A Curse So Dark and Lonely

by Brigid Kemmerer

  “With what?” says Noah. “A needle and thread?”

  When I nod, he looks exasperated. “Even if I could, he’ll need antibiotics. A tetanus shot.” His expression darkens. “Call, Jake.”

  Jake hesitates. “I think she’s telling the truth.”

  “About what? That this is some prince from a fantasy world? That’s real blood. Harper, hold this towel. Press hard.”

  I move into position and press it tightly against Grey’s side. These cuts are deep, and my eyes flinch away. “He’s not the prince,” I say. “He’s the prince’s guard commander.”

  “Oh, that’s better.” Noah uses the knife to cut the sleeve away from the wound on Grey’s arm. “This one needs stitches, too.”

  “Can’t you—”

  “No!” He sounds like he can’t believe this is up for discussion. “I don’t even have any supplies here!”

  “I can go,” says Jake quickly. “I can run to your place. Or—or the drugstore …?”

  “The drugstore? Are you kidding me?” Noah swears and uses the knife to tear a strip from another towel. “I can’t do this. He could die. He could—”

  Grey inhales sharply, then makes a low sound in his throat. His eyes flutter open. A hand lifts.

  “It’s okay,” I say to him. I take his hand and press it between both of my own. His skin is tacky with blood. He’s so pale. “It’s okay,” I whisper. I have no idea whether my words are true. “You’ll be okay.”

  His eyes drift closed before I even finish the sentence.

  I keep a tight grip on his hand and look across at Noah. “Please.”

  “I could lose my job. I could—”

  “Please,” says Jake.

  Noah inhales like he’s going to refuse, then lets it out in a rush. He moves the towels to the side to check the bleeding, then presses them back into place. “Jake. Get my keys out of my back pocket. My stuff is by the desk in the bedroom—”

  “I know. I know where it is.” Jake gets the keys and heads for the door.

  Before he can pull it closed, Noah says, “Hey. Jake.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You need to run.”

  Grey is stable.

  At least, according to Noah. He and Jake moved him to the bedroom half an hour ago because Noah needed more light to stitch up Grey’s side.

  Grey’s surviving pieces of armor are piled in a corner of the kitchen. After Jake left, Noah made like he was going to slice it all off, but I stopped him and started unbuckling. I have no idea what’s going on in Emberfall or what Grey will have access to, but I don’t want to destroy what he has left.

  Noah sent Jake to the drugstore for more supplies, and I’m standing at the sink trying to wash the blood off the blades Grey still carried: his own set of throwing knives and the dagger strapped to his thigh.

  Then I go still. If Grey is here, does that mean Rhen is dead?

  I set the knives on a towel and go to the bedroom.

  Grey is still unconscious, his skin nearly as pale as the sheets and towels beneath him, his hair dark and unruly against the pillow. I’ve never seen him look so vulnerable. Older scars decorate his torso, but nothing as severe as the wounds across his chest. He looks smaller, too, shirtless and injured, without all the armor and weapons. Scary Grey is nowhere to be seen.

  The room smells like iodine and blood. Noah has completed the sutures along Grey’s rib cage, four long arcs of neatly placed stitches. He’s moved on to the slice across his arm.

  When Noah speaks, his voice is low and quiet. “An inch lower, and this would have severed a tendon. I wouldn’t have been able to fix that.”

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  “His blood pressure is still low. He needs a liter of blood. IV fluids.” His voice is still soft, but laced with irritation.

  I don’t know whether I owe him an apology or a thank-you. Probably both. Probably more.

  “Is he going to survive?” I whisper.

  “For the next few hours, yes. The bigger worry over the next few days will be infection. Right now, I’d feel better if he’d wake up and tell me his name.”

  Me too.

  “Thanks,” I say. “Thanks for doing this.”

  Noah doesn’t say anything for the longest time, and I don’t know him well enough to read his silence. I’m about to turn away when he says, “I didn’t want to believe you. Jake’s the one who loves all the superhero movies. My world is pretty concrete.”

  “Okay.” I’m not sure where this is going and my voice shows it.

  “He’s got other scars.” Noah glances over his shoulder to look at me. “None were treated in a hospital. I can tell.” A pause. “Neither was that scar on your face.”

  I don’t say anything.

  “His clothing doesn’t have any tags, either,” says Noah. “And those weapons … they’re not stainless steel, from what I can see.”

  “So what are you saying?”

  “I don’t know.” He turns back to Grey’s arm, and his voice is thoughtful. “I guess I’m saying I don’t disbelieve you.”

  I can take that.

  The apartment door slams. “I’m back,” Jake calls. “I stopped for coffee, too.”

  “I only have one more stitch, and then I’m going to clean him up,” says Noah. “I’ll be right there.”

  I leave the bedroom to help Jake.

  He’s brought four coffees from the convenience store on the corner. Like he expected Grey to be all better when he got back.

  My brother is such a dumb jock in some ways, but in others, he’s effortlessly charming. I wrap my arms around him in a hug.

  “What’s this for?” he says.

  “You brought four coffees.”

  “Yeah, well.” He sounds abashed. But then he looks down at me and lowers his voice. “There’s a car outside. I think it might be Lawrence’s guys.”

  A chill takes grip of my chest. “Why?”

  A sudden crash and a shout emit from the bedroom, then the light in the doorway flickers.

  “Wait!” calls Noah, his voice strangled. “Jake—help—”

  Jake and I nearly collide with each other trying to get into the bedroom. Grey is standing, and he’s got a death grip on Noah’s wrist, pinning his forearm to his chest. His other hand is wrapped around Noah’s throat, forcing his head high.

  Grey’s still ghastly pale and panting from the effort. “You will—you will tell me where I am.”

  “Let him go!” Jake starts forward in a fury.

  “Wait!” I grab hold of his arm and hang on while Jake drags me forward. Grey glances from Noah to me and then to Jake barreling down on him. He’s unsteady and trembling, but he doesn’t look ready to let go at all.

  This is going nowhere good in a hurry. “He’s scared. Grey—it’s okay—”

  “Easy,” Noah grits out. “I was just—trying to help—”

  “Take your hands off him,” Jake growls. He pulls free of my grip and advances like he’s going to throw a punch.

  Grey tightens his grip. Noah makes a small sound.

  “Commander!” I yell. “Release him.”

  He lets go. Noah stumbles back. Grey turns to face Jake. His eyes go between us as he tries to figure out who’s a threat and who’s an ally.

  “I’m fine,” Noah says quickly. He’s rubbing the wrist Grey grabbed. “He woke up disoriented. He didn’t hurt me.”

  Jake glances at him. Some of the tension drains out of his body. “Okay.” He takes a step back. “Okay.”

  I move toward Grey, who’s still watching the two men warily. His breathing is too shallow, and a bloom of sweat has broken out on his forehead. Adrenaline is probably all that’s keeping him upright.

  “You need to lie down,” I say. “You’ve been unconscious for over an hour.”

  “Where are my weapons?” His voice is still thready.

  “In the kitchen. I’ll get them.”

  “The last thing he needs is weapons,” Jake mutters.<
br />
  Grey’s stance stiffens.

  “Stop!” I say. “Jake. Oh my god. Do something useful. Why don’t you get him a T-shirt?” I consider the bloodstained trousers hanging on Grey’s hips. “Maybe a clean pair of pants.”

  “Go,” says Noah to Jake. His soothing doctor voice is back, and he begins picking up the supplies that must have scattered when Grey woke up. “We’ll be all right.”

  Jake heads out of the room.

  “Sit,” I say to Grey. “Please. You’re going to drop in a second.”

  He slowly eases onto the side of the bed. “I was unsure I would be able to find you.”

  “You did.” I sit down beside him. My head is burning with questions about Rhen, about Emberfall, but he looks like a breeze would send him crashing to the ground, so I hold my tongue.

  “Can I get your blood pressure?” says Noah. He already has a stethoscope plugged into his ears, the cuff ready in his hands.

  Grey glances at me. When he blinks, it’s too slow.

  “He’s a doctor,” I tell him. “He stitched up your wounds. He won’t hurt you.”

  He gives a nod. Noah shifts forward and reclaims his chair. He slides the Velcro cuff around Grey’s arm and begins inflating it. We all sit in silence and listen to the whoosh of air.

  Finally, I can’t take it. “Was it … was it the monster?” I ask Grey. I can’t bear to say Rhen. “Is that what did this to you?”

  He nods slowly.

  “I thought he had a plan. A plan to protect his people.”

  “Too late.”

  Noah deflates the cuff. “Ninety-five over fifty. Still way too low.” A pause. “But I can see why you didn’t want to take him to the hospital.”

  I’m still stuck on what Grey said. “Too late?”

  He shakes his head again, then has to take a long breath. “He tried to jump from the ramparts. He changed midair. He has wings … this time. He can attack from … from above.”

  “I’d really feel better if you could get him to lie down again,” Noah says, his voice low.

  He tried to jump from the ramparts.

  Rhen tried to sacrifice himself to protect his people.

  Even in his last effort to beat Lilith at something, he failed.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  HARPER

  Grey refuses to lie down.

  I can barely get him to stay seated, though his injuries are helping. Jake’s presence seems to make him anxious. I don’t know if this has to do with Jake’s history or the fact that Grey’s in no condition to defend himself, but he watches my brother like he doesn’t trust him.

  Jake doesn’t help this effort, because he’s watching Grey exactly the same way.

  Earlier, Noah taped bandages over the stitches on Grey’s chest and arm, then put a wide layer of ACE wrap over top of it all. He put three tablets of ibuprofen in front of the swordsman and said, “That should take the edge off. If you want something stronger, you’re going to have to go to the hospital.”

  Grey took the tablets and said, “You have my thanks, healer.” Before I could get him a glass of water, he crunched them like candy—then grimaced.

  That made Noah look at him sideways, a musing expression on his face. It made Jake scowl.

  Now we’re all at the kitchen table, sipping the coffee Jake brought. Grey still looks shaky, but his color is a little better. Maybe the caffeine is helping. The borrowed green T-shirt is snug across his chest and arms, but the loose black pants fit him well enough. His dagger sits on the table beside his cup, but aside from the weapon, he looks like a college athlete with a hangover. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his bare forearms. It’s so hard to reconcile this figure with the strict, duty-bound guardsman I knew in Emberfall.

  Jake sits directly across from him, his arms folded over his chest. Noah sits beside him, and his expression is more inquisitive. He’s looking at Grey like he’s someone he can’t quite figure out.

  I feel so stupid. I should have put it all together earlier. “Why didn’t Rhen tell me?”

  “What would that have changed?”

  I don’t know. I might have stayed.

  Then I think of what Jake was facing. I wouldn’t have been able to leave Jake or my mother. Rhen knew that. He was protecting me, even in the end.

  Grey says, his voice low and rough, “You have heard stories of the damage the creature has caused. The lives lost. I believe he is ashamed.” A pause. “Was ashamed.”

  The note in his voice makes me snap my had up. “Was?”

  He nods. “He has no knowledge of himself when he is in this form.” Grey shifts in his chair again, then puts a hand over his ribs as if he needs to hold himself together. “He has attacked the girls before. Some have not survived. I have learned to draw him away, to the less-populated areas of the kingdom, but …” A wince. “The castle is full of people now. They have taken shelter, but Rhen’s creature is strong. He is pulling Ironrose apart brick by brick.”

  I think of Freya and the children. I think of Jamison. Zo. Everyone I’ve come to know and care for. “Has anyone died?”

  “Yes.” His voice is grave. “We are doing our best to lure him away from the castle. But he can fly and we cannot. Arrows do not pierce his skin. He has claws that grip and tear. He pulled me right off a horse. I put my sword through his wing and he fell, but it barely stopped him. He would have torn me apart.”

  “Would have?” says Jake. “What did you do?”

  Grey glances at him. “I crossed over.” A pause. “I came here.”

  “Why?” Jake’s tone is demanding and I don’t fully understand why.

  “Because.” Grey turns back to me. “We have no other hope.”

  “You want me to come back,” I breathe.

  “No,” snaps Jake. “No.”

  We all look at him.

  Jake presses his hands against the table. “Even if I believe all this—and I’m not saying I do—there is no way in hell I’m letting you go back with him, Harper. This guy literally fell through our door two hours ago. If Noah hadn’t been here, he’d be dead right now. Did you listen to his story about being dragged off a horse and torn to shreds?”

  Like I didn’t see Grey collapse on the carpeting with my own two eyes. “Yeah, but—”

  “But nothing. Are you listening to yourself? Are you listening to him?” He turns those furious eyes to the guardsman. “If you can’t stop this thing, what makes you think she can?”

  “You speak as though I seek assistance in battle. I do not.”

  “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. He’s a monster. She’s not going to fall in love with him now. She’s been through enough. She can’t help you.”

  Nothing here has changed. I love Jake, but he’ll never see me as anything more than little Harper who needs to be shoved into a back room and protected.

  Perhaps he has a point. If Rhen is a monster, I don’t know if there’s any hope left at all. I can’t fall in love with a murderous creature. “What about Karis Luran?”

  “The queen came to the castle. The morning after you left. She was not fooled. She spoke of secrets known only to her and the King of Emberfall, then gave Rhen a week to have his people evacuate before her soldiers would begin to take Emberfall by force.”

  “But now the people are hiding from the monster.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “What about Lilith?”

  “The enchantress,” Noah says softly. He looks awed by this whole exchange. I’m not sure he believes any of it, either. But for all his talk of science and reason, he looks like he wants to.

  “Lady Lilith fled. In this form, Rhen is a creature of magic and he can harm her.”

  That sounds like it should be an advantage—but if Rhen is determined to kill everything in sight, maybe not. “Do we still have an army? How many people have been killed?”

  “So far the losses have been few. Several soldiers who were standing guard the night he changed. The people do not know the
prince is the monster. Many fear he is dead.” He pauses, and his voice is grim. “Many guards heard the queen’s words. Rumors have spread that there is no alliance. That Disi has no assistance to provide.”

  All of our carefully laid plans have been unraveled in a few days.

  “What do you expect Harper to do?” Jake snaps. “Ride in and play princess?”

  “Yes,” Grey says simply. His eyes are on me. “I would ask that you return to reassure your people.”

  My people. I stare back at him. He’s still pale, but his gaze is clear.

  I turn to Noah. “How quickly can Grey fight again?”

  The doctor looks startled. “Fight? Not for weeks. He shouldn’t even be sitting up in a chair.”

  “I can walk,” says Grey. “I can fight.”

  I don’t know about that, but if he can walk, he can take me back to Emberfall.

  “You’re not going!” Jake says.

  I slide out of my chair and move across the kitchen to fetch the surviving pieces of Grey’s armor. “I am. I couldn’t—” My breath almost deserts me, and I turn back to the table with his bracers and greaves. “I couldn’t save Mom, but I can do this.”

  When I drop them on the table in front of Grey, Jake grabs my arm and turns me around. His grip is almost painful. “You aren’t doing this, Harper. I don’t know where you think you’ve been or what you think you’ve been doing, but this sounds like an elaborate setup. If I have to drag you into your room and lock you in there—”

  All of a sudden he’s jerked away from me. Noah scrapes out of his chair in alarm.

  Grey has Jake’s arm twisted up behind his back and his dagger point sits at the soft bit of skin just below Jake’s ear. “You will do no such thing,” he says.

  I look up at my idiot brother’s wide eyes and sigh. “I wasn’t lying when I said he was scary.”

  “Let me go,” he grinds out.

  My eyes shift to Grey. “Let him go before you hurt yourself. I’ll help you put your armor on.”

  He does, and Jake jerks free. Grey eases back into the chair, trembling again.

  “Keep doing that,” says Noah, “and you’re going to rip those stitches out.”