Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel)

by Light

  “Life doesn’t happen when you’re ready,” Ariahna replied. Rome’s fingers curled around her neck as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. But it was his other hand, the one sliding up the inside of her thigh that was driving her wild. Every inch of skin he touched left her tingling. She wanted him, but it was more than that. “I need you,” she said.

  Rome pulled away, hovering only inches from her pink lips. He was enjoying the subtle, yet intimate feeling of her breath as it washed over him. It was quite possible that he only had one shot to get this right. The last thing he wanted to do was rush it. “I want you to remember this, all of this. I want you to remember me. I want to know that I made a difference, that I mattered. I need you to know how much I love you – that I’d do anything for you.” Rome felt like he was staling, and on some level, he was. He couldn’t consciously understand that he was the one that wasn’t ready for this. This was more than sex; it was a bond neither of them could even begin to comprehend.

  Ariahna stared into Rome’s blue eyes, slipping her hands down his chest, lower and lower until bright flecks of gold were staring back at her. Her fingers were playing at the skin just above his jeans. “Please,” she begged. The closer she got to this moment, the more terrified she was that it would disappear—that she’d lose him—that he’d slip through her fingers and float away. “We don’t have a lot of time,” she whispered.

  “We have enough.”

  What they didn’t have was good timing. Aria slipped her hand into his pants, causing him to lean the weight of his body against her. Their only warning was a soft creaking sound before the entire kissing booth collapsed beneath them. Rome crashed down on top of her, doing his best to protect her and not crush her at the same time. When it was all over, the two of them were lying in a pile of rotted wood. The carnival had painted it a nice shade of pink to hide its age, for all the good it had done them. Then again, its intended use was something far less… strenuous. Rome couldn’t help but feel like this was their first kiss all over again.

  “I think the world’s trying to tell us something,” he scoffed. They were both left shaking their heads in disbelief, laughing until it actually seemed funny. Rome helped her to her feet, pulling her into his arms. She pressed her cheek to his chest and it reminded him what this day was really about. It reminded him what was important. “It seems like everything is always going by so fast, even as we fight to slow it down. Maybe the only way to hold on is to—”

  “Let go?” she said.

  “No,” he breathed. “Believe. The only way we’re going to get through this is to believe that we can.”

  “…Christian told you, didn’t he?”

  Rome nodded reluctantly. “I’m not going to let you die.”

  “There’s little we can do to stop it.”

  “You could give me the wand. You don’t have to do this.” I’ll do it for you, he thought. “Just give me the wand. We’ll find another way.”

  “And in the meantime, you’ll die while we’re looking for our fabled ‘better way’,” she said bitterly, pulling away from him and taking a few steps off in another direction. “I’m not having it.”

  Rome followed, staying a few paces behind. “Your life’s more important than mine will ever be. I was a mistake. In the grand scheme of things, I’m nothing,” he said.

  “That’s not true,” she said, turning to gaze at him fiercely. “You mean everything to me. In my eyes, you are the most important thing in the world. Meaning something to someone makes you precious, and you are precious to me. I protect what I love.”

  “So do I. That’s why I’m taking your place. I’m giving my magic to the yew tree and ending this curse, even if it’s the last thing I do. Maybe with a little bit of luck, my wolf will keep me alive. But it has to be me. It’s the only way you’re going to get that happy ending, and I want that for you.” Rome didn’t think someone should be able to look that hurt and angry at the same time. “Maybe this is what I was meant to do.”

  “You’re being such a… boy. You think you have to save me, that I can’t do anything on my own. I’m scared, but I’m not a coward.”

  “I never—”

  “I’m not finished,” Aria said softly. “Why do you think I didn’t want to tell you? I knew you’d go and do something stupid.”

  “I prefer brave,” he smiled. Ariahna didn’t seem amused. “Then why did you tell Christian, weren’t you afraid he’d do something stupid?”

  “He’s not like you,” she said. “No matter what he says, he wouldn’t run into a burning building to save me.” Rome clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry, I forgot that your house—”

  “—burnt down? It’s fine. And that’s not true, Christian loves you. He’s just young.”

  “We’re the same age. Do you think I’m ‘young’?”

  “I didn’t mean—are we fighting?”

  “No,” she said stubbornly.

  Rome sighed. “He loves you just the same as I do.”

  “Part of me wants to believe that, but just because I want something doesn’t make it true. I have to keep reminding myself that he’s a smooth talker and a pretty face. You love me regardless of the curse,” she said, “he loves me because of it.”

  “He hurt you, and you’re scared. I’m not saying you should forget, I’m just saying that maybe you should forgive him.” Rome took Ariahna’s hand as she wiped away what might have been the beginning of tears.

  “I already forgave him.”

  “…I think he’s going to surprise you,” Rome said, “but only if you give him the chance.”

  She looked away. They were both hardheaded, and clearly arguing about who was going to die for the other wasn’t going to get them anywhere. She had the wand, and that was all that mattered.

  “Rome?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Will you go on the carousel with me?”

  “Only if I get to sit on that wicked looking dragon,” he smirked. They smiled at one another and raced towards the ride. She beat him by a mile. “Jeez, where did you learn to run so damn fast?”

  “I don’t know. I was on the track team last year? I’m sorry, obviously that was a rhetorical question.” He smiled and scooped her off her feet, whisking her over to the bench.

  “How about we sit together?” he said.

  She nodded, resting happily in his lap. She snapped her fingers and the carousel rallied to life. The lights and soft music carried them well into the darkness. Daylight had long since faded into dusk, giving way to stars in the beautiful night sky. They’d watched the sunset in silence, wondering if they’d live to see it rise in the morning. She was lying on top of him now, tracing circles in his chest with her fingers.

  “What’s it like?” Rome asked.

  “Being happy?” she smirked. “I don’t know. I have to admit it’s all fairly new to me.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “I meant what’s it like being a nahual? I would give anything to have your control. It’s a constant struggle for me, and the fact that you can shift without pain…”

  She sighed. She wasn’t sure she wanted to answer; he probably wouldn’t like what she had to say anyways. “I’m sure it’s going to sound selfish or ungrateful, but… it’s not as great as you might think. My ability was something I developed out of necessity. At first, it was just one more thing I thought I could impress my father with.”

  She bit her lip, choosing her next words carefully.

  “I guess I thought that he might finally be pleased, or proud of me. But I started to realize I was never going to make him happy. It was never, ever going to be enough. And when I was finally successful, it wasn’t something I wanted to share anymore. I just wanted something to myself that he couldn’t take.” She closed her mouth, grinding her teeth together. “And yet it’s nearly as suffocating as it is freeing, because I can’t just change whenever I want. I’m always worried about getting caught. But it’s something that’s kept me safe, given me a way out, wh
en I needed it. And I just—I can’t lose that.” She was digging fingernails into her skin, terrified that she was sharing any of this with someone – even Rome.

  “He’s an idiot if he’s not proud of you. You’re smart, and beautiful, and you have the kindest heart I’ve ever seen. You’re the type of person that could change the world,” he said whimsically.

  “I’m none of those things,” she blushed. “You’re just trying to flatter me, and your opinion is clearly biased.”

  “I would never lie about something like that. I’ll always give it to you straight, even if I think it’s something you might find hard to hear. It’s just the way I am,” Rome said. “Even my wolf can sense it. That’s why I think it wants you so bad. It’s attracted to your power.”

  “Well it’s going to be attracted to a very old tree as of tomorrow morning,” she quipped.

  Rome exhaled, smiling at her. “Your power doesn’t come from your magic. It’s a part of you, but it’s not who you are.”

  “My wolf comes from my magic,” she said.

  “I could make you like me,” he whispered. “It wouldn’t be the same, but you’d be strong. You’d be able to hear a pin drop and smell the rain long before it fell – and that’s just as a human. I guess you wouldn’t be an alpha though, and it’s just as dangerous as the secret you have now, if not more so. Then again, you can’t have the good without the bad, right?”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah, of course. You don’t have to ask if you can ask me something,” he smiled, “you can just ask it.”

  “…If I asked you to stay away from him, would you?”

  “Who?”

  “Kaleb,” Aria said.

  Rome cleared his throat.

  “I thought—I mean—what are you asking?”

  “I’m just worried about you… And maybe I’m a little jealous,” she admitted, “but I don’t have a good feeling about him.”

  “You don’t even know him.”

  “I know that. I just want you to be careful.”

  “Aria, what about me makes you think I could even be careful? I drive like a lunatic and yell at people holding firearms. Not to mention I leap under objects that intend to crush me. I fell in love with you knowing all too well how that was, and still is, likely to end. But I did it because I wanted to, because it was my choice. And yes, I’m friends with the one person who could kill me in my sleep, but—he saved my life. You can call me stubborn or stupid if you want, but the truth is I learn things the hard way, because I know anything easy isn’t worth fighting for.”

  “…I can’t decide if you’re wise, or just crazy,” she sighed.

  “Probably both,” he said.

  “And you’re more than friends…”

  “I’ll admit, the dynamic is a bit out of my comfort zone.”

  “Are you in love with him?”

  “What?” he breathed. “No, I’m not… in love with him.”

  “Then…”

  Rome sighed heavily. “I was insane to think something like that could work in the first place, wasn’t I?” Aria answered that question with a single look. “But what about you and Christian? Aren’t you two dating?”

  “We’re not really dating.”

  “Does he know that? …Look, I’m in love with you and I want to be with you. I’ll tell him we can’t—that we’re not—” Why was this so hard to say? “I’ll end it, but you can’t ask me not to be friends with him. I can’t do that. It’s not fair, to either of us.”

  “I don’t want him feeding off of you,” she said timidly.

  “…I know.” Rome’s head shot to the side when he heard the distinct sound of jingling keys. He watched the guard stumble towards what he realized was a very lit, very noisy carousel. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Ariahna nearly screamed when Rome flipped them over onto the floor. His fingers instinctually clamped over her mouth, signaling with his other hand towards the Hall of Mirrors. She shook her head fervently. She’d rather be caught by the guard than step foot in there.

  The truth was they didn’t have a choice.

  “I can’t get caught,” Rome said.

  “Then you should stop doing things that could get you in trouble,” she stressed. Aria drew a breath, counting to three with her fingers. They didn’t hesitate. She and Rome made a mad dash for the only escape route they had. By some miracle, the guard hadn’t seen them. But as they ran into the maze, it only felt like they were running towards danger rather than away from it. “Rome, we should hurry,” she said, squeezing his hand tightly. There was no way she was going to let go of him. Rome’s fingers were more likely to fall off from lack of circulation.

  It was dark, and movement lurked around every corner. He was definitely sensing whatever had Aria on edge. The fact that he could see ten of his own reflection at once wasn’t helping, either. He kept startling himself.

  “Why have we stopped?” she breathed. Rome turned to look at her, making her jump at the sight of his yellow eyes. That’s when she saw it. Their breath curled out from between their lips like thick fog as frost crackled over the mirrors, slowly blanketing them in a thin sheet of ice.

  “Fuck me,” Rome drawled. No matter what direction he averted his eyes to, he could see him. The Artisan was in every mirror, reflecting off every surface – everywhere and yet nowhere at once. Rome was tired of that sick, twisted smile. “We’re giving back what was stolen, so why don’t you just leave us the fuck alone?” he shouted. The mirrors began to quake, and he wrapped himself around Aria as they shattered, shielding her from a thousand shards of flying glass. He was never going to be able to forget the sound of her screaming.

  Ariahna blinked without intending to. All she could think about was getting them out of there. It hadn’t occurred to her until then that she could have blinked them away from the carousel and the impending threat of the guard. The problem with blinking out of fear was they could have literally ended up anywhere, perhaps even somewhere more dangerous than where they’d left. Luckily, they crash-landed on the hood of Rome’s car. Bits of broken glass had somehow traveled with them, hitting the metal like hail.

  “See, this is why you have to keep your magic,” he said. “The best I could do was hit him with a glob of yellow shit.”

  “We don’t have time for this argument right now,” Aria said, pointing out the unnatural clouds billowing towards them in a dark, twisting spiral. “We need to get out of here.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he said. The two of them scattered off the car and Rome fumbled with his keys, nearly dropping them before getting the door unlocked. They clambered inside, spinning off the tires as they rushed back to Vardel. This was happening now. Not at midnight, not tomorrow, now. “Call Christian,” he said.

  “Why?” She heard a loud, thunderous boom, turning to look back at the storm chasing them into the night.

  “Just do it!”

  Aria snagged her phone out of her pocket, dialing the number with trembling fingers. Each ring felt like an eternity.

  “Hello?” Christian said. “Aria, you there?” All he could hear was the faint sound of frantic breathing and a rumbling engine.

  Rome snagged the phone, swerving as he raced down the road. “Get Kaleb and get your ass out to the fucking tree.”

  “You could ask nicely, you know. What’s the saying? You catch more flies with—”

  “Just shut up and do it,” Rome growled. “I’ve got no time to be nice. I’ve got an angry cloud of Artisan closing in in my rearview, and so help me if you don’t do exactly as I say, I will kill you if we survive the damn night!” Rome hung the phone up and tossed it in her lap as he floored it. The car smelt of burning rubber. Trans Am’s were not built for small, winding roads. The back end kept trying to slip away from him on every curve, and he wasn’t exactly keeping to his own lane.

  “You really pissed him off,” he said, “banishing him like that.”

  �
��What would you have had me do? I thought you were dead.” Aria clenched her eyes shut, trying to ignore the way her heart was hammering inside her chest. She didn’t want to die, not like this. Not when she’d just found the only reason she needed to stay alive.

  “What the hell is his problem anyways?” Rome snapped. “Doesn’t he want the damn tree to have magic again?”

  “Maybe revenge became more important.”

  Rome glanced at his side mirror, watching in apprehension as the black smog billowed against the pavement, wrapping around his tires and creeping along his back window. It was quickly engulfing his entire car in a thick, impenetrable fog. He swerved, trying to shake it loose to no avail. It began seeping in through the vents, and that’s when he realized he was never going to be able to drive fast enough to get away.

  “You have to blink us to the school,” he said.

  “What? What about your car?” Aria felt her chest constrict. The cloud was wrapping around the windshield. They were nearly blind.

  “What do you mean, what about my car? Take it with us!”

  “I-I can’t.”

  The deep sound of a horn broke through the air, drawing their attention back to the road. The bright headlights of a semi cut through the haze, tearing a scream from Ariahna’s throat. She clenched her eyes shut, clamping a hand around Rome and the armrest of her door. His wrist jerked out of her grasp as he whipped at the wheel in an attempt to dodge the oncoming trucker. They’d lost control of the car, and in the brief moment that she opened her eyes, she saw the dark coastal water rising up to greet them. The feeling of weightlessness filled her with a fear so intense that she felt perfectly calm, and the moment seemed to slow until heartbeats felt like they spanned the length of hours.

  They’d gone off the side of the cliff. They were freefalling towards the ocean, and somehow it felt like they were already underwater. She couldn’t hear anything through all the sound – through the squealing of truck tires, and Rome’s roaring engine. Aria was waiting for it all to catch up with her. She was waiting for them to break the surface, for time to speed up – waiting to watch her life slip away. She grabbed Rome’s hand, threading their fingers together unhurriedly and staring back at him as her lungs refused to draw breath. The look in her eyes said it all.