by Linsey Hall
Cursed Mate
Shadow Guild The Rebel Book 5
Linsey Hall
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Thank You!
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
About Linsey
Copyright
1
Grey
Lightning cracked over the castle on the hill, a stark reminder of the violence that had shrouded the building for centuries.
I tucked myself deeper under the eaves of the ramshackle shop, leaning against the wall as the rain poured from the roof. It created a shield of water, separating me from the city that I’d once called home.
A soft huff of wry laughter escaped me, lost to the howling wind. “Home” was too strong a word. I’d been here for only a decade, immediately after I’d been turned into a vampire. I’d been so enraptured by blood lust that I’d hardly had a sane thought the entire time. Certainly not any about “home.”
Through the pouring rain, I could see the ancient buildings that crowded along the cobblestone street. The town of Siaora was entirely inhabited by supernaturals, but the population was down to a tenth of what it had once been. No one wanted to live in such a dark and dreary place. It was the Transylvania of sensationalized films, the myth that had created the legends.
In short, it was dark and dreary and downright creepy, to use a word that Carrow favored. The truth of Transylvania was brighter and lovelier, but not here, not in the city that Silviu had created.
My maker had been a miserable bastard, and I had no idea if he was still alive. I’d intentionally lost touch centuries ago, but I needed him now—which led me to this rainy night in this miserable town, waiting to learn whether he still crouched in that tower like the gargoyle I’d known him to be.
A pain sliced through my heart, a visceral reminder of my need for Carrow. I rubbed my chest, wincing. This damned Cursed Mate bond was hitting me hard. The work that I’d done with the blood sorceress Cyrenthia had barely lasted a few days. We’d tried to break the bond between Carrow and me, but it was too strong.
As a result, I felt my mortality creeping in on me. There was a heaviness to my footsteps now, and aches and pains that were otherwise foreign. And wounds…
I didn’t heal as quickly or as easily.
My time was running out.
I thumped my head back against the stone wall, staring blindly out into the rain.
The worst part was…I missed her.
The mate bond would be there whether or not I cared for Carrow. Unfortunately for me, I had grown to care for her. I’d barely felt emotion in the five hundred years since I’d been turned, and then she’d appeared, and bam.
Feelings.
Disgusted with myself, I dragged a hand over my face.
The slightest change in the air made me stiffen. I lowered my hand and searched the night, my enhanced vision catching sight of a small figure approaching me through the rain. The streets were empty at this hour, save for her.
Finally.
The woman hurried forward, her small form clothed in simple black trousers and a jacket—the kind of clothing worn by people used to sneaking around in the shadows. Her dark hair was soaked to her skull, and her eyes blazed a brilliant silver as she stepped out of the rain about ten feet down from me.
“Devil.” She inclined her head.
“Veronica. What did you find?”
“He’s still there.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the castle. “Moldy and miserable as ever.”
It was as I’d expected. He was far older than me, and immortality didn’t sit well the longer one lived with it.
“He’s still in his right mind?” I asked.
She nodded. “For the most part. Keeps himself entertained with books and some really terrible paintings. A couple of women who don’t like him much.”
I grimaced. Would that be my fate if I managed to break this bond with Carrow? Eternity alone, growing more and more disenchanted with the world as each year slipped by? Worse, I’d have to watch Carrow grow old and die.
The idea sent a shudder of misery through me, but I shook it away.
“Will he meet me?” I asked.
She nodded. “Tomorrow night. Although you’ll have to pass the gauntlet to get there.”
“Truly?” The gauntlet was a series of protections that guarded the ascent to the castle at the top of the hill. It was what had kept Silviu protected all these years, and the reason I’d hired Veronica to check on him. She had a shortcut specially provided by him, though she used it infrequently.
“He wants to make sure you still have what it takes,” she said.
“Of course I do.”
She shrugged. “You look different.”
I could feel my lips turn down at the corners, and she stepped back, eyes flashing. “Good still, of course. Kind of tortured poet-like, with the shadows under your eyes.”
I could hear the truth in her voice but didn’t care. It was the mere idea of changing after so many years—of not being in control of my body and mind—that bothered me.
“Thank you, Veronica.” I reached into my pocket, withdrew a crisp set of notes, and passed them to her.
She took them and stuffed them in her pocket without looking. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I nodded, and she disappeared into the shadows, slipping back out into the rain. I turned away, thinking of Carrow.
I needed to find her.
Carrow
Dreams flashed through my mind, hazy and unclear. Grey, of course, always at the periphery of my thoughts. And Beatrix, my friend. She’d died over a year ago, murdered by the man who’d worked for the necromancer. That mystery had drawn me into Guild City, and in a terrible way, I supposed I had her to thank for it.
Poor Beatrix.
A tapping sound dragged me from sleep, and I rolled over, my body weighing a million pounds. Sunlight streamed through the small window set into the white plaster wall. Bright and brilliant, it slanted across the sheets, nearly blinding me when it passed over my eyes.
I blinked, the dark rafters in the sloping ceiling helping me focus my vision.
The tapping sounded again.
I turned toward the window, squinting against the light. A dark shape was silhouetted against the sun—a bird.
As I blinked and climbed out of bed, the bird coming into focus.
Eve’s raven.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
The bird didn’t speak—not to me, at least—but it tilted its head like it understood.
I walked toward the window and forced the rickety thing open. The bird hopped to the side of the sill but didn’t take flight. I looked past it, down onto the street.
“Eve?” I called.
My Fae friend was nowhere to be seen. The street bustled with early morning foot traffic. Supernaturals carried steaming cups of magical coffee that billowed rainbows of steam, the color depending on the enchantment on the dark brew. Energy, charm, luck, or a bit of extra intelligence—all were yours for the taking if you ordered from the right shop.
I looked up into the
sky, expecting to see her hovering on her Fae wings. All I saw were fluffy white clouds against a brilliant blue sky.
I looked back down at the raven. “Where’s Eve?”
The bird just tilted its head, staring at me. Something pulled in my chest. Recognition, almost. Familiarity or connection. The dream of Beatrix flashed in my mind. She stood next to me, smiling and laughing like she used to.
Pain sliced through my chest, and my hand instinctively went to my heart. I’d done a good job of banishing the sadness from my mind, but lately, it insisted on coming back.
So strange.
The bird took flight, launching itself into the gentle wind. It whirled on the breeze, then flew off toward the Shadow Guild tower.
I watched the dark, glossy wings glint in the sun, feeling like the creature was calling to me, drawing me along.
It had never done that before.
I rubbed a hand over my face as I walked toward the bedside table and grabbed my phone, then typed a quick text to Eve:
Saw your raven. Did you need me for something?
I set the phone back down and hopped in the shower, making quick work of getting cleaned up for the job ahead. It had only been two days since the fight at the Temple of Anat—and two days since I had seen Grey.
The Cursed Mate bond between us was as strong as ever, and I could feel it pulling on me. Like it had grown, leaving an imprint on my soul. A sensory memory of Grey.
I knew he was away, trying to find a solution to our terrible problem, and I was doing the same. My gift told me that there were answers in the Shadow Guild tower. I knew it. I was drawn to that place like we were two enormous magnets, and there was no fighting the pull.
More than that, there were answers there that could possibly save Grey and me. It was like my power had been building toward this moment, growing stronger and stronger. And now it told me that there were answers in the many boxes that filled the long-abandoned rooms.
I hopped out of the shower and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, both appropriately ragged for the dirty job to come. Today was the day. I could feel it. I was going to find something. And damn it, I would use it to figure out how to save us.
Eve never responded to my text. She claimed she couldn’t see the bird, but I swore that I occasionally caught her looking at it. Especially lately.
I shoved the phone into my pocket and pulled on my boots, then headed out into the living room. Cordelia, my raccoon familiar, lay on the sofa, passed out next to an empty bag of crisps. Her little paw was still shoved into the bag, and her fluffy belly faced the ceiling. I left her sleeping and stepped out on the landing outside my apartment.
The narrow stairs disappeared down toward street level. I lived on the top floor, with Mac on the one below me. She stepped out of her flat and looked up at me, grinning. “Perfect timing.”
“You coming to the tower?”
She nodded. “I don’t start at the Hound until later tonight, so I thought I’d help you out this morning.”
We still didn’t know whether we would live in our guild tower like some of the other guilds did, but we needed it cleaned out, no matter what. And she knew I hoped to find answers there.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Cordelia still sleeping?”
“Yeah. With an entire bag of crisps next to her.” I shook my head. “I swear, I have to work on her diet, or she’ll have a heart attack.”
Mac grinned. “I helped her with those last night, so she didn’t eat the whole bag.”
“Really?” I’d had no idea she’d been over.
“Yeah, we watched the old Twilight movie while you were asleep.”
“My raccoon has a better social life than I do.”
Mac laughed. “You need to work on that.”
“I will, just as soon as I sort out this Cursed Mate situation with Grey.” I had no idea how long we had left before the curse took over his mind entirely, forcing him to drink me to death in order to save his own life. But it felt like the time was nearing. There was a heaviness to the air that was impossible to ignore.
Mac and I reached the main street, and she turned back to lock the green door behind us. The kebab place under our flats was still closed due to the early hour, but the coffee shop down the street was open and bustling.
“I’m dying for a coffee,” Mac said.
“Same.”
We stopped in at the little place, joining the short queue that waited along the left wall. Ten minutes later, we each clutched a steaming coffee. Mine was enchanted with a shot of mental clarity, and I was hoping it would come in handy. Mac had requested charm, though I had no clue why she thought she needed it. After all, it was just going to be the two of us getting dirty while cleaning the tower.
“The weirdest thing happened this morning,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“Eve’s raven visited me, then flew off toward the guild tower, as if it was leading me there.”
“That’s weird.”
“Yeah. Why doesn't she see it?”
Mac shrugged. “Maybe she’s lying. I’ve wondered about that. Or maybe it’s not really hers. It’s only been around about a year.”
“What?” I flashed a look at her. “Only a year?”
She nodded. “Showed up one day, but she never saw it. So maybe it’s just attracted to her Fae energy.”
“What do you mean, ‘Fae energy?’”
“They’re earth Magica, for the most part. Connected to the life force of the earth. Animals, plants, all of that. It’s one reason why Eve is so good with potions. So maybe that’s what the raven likes.”
“Weird to be followed by a magical animal you can’t see.”
“Very.”
We reached the abandoned courtyard in front of our tower. Morning sunlight gleamed on the flowers filling the ramshackle space. It looked vastly better than when we’d discovered the tower a couple weeks ago. The plants had grown, green and bright, climbing up the remains of the pedestal upon which the statue of Councilor Rasla had stood.
Mac gestured to the wild garden. “I think this is Seraphia’s work, don’t you?”
I nodded. Our librarian friend had some kind of power over plants, though she never mentioned it. We never asked. The topic felt off limits.
The stone statue of the bastard who’d nearly destroyed the Shadow Guild in the seventeenth century was now gone, blasted into rubble, but his shadow remained. I’d been obsessed since I’d learned of him. Why had he done such terrible things to the Shadow Guild, all but destroying it and wiping it from the city’s memory?
A bird’s shriek sounded from the tower, and I spotted the raven sitting on the roof.
“There’s your buddy.” Mac tilted her head. “Does it seem a little different?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
The raven launched itself into the air and swooped toward me. For the longest moment, I felt like I recognized the gleam in its eye.
Weird.
I shook my head and walked toward the door. Mac came with me, and we unlocked the heavy wooden thing. Pushing it open, I revealed the newly spotless room. After all our elbow grease, it looked gorgeous. The stone walls almost sparkled, and the large hearth looked inviting.
My gaze landed on the heavy wooden chair that sat next to the hearth. Cordelia had dragged it into the front room last week, and I’d avoided it ever since.
Mac caught me looking at it. “That’s the leader’s chair, you know. Every guild has one.”
She’d told me that before, about a week ago. Apparently, she felt the need to repeat it. Probably because I’d ignored her the first time, pretending to be distracted. I studied the beautifully carved wood. It was an impressive thing, far too good for me.
“You haven’t sat in it yet,” Mac said. “In fact, you’ve hardly mentioned being leader at all.”
I swallowed hard.
That’s because I don’t feel ready. Or worthy.
“All we’ve done is clean
this place,” she continued, her gaze knowing.
“Spit it out, Mac.” She was beating around the bush. I knew her well enough by now to be able to spot it.
“We chose you as leader because it was the obvious choice. You saved this place. And I’m not saying you’re being negligent in your duties or anything, just that I’ve noticed you shying around that chair like it’s going to bite you.”
I drew in a deep breath and approached it slowly, running my fingertips over the smooth wood. “I don’t even know what I am. Or the extent of my magic. How can I possibly be qualified to lead?”
“We believe in you,” Mac said. “You need to believe in yourself, too.”
Easier said than done.
“Anyway,” she continued, “this whole magic thing is a journey. You don’t need to be perfect right now.”
Journeys had beginnings, and I felt like I didn’t know what mine had been. I had no idea where my magic had come from. Not my father. My mother?
She’d died shortly after my birth, so I had no memories of her.
Pain sliced through me, and I scowled. I’d long since stopped thinking of her. It brought more harm than good.
But now that I was faced with my future and so much responsibility that I didn’t feel ready for, I wished I could speak to her. Ask her about my past and who I was. What I was. Especially with my magic, which had been more stubborn lately. I could mostly control it, but not entirely. And new powers kept popping up.
The raven swooped inside, distracting me from my thoughts. This was the most I’d ever interacted with the bird, and so I followed it, cutting through the empty front room that gleamed from our recent deep clean. The bird flew up the stone spiral staircase, and I ran after it, taking the steps two at a time, with Mac pounding behind me.