d been sent there via the vigilante curse. Delilah was there to protect someone. He had the gun. He was going to use it. The victim had used the distraction to punch Robert, and then thanked her profusely. Her vigil
ante sensors went away, satisfied by her save. She’d given no thought to the guy unconscious on the floor. In her opinion, he got what he had deserved.
Jewel’s face turned hard. “But Robert wasn’t the bad guy. He went there scared out of his mind but desperate to help my brother. He thought if he pulled a gun on Cole’s bookie, he might be able to rid Cole of his gambling debts and end the threats against him. He was never going to use the gun. It was just his bargaining chip.”
Robert’s hand had been shaking like crazy when Delilah had stormed into the room. Her stomach coiled as she recalled Cole’s story earlier. How his brother-in-law died. She thought she might vomit. “Oh God.”
Cole cupped a hand over his mouth, clearly coming to the same realization.
“And now you’re going to die the same way Robert did. Powerless to stop it.” The tree branches swooped away, coiling back into their trunks. With a blast of power, Jewel knocked Delilah backward, toward the grave. Delilah’s feet teetered on the edge and she whirled her arms in the air for balance. This time, she knew if she fell, there was no coming out. Jewel was too powerful.
“It wasn’t her fault! The curse was driving her actions!” Cole lurched forward and slammed his forehead behind Jewel’s knees, knocking her to the ground with brute force. Her head hit a nearby gravestone, slicing a gash on the side of her face. The control Jewel had over Delilah vanished like a weight lifting off Delilah’s chest. Her foot slipped, dragging her body into the grave. She twisted at the last second, careening forward until she slammed onto the grass and not six feet below the earth. She scrambled to her feet, letting out a relieved breath.
Cole stood over his sister. “But you were acting on your own accord.” He turned and held up his hand to Delilah. It was covered in Jewel’s blood. “Will this do?”
Delilah nodded and ripped at the scab on her own stab wound from earlier. A trickle of blood oozed out and she swiped it with her finger.
Before Jewel could push herself upright, Delilah clasped hands with Cole. Power surged through her, a tidal wave welling up in her gut. She felt Cole’s spirit joining hers as she whispered the words, “In accordance with clause five point two of the contract, I hereby proclaim the contract terminated, effective immediately.” She pulled Cole in a circle, facing the north, south, east, and west before adding, “What was done was done. Be it now undone.”
Light shot from their joined hands and reached the sky. Delilah collapsed forward, drained from the power of the spell. Cole wrapped his arms around her waist as she panted. “Are you okay?”
She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his touch. That he hadn’t abandoned her after learning she was responsible for his beloved brother-in-law’s death.
“I will be,” Delilah whispered. The grave was just a grave. And neither of them were in it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
COLE
Back at Delilah’s house, Cole tended her wounds and fed her soup from the kitchen. He knew what happened with Robert wasn’t her fault. She’d been in a vigilante curse fog, acting against her will, the same way he had tried to kill himself by burying himself alive in a grave. But the fact that his own sister had sought out Delilah and tried to kill her wasn’t something he could ever forgive. He felt like he was under another spell. Not a curse. But one in which he needed to keep protecting Delilah.
She slept in his arms as he stared out at the mess of candles flickering in her living room. In the other room, his nephews snoozed in Delilah’s bed. Cole and Delilah had picked the kids up after Cole had called the police on Jewel and explained that she’d attacked them. And killed his former bookie. Thanks to a truth spell Delilah had performed on her, Jewel couldn’t deny it. Though Cole suspected a defense of insanity might work in her situation given all she was telling them about magic as they carted her away.
His sister. His betrayer.
Rocks piled in his chest. It would take him a long time to come to grips with this.
Cole grabbed Delilah’s hand and squeezed as he swallowed past the lump in his throat. The events of the last few days were horrible, but at least they lead him to Delilah. If he looked at it from the bright side, it wasn’t so bad. It was a gamble, and he’d cashed in all his chips on her.
Delilah stirred in his arms and then opened up her eyes. “Hey,” she cooed. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”
“I want to make sure you’re okay tonight. If I remember correctly, I signed a contract forcing me to help you once you break my curse.”
A smile curved onto her lips. “Soup doesn’t quite count but it’s a nice touch.”
He raised a brow. “What exactly did I get myself into? Breaking another curse?”
She shook her head. “Actually, I need help putting someone under a curse.” Delilah pressed a finger to Cole’s lips. “But we’ll deal with that tomorrow. Tonight, we sleep. If you need help, I could put you under a sleeping spell again,” she joked.
“I think I’ve had enough magic for one night.” He grinned at her. “But tomorrow’s a new day.”
Cole gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. He slid his fingers between hers and felt her pulse beating in his palm. She was right. He couldn’t turn his back on magic. Not when it was surging between them this powerfully.
Enjoy reading GRAVEBOUND? Then you’ll love the next installment of Delilah and Cole’s adventures in CURSEBOUND. ***Turn the page to read the first chapter of CURSEBOUND!***
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CURSEBOUND BLURB
When poker shark Cole Tiernan goes all-in on his relationship with witch lawyer, Delilah York, he expects magic. Or at least a few glowing candles in the bedroom. What he doesn’t expect is to become the next victim on her ex's hit list.
When Delilah York broke up with her ex, she expected it to go the way all her divorce lawyer negotiations went: with a division of assets and a good riddance. But her ex, a powerful witch turned hotel owner, began killing off her loved ones via magical means in a sick form of revenge. The only way to stop him from killing her new love Cole is to bind him with a curse that prevents him from doing harm. But when their plans go awry and Delilah’s ex kidnaps her, Cole has to find a way to rescue her the old fashioned way: without magic.
CURSEBOUND - CHAPTER ONE
COLE
Cole Tiernan had only known Delilah York for a few days, but in that time, she’d saved his life. He intended to live the rest of it to its fullest, starting with a kiss when she climbed back into bed, this time wearing lacy black lingerie that hugged her curves.
He motioned her toward him in her bed, and she obliged, but only to slide a heavy silver tray onto his lap, her face stoic, the tips of her long dark hair brushing his bare chest. Tingles radiated across his skin. A glass vase with a single red rose wobbled as she balanced the tray on his defined abs. Curls of steam billowed from a handmade ceramic mug. In the center of the tray, a silver lid covered a white plate, as if Delilah was running a chic bed and breakfast and not housing Cole and his three nephews, who were sleeping soundlessly in her guest bedroom, oblivious to the turmoil of the last few days. Cole grinned at the silver tray, then at Delilah, remembering how she had told him if she h
ad a hobby, it would be cooking.
“Wow. Breakfast in bed? I don’t deserve you. It smells…” He paused, sniffing the air. His stomach roiled at the pungent scent. It didn’t actually smell good. Or like breakfast. He lifted the steaming mug to his nose, expecting the scent of freshly brewed French coffee. Instead he got a whiff of musty cologne mixed with incense that made him cough. He tilted his head at her. “This isn’t coffee, is it?”
Her face remained void of smiles or emotions. All business with her. He lived for the brief moments where he could break her shell with a joke and get her to crack a smile. “Try it,” she said. “You might like it.”
“That’s the same thing you said the other night when you handcuffed me to the bed.” Of course, she had to handcuff him to stop him from thrashing as she performed a ritual to rid him of deadly curse. How could he not like that?
Delilah studied him in a way that made it seem like she was holding her breath. He knew he was getting into something weird when he got involved with a witch lawyer, but he’d assumed the weirdness would be contained to the full moon and love spells. Not a girl wearing lingerie that made his mouth water and offering him a beverage that decidedly didn’t. Still, she’d saved his life. She wouldn’t hurt him. He shrugged and lifted the cup to his lips.
“Wait!” Now Delilah cracked a smile, but this one seemed strategic. “Not quite yet.” Her eyes landed on the silver platter wobbling on his lap.
A flicker of apprehension knotted at the base of Cole’s throat. His shaky hand clasped around the metallic lid. Please be eggs, he thought, and instantly wished he could take it back. He’d trusted Delilah with his life, so why couldn’t he trust her with his breakfast? He took a deep breath for courage and lifted the lid.
His appetite vanished.
Because instead of jiggling eggs resting on the plate there was a sharp silver dagger with an etching engraved in the hilt. He swallowed hard, lifting his eyes to Delilah who was studying him intently.