No one tried to stop her as she left the house, got in her car and headed to Kai’s neighborhood. The goblins lived on the opposite side of town in a neighborhood that took Mia by surprise. Seemed goblins were also the wealthiest in town... which made sense. Rhett had once likened them to the mob of St. Croix Falls. The neighborhood was sprawling and full of large houses that only grew in size and extravagance the further in Mia drove. Angie had given Mia Kai’s address at one point, thinking Mia would pick him up. At the last minute, Kai had called and said he had a ride and didn’t need her to get him.
Mia pulled up in front of a mini-mansion of a house made of stone with an arched entryway and a stone path leading up to the front door. Why hadn’t Angie ever told Mia what kind of place Kai lived in? She supposed it made sense too since goblins lived in large family units. Half of Kai’s extended family could live in this one house.
Mia took a deep breath and got out of her car. She marched up to the front door and knocked with purpose. Mia was proud of herself when the door opened, and she didn’t flinch away. One of Kai’s cousins, a large, burly goblin with fangs and light green skin with dark green freckles stood in front of her. He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. “What are you doing here halfling?” he growled.
Mia squared her shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. He wasn’t going to scare her away. Kai was her friend and she was allowed to see her friend. “I’m here to see Kai.”
“He’s busy.”
Mia scowled. That was a total lie. “I don’t think he is. Tell him Mia’s here. I’m not leaving until I talk to him.”
The goblin looked about ready to pick her up and throw her at her car when someone said, “Roth? Who’s there?”
The goblin – Roth – scowled but stepped aside. Kai stood in the doorway now, as tall as his cousin but much lankier. Mia had never asked why Kai was skinnier than his other male goblin counterparts. She always thought it was odd though since every other male goblin looked like a scary wrestler.
Kai’s eyes widened when he saw Mia. He ducked his head, his webbed ears wilting a bit. “Oh... hi Mia,” he grumbled.
Mia folded her arms. “Hey Kai. Can we talk? Alone?”
He nodded and glanced up at Roth. “I’ll be in in a minute.”
Roth glowered at Mia and then nodded at Kai, stepping inside. Kai shut the door behind him and gestured for Mia to follow him away from the front door. “I know why you’re here,” he said, leading her toward her car.
“Angie’s beside herself. You broke her heart,” Mia said, an edge in her voice.
Kai flinched and he wilted even more. “I never wanted that to happen. But I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry Mia... can you tell her I’m sorry?”
Mia shook her head. “No. I won’t. You tell her you’re sorry yourself.”
“I did... She didn’t... She left after that.”
“Can you blame her?” Mia asked, throwing her arms up.
What was wrong with him? Did he not see he would lose Angie if he didn’t do something now? Mia knew he loved her. She couldn’t believe he would let his family get between the two of them.
Kai shook his head, tears pooling in his eyes. “No,” he murmured. “Maybe it’s for the best. What kind of life could we have had? We wouldn’t have been accepted.”
Mia snorted. “There’s more to life than being accepted.”
“My family would shun me.”
“Then they’re idiots. Angie’s the sweetest girl anyone will ever meet. They should be happy you found her.”
Kai shrugged. “Well they aren’t. And they said... never mind it doesn’t matter.” He started to turn around.
Mia caught his arm, stopping him. “No, tell me. What did they say? Did they threaten you?”
His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No. They wouldn’t do that. But... they did... kind of... threaten Angie.”
Mia’s eyes narrowed and her grip on his arm tightened. “What did they say?”
“Look… No one outside of the family knows this. I know I should have told you and Angie a long time ago, but it’s not exactly something I’m proud of. Honestly, my family doesn’t want anyone to know. But you know I don’t have parents, right? I mean, none that live here. My aunt and uncle raised me,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
Mia shook her head. “I didn’t know that. What… what happened to them?”
Kai ducked his head in shame. “My dad was a goblin… my mom was a, um… a Fae. An Unseelie Fae.”
Mia’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t say anything. As a half-human-half-Fae, she didn’t have any right to judge. She didn’t understand what the big deal was either. Lilac was a half shifter half Fae. Mia knew halflings were seen as lesser, but that hadn’t stopped Lilac was getting her hands on as much power as she could. No one seemed to think lowly of her just because of her mixed blood.
“I don’t understand,” she said at last when Kai still hadn’t said anything.
He glanced up at her, face pinched. “It’s extremely uncommon. I mean, you think other halflings are uncommon, but a goblin not being with another goblin is unheard of. My dad fell in love with her… They were bonded in secret and had me. That’s why I’m so much shorter and, you know, less bulky than my cousins. My dad’s brother found out and banished him from the family. He took me and raised me as his own. I never met my mother or father.”
Mia’s jaw dropped. “And you’re Okay with that? How could you stay with these people then? They banished your parents and took you from them,” she said, gesturing at the house behind him.
Kai winced. “It’s hard to explain. I… I know I should be mad at them. But without them, I would have been labeled a freak, an outcast. Goblins don’t survive long without their families. I wouldn’t have made it out there alone.”
“You wouldn’t have been alone. You would have had your parents.”
“It doesn’t matter. I would have been shunned my entire life. Never able to have a future if not for my aunt and uncle. My parents were wrong to get together, I know that… but now with Angie…” Kai swallowed and glanced away. “They say I’m my father’s son. My blood was tainted from the start, my uncle said. If I remain with a nymph… they’ll banish me, and they’ll treat Angie even worse than they already do.”
Mia’s face twisted in disgust. “That’s horrible and untrue. You don’t need them Kai.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “You don’t understand. No one does. I do need them. A goblin needs his family. Honestly, it’s not worth arguing about Mia. You’ll never change my mind. But that’s why I broke up with her.”
“And did you tell Angie all this?”
Kai’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “No! I couldn’t. She wouldn’t want to be with a halfling like me.”
Mia gave him a doubtful look. “I don’t think she would care, Kai. She loves you.”
“Well… it’s too late now. It’s already been done. You can’t tell her what I told you, Okay?” he asked, glancing at her.
Mia wanted to. She wanted to tell Angie the truth. Maybe it would make her a little more understanding and help her to not give up hope on them, but… “I won’t tell. But I do think you should tell her yourself.”
“Maybe. Look Mia... I know you’re trying to help Angie and I, and I appreciate that but, it’s just not going to work out. Tell Angie I’m sorry and that I love her. I have to go,” Kai murmured, ducking his head to hide a tear slipping down his cheek.
Mia watched him walk back up to the house and shut the door behind him. He was giving his family exactly what they wanted. How could he cave like that? So easily? But... he and Angie had been dating for more than five weeks now. For all Mia knew, his family could have been wearing him down for all those weeks. Hitting him hard until he finally caved in. Mia blinked up at the house and then numbly got back in her car. There went her chance to be useful and fix something.
She couldn’t stop the curse. She couldn’t op
en the portal – yet. She couldn’t save Angie and Kai’s relationship. She felt useless. Mia started her car and leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Now what was she going to do? So much for fixing something and making herself feel better. Uph...
At least she could go home and try to make Angie feel better and train. Mia had just promised a bunch of loud mouth Fae that she would open the door and get them all home. She should kind of start taking this whole thing seriously if she planned to fulfill her promise.
Mia raised her head from the steering wheel and put the car in drive.
Her little pity party was over. Now it was time to get things done.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day, Mia wiped the sweat off her forehead as she stared down at the box in front of her in the grass. Cillian had said only magic could open it and right now... it wasn’t opening. Which either meant Mia was doing something wrong or her magic was acting up. Probably a little bit of both.
It didn’t help that Ryker stood off to the side with his arms folded, putting all the pressure on her to open this stinking box without saying a word. She ran a hand through her hair. This was just step one. Once she got it open then she could figure out how to trap the curse inside the box. Cillian had failed to mention how exactly to do that. He’d said it would be instinctual. That she would just know. But that was a pretty sucky and vague answer to Mia. Very unhelpful. So, overall, she was on her own. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding her hands over the box’s lid. They hovered so close to it that her skin skimmed over the top. Mia could feel her hands tingling and the warmth of her magic rush up from her skin but still... nothing happened. Maybe Cillian was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t instinctual. Maybe she was supposed to say some magical words or something like abra cadabra or open sesame.
“What’s happening?” Ryker asked, cutting through the silence.
Mia kept her eyes shut and placed her hands on the box this time. Maybe all she needed was some physical contact. “I’m working on it,” she snapped.
He said nothing to that. Mia imagined the box unlocking. The lid springing open for her, and she imaged the delight and excitement of getting it open. When that didn’t work, she tried a more... drastic approach. She imagined everyone she loved dying because of this curse. Her mother turning into one of those husks with blackened eyes. Angie collapsing, never to smile or laugh again. But what struck the hardest was picturing Rhett dying right in front of her. Seeing those green eyes always so full of amusement and mischief turning to darkness, his skin paling to the pallor of a ghost and his mouth gaping open as if shocked something could kill him.
They would all die, every Fae and eventually every human in town would die if Mia didn’t do something now. She had to open this box. Five people have died already and there was only so much Cillian and the nymphs could do to keep the curse at bay. This was all on her. Was she really going to let another person die just because she didn’t think she was strong enough? No way. This was her job. This was her time to prove that she wasn’t useless. That she did have power and that she could help.
Her hands tingled and her palms warmed like they were channeling the power of a microwave. A gasp came from Ryker’s vicinity and when Mia opened her eyes, her mouth fell open. Her hands were glowing purple and a minute later, the lid popped open with a gentle snap. Mia let her hands fall to her sides. They stopped glowing, and the heat dissipated from her skin as she stared down at the box. It was open... She had done it. The box was open. Her gaze slid to Ryker who had walked over to stare down at the box, his gaze on her now. “You did it,” he whispered, sounding more surprised than Mia would have liked.
“I did... I actually did,” she said, her lips forming a slow smile.
Ryker grinned back. For the first time since meeting him, Mia could see something like hope shining in his eyes. His smile was real and genuine and almost excited. “The box is open. That means you can put the curse in it now and open the door.”
“Yeah... I have to figure out how to do that first. But, I mean, if I can do this then I can do that, right?”
Ryker nodded. “Yes, yes, you can. You’re more powerful than you think.”
Mia flashed him a grin. If he had said that to her a few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have believed him. But now here she stood, in control of her magic, having opened a box and was about to figure out how to suck a curse into it. If she could do all that... then maybe she really was more powerful than she thought.
Mia stepped forward and flipped the lid open, peering inside. Despite Cillian going on and on about it being a magical box... it looked surprisingly ordinary. Wood stained black on the inside like the outside and empty. Nothing special or unique about it. She’d just have to trust that Cillian had been telling the truth and that the curse would fit inside – and more importantly – stay inside.
She was about to ask if she should shut the lid or just keep it open, when the sound of Rhett’s car pulling up in the driveway stopped her. Mia turned, grinning when she saw Rhett get out and sprint over to them. “I opened the box,” she shouted, waving her hands. “I opened it.”
But instead of seeing excitement or amusement on his face, his gaze was stormy, and his lips were pressed into a thin line. Mia’s smile fell instantly. “What’s wrong?” she asked as he came to a stop in front of her.
He glanced over his shoulder, taking hold of her arm. “Grab the box. We need to get you out of here. Now.”
“Why? What’s going on?” she asked, taking the box as he dragged her around the front of the house to his car.
Ryker already had his sword in hand. “What is it?”
“Lilac’s whipped everyone into a frenzy. They’re coming for you, Mia. They think if they kill you or something that the curse will end. They think you’re causing it.”
“But I’m not. I can stop the curse now. I just need to figure out how,” Mia insisted, dread settling inside her as she got into the passenger seat. Ryker climbed into the back seat. None of that would matter to a grieving and vengeful Lilac, though. And the goblins would look for any excuse to get rid of her. No one would care...
They had to do something. Mia didn’t have time to sit around and mess with her magic and the box. She had to stop the curse. Now.
Rhett hit the gas and spun out of his driveway.
“We need to go to the Falls,” Mia decided. “I have to at least try and get rid of the curse.”
Rhett shot her a grin. “Exactly what I was thinking. Hence the reason I’m headed there right now.”
Mia was impressed by his foresight.
For once, Mia wished they lived further from the Falls. A longer drive would give her more time to figure out what to do. How was she supposed to get the curse in the box? By the time they pulled into the parking lot and she turned the car off, Mia sort of wished she had listened to Rhett and Ryker. This was a bad idea... But she was desperate. People were dying. And she was sick of everyone blaming it on her. The best way to stop all of this before it escalated even more was to stop the curse, and the only way to stop the curse was to use her magic.
They got out, Ryker still having his sword drawn.
Rhett slammed the front door and led the way into the woods. Mia’s hands clutched the box like she was afraid it might sprout wings and fly away. What if she couldn’t do it? What if she really wasn’t strong enough? All this time people had been telling her that she was stronger than she knew, that she was ultra-powerful. What if they hyped her up so much and then she ended up being a complete disappointment?
No one said anything, everyone too tense and eager to see if this would actually work. Taking a deep breath, Mia turned on her heels and followed Rhett down the path with Ryker behind her. The walk to the Falls was too short and Mia found herself standing in front of the lake and the rushing water all too quickly.
Pressing her lips together, Mia glanced down at the simple looking box in her hands. She sincerely hoped Cillian had been right and
that the box would hold the curse. Too bad she couldn’t just open the lid and the curse would get sucked inside, no magic or work needed. But that would be too easy. Apparently, nothing could be easy for Mia.
Mia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Maybe she was thinking too much about it. This could all be the simplest thing in the world, and she was just blowing it way out of proportion. Mia reached inside to where she could feel her magic. The warmth grew inside her. She felt her fingers tingle with the energy. But instead of that zap or extreme heat in her hands... they just tingled like her power didn’t know what to do with itself. Mia didn’t know what to do either. Should she channel her magic into the box and hope it took care of the rest? Or should she channel it into the earth and try to draw the curse out? Maybe she should have consulted Cillian on this before telling everyone she could stop the curse.
“Everything alright?” Ryker whispered.
Mia squeezed her eyes shut even tighter and decided to go with option two. She bent down and set the box onto the ground in front of her. Mia reached forward and pressed her hands into the grass. She wasn’t sure what to do next, so she decided to try what she imagined Angie felt when she connected to the ground or whatever. Her magic pulsed through her fingertips and into the forest floor. Mia imagined the tendrils of magic like ropes attached to each of her fingers, keeping it connected to her while also letting it search for the wrongness Angie had said she’d felt.
At first, she didn’t notice anything. The forest felt like... the forest. Actually, she didn’t feel any sort of magic or connection at all, which wasn’t a surprise. She wasn’t a nymph. She didn’t have the sort of connection to the earth that they had. But then, as her magic searched the Falls, a coldness like a finger running down her spine sent a chill through her. That definitely did not feel right. She shivered but didn’t retreat. This was the curse. Mia could feel it in her bones. This was what was killing people and the only way to stop it was to somehow draw it out and into the box. She prodded it with her magic, testing the waters. A gasp escaped her as the coldness turned to prickly ice and proceeded to latch onto her magic. Mia’s eyes snapped open as she felt the darkness drain the magic from her fingertips, using her invisible ropes to pull at her.
Cursed: St. Croix Falls #2 Page 14