Eternal Curse: (The Cursed Series, Book 1)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  I nodded. After another round of tearful hugs, Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean headed out of my room, Abby following reluctantly behind them.

  “Abby?” I called before she made it out of the room.

  She stopped and turned back to me. “Yeah?”

  “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  Uncle Dean gave an approving nod. “Don’t be too long. Chloe needs her rest.”

  “I’ll give you two a minute.” Trent kissed my cheek and whispered, “I’ll be right outside the door, okay?”

  When Abby and I were alone, I turned my full attention to her. A myriad of mixed emotions warred inside of me. Anger. Sadness. Betrayal.

  “How could—” Before I could get the words out of my mouth, she flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and sobbing. I suppressed a cry at the pain of having her arms around my neck, unintentionally squeezing.

  “I’m so sorry, Chloe. I never wanted to hurt you. I didn’t know what I was doing. Isach said…” She choked back a sob. “He promised he wasn’t going to hurt you. He said he only wanted to talk to you. I didn’t know…”

  Tears filled my eyes. How could I be mad at her when she had no control over her own mind? She was just as much a victim of the Zoya as I was.

  I hugged her back. “It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t blame you.”

  “You should.” She released me and wiped her eyes. “You tried to warn me about him, and I wouldn’t listen.”

  My temples throbbed with the threat of a headache. “Let’s put all of that behind us, okay? And promise me you’re done with Isach.”

  She nodded vigorously. “I never want to see him again.”

  I smiled. “You’d better go before Uncle Dean comes in here. Will you come with them tomorrow to pick me up?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She gave me another hug and then left the room.

  As soon as she was gone, Trent returned. His gaze landed on mine as he closed the door and sauntered toward me. My heart rate sped up, and I slid over on the bed to make room for him. He settled beside me with one hand tucked behind his head, and then he hesitated with his other hand, as if unsure where to place it.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

  I took his hand and placed it on my side, right below my ribs. “There is good.”

  We lay facing each other—or rather, I was facing his chest; he was so much taller than me that if he were eye level, his feet would hang off the bed. “Everything okay with Abby?”

  I nodded. “She remembers her part in everything, but she didn’t have any control over her mind or actions.” I snuggled up to him. “Will you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

  “There’s not a force on this earth that could make me leave you here alone.” He flexed his hand against my side, drawing me closer.

  “Thank you.” I looked up at him, and he lowered his head, his lips brushing over mine. My eyes fluttered closed as I welcomed his kiss and flattened my palm on his chest.

  He was self-assured but gentle, his mouth working against mine with heated perfection. I ran my hand up his chest and neck until my fingers tangled in his hair. Groaning, he deepened the kiss.

  A sense of panic consumed me, followed by utter desperation. I could taste his fear as he searched for me. And then he found me—I could see myself through his eyes—my limp, battered body heaped on the floor, the scent of blood permeating the air. First, the strongest, soul-searing heartache rendered him immobile. Hannah laughed with glee at his pain. And then deadly rage poured from him. The need to kill consumed him.

  “Trent, stop.” I gasped, pushing him away.

  He quickly pulled back, completely removing his hand from my waist. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” I took a few calming breaths, then swallowed hard. “You were doing that thing again, with the memories. I really don’t want to relive that whole ordeal.”

  “Sorry.” He frowned. “I guess my emotions are still running high.”

  “It’s okay.” I fidgeted with the front of his shirt, and he put his hand back on my waist. The weight of his touch comforted me, reminding me I was safe. “How is Jax dealing with all of this? I’m sure seeing Hannah again wasn’t easy.”

  “No, it wasn’t. He took off as soon as he knew you were okay. Said he needed some time to get his head on straight.” Trent trailed his hand up my side, eliciting a shudder from me.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “He did the same thing the first time, too, when we’d thought she’d been destroyed. He came back after a few months.” Trent seemed perfectly fine with Jax leaving, so I wasn’t going to push the issue.

  “And Isach? Where’d he go?”

  “He took off, too, after he led us to you.”

  “What?” I said much too loudly, my shocked tone cutting through the quiet room. “He was the one to tell you where I was?”

  “He’d used his magic to mask your location, made it impossible for us to follow your scent. Then he dropped the veil and pointed us in the right direction.”

  “Huh.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” I shook my head. “Right before you showed up, he’d told Hannah to kill me. It doesn’t make sense that he’d help you find me.”

  “I have no idea why he did it, and I don’t care. You’re alive. That’s the only thing that matters to me.” He moved his hand around to my back, his fingertips featherlight against my skin.

  I was content to stay here with him like this for as long as possible. “You saved my life, you know.”

  He very easily could have let Hannah change me, but he didn’t. He’d sacrificed an eternity with me so I could remain human. That wasn’t something I’d ever forget.

  He rested his chin on the top of my head and let out a heavy sigh. “If it hadn’t been for me, you never would’ve been in that position in the first place. I’ll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for that.”

  “I don’t blame you for what happened.” I inched up so I could kiss him, and this time there was nothing but the two of us. No crazy images or lingering feelings about what had happened. It was just a normal kiss.

  He reached up with his free hand and shut off the lights, the only illumination the glow from around the door and what little sunlight filtered through the slats of the blinds. And then he was kissing me again, slow and sultry, as if we had all the time in the world.

  “I love you, Chloe,” he whispered, the words almost pained as he dragged his lips along my jaw to kiss my cheek.

  My heart hammered in my chest, and I fought to breathe through the raging emotions.

  “I know I shouldn’t, but I do.” He kissed each of my closed eyelids, the gesture so sweet, it brought tears to my eyes. “I’ve loved you from the moment you punched me in the hallway.”

  I started to laugh, but he silenced me with a passionate kiss, cutting off anything I might have wanted to say. I whimpered, and he deepened the kiss. I could get lost in him, in the way he held me and kissed me and made me feel so totally loved and cherished.

  “I know this entire thing is impossible, and we’re on borrowed time, but I don’t care.” He punctuated his words with a kiss to my lips, quick yet firm. “If the price I have to pay for loving you is an eternity of loneliness, then I’ll take it, because I can’t imagine an existence where I don’t love you.”

  He pulled back, his lips glistening with the remnant of our kisses. The familiar blue eyes that had struck me speechless the first time I’d seen them stared at me expectantly. Hopeful. Our relationship was doomed—there was no denying that—but no one had ever made me feel like Trent did, and I’d be foolish to ignore my feelings.

  “Am I your soulmate?” My voice trembled.

  “What?”

  “That day in school when I threatened Isach and you almost killed him, Jax cornered me and said you thought I was your soulmate, and that you wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice yourself for me.” I pressed my palm over his
heart and gazed up at him. “So, is he right? Am I your soulmate?”

  Trent’s eyes fluttered closed. “Yes.” He breathed the word as if it were too hard for him to speak it with any certainty.

  “What does that mean?”

  “To me, it means everything.” He smiled sadly. “But it’s also complicated, and not something we should talk about right now. You need to rest.”

  I had no idea what it meant to be a vampire’s soulmate, and I wasn’t sure I cared, because I knew how I felt about Trent. And nothing else mattered to me.

  “I love you, too,” I said softly, cupping his cheek. “We’ll figure out the rest.”

  His entire body seemed to sag with relief. He smiled, removed my hand from his cheek, and pressed a lingering kiss to my palm before placing my hand back on his chest. “Get some sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

  Despite wanting to spend the night kissing and talking, I couldn’t suppress my yawn. “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE:

  Family Reunion

  IT HAD BEEN A LITTLE OVER a week since my ordeal, and it was still the talk of the school. I was tired of telling my story—or rather, the story Trent and Jax had fabricated for me to tell—and I just wanted things to go back to normal.

  Thankfully, Ellie had proclaimed herself my bodyguard and whenever someone tried to ask me questions, she’d shut them down. I had no idea what I’d do without her.

  Jax was still gone, and I couldn’t help but feel responsible for that. Even though Trent insisted none of it was my fault, I knew he missed his brother, and nothing he said would lessen my guilt about that.

  Isach hadn’t shown his face since kidnapping me, and I hoped he never did, because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself from screaming at him for what he’d done. And then I’d probably hug him, because if he hadn’t lifted his magic, I would have died.

  My physical wounds were healing quickly, but the nightmares were another story. I hadn’t slept through the night since Trent stayed with me at the hospital. Now, I was lucky if I got two solid hours of sleep, and I wasn’t going to be able to hide that fact for much longer.

  Aunt Beth interrogated me every morning about how I was feeling and if I’d slept well and if I needed anything. There was no way I could tell her that if she’d just let my boyfriend spend the night, everything would be okay.

  “You’re deep in thought,” Trent said as he slid into the seat next to me. “Everything okay?”

  I leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “They are now.”

  He grinned and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You think your aunt and uncle will let me hang out after school today?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  That was another thing that had changed since I’d been released from the hospital—Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean were crazy strict and rarely let me out of their sight. They were terrified I’d go missing again. I wished I could tell them they had nothing to worry about, but I couldn’t do that without telling them the truth.

  Of course, Trent disagreed. He wasn’t convinced that Isach wouldn’t show up and start trouble again.

  “Hey,” Abby said as she sat at the desk on the other side of me. “Mom texted me. She’s picking me up early for a dentist appointment, and Dad is working late. She said if you want to tag along, we can stop for dinner somewhere.”

  “Oh, um, do I have to?” I cringed as the words left my mouth. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but hanging out in a dentist’s office was not how I wanted to spend my afternoon.

  Abby shrugged. “I don’t know. Ask her.”

  I sent Aunt Beth a message letting her know Trent and I had to finish our history project that was due in two days—which wasn’t a total lie—and asking if I could go to his house to work on it. I assured her that his father would be there and that I’d be safe. After a few more messages back and forth, she finally agreed.

  “Okay, I’m not going,” I said to Abby. Then I turned to Trent. “Feel like going to your house after school and finishing our history project?”

  “I hope you’re not expecting me to say no to that offer.” He winked, and my face heated with a mixture of embarrassment and anticipation.

  Other than going to school and the doctor for checkups, I hadn’t been allowed out of the house without an adult with me. I was so excited to go to Trent’s later I could barely sit still the rest of the day. After what seemed like forever, the final bell rang, and I rushed to my locker. Trent met me there, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

  “C’mon, I want to get you out of here before your aunt shows up and drags you home.” Trent laughed.

  Taking his hand, I walked to his truck and climbed in. Instead of sitting in my usual spot by the passenger’s door, I slid to the middle of the seat. When Trent got in, I rested my head on his shoulder.

  “We obviously don’t have to work on our project. I just used that as an excuse,” I said.

  We’d finished the project a week ago. It wasn’t hard to do when he was at my house almost every day, and Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean refused to let us be alone.

  “We can do whatever you want.” He pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward his house.

  The drive was relatively quiet, and I was almost asleep by the time he pulled into his driveway. Would it be rude to ask him to take a nap with me? I yawned and stretched, then followed him out of the truck. I started toward the house. He grabbed my hand and spun me around to face him, his lips landing on mine in a kiss that scorched every nerve in my body.

  “I have been waiting all day to do that,” he said.

  I smiled against his lips. “You can kiss me in school, you know.”

  “Not like that I can’t.” He laced our fingers, and we walked inside. He stopped suddenly. “Jax?”

  I froze, my ears ringing. I peeked around Trent, and sure enough, Jax was sitting on the couch like his return was no big deal. The sight of him had something I couldn’t quite name unfurling in my chest.

  “Oh, hey,” Jax said.

  Trent released me and crossed the room to give his brother a hug. “I’m glad you’re back.”

  Jax returned his brother’s hug, then smiled in my direction. Relief flashed behind his eyes. “Chloe. Good to see you’re alive. And still human.” He sliced a look at Trent.

  I held my breath, waiting for Trent to say something, but he simply shook his head. He reached for me. “We’re going to my room, so we won’t bother you.” Trent and I turned to leave.

  Behind us, Jax said, “Good idea. Might as well enjoy the time you have together. It’s not like you two have forever.”

  My stomach dropped, and I risked a glance at Trent, who either didn’t hear him—which I highly doubted—or he chose to ignore Jax’s underhanded comment. I, however, couldn’t ignore it. There was something unsettling in his tone, and goose bumps rose on my arms.

  Trent ushered me into his room, but not fast enough for me to miss the frown tugging at his mouth. Like it or not, we were going to have to talk about our future—if we even had one together. I sighed and looked around. He had blackout curtains on all the windows, and his bed, piled with pillows and blankets, called to me. I yawned again.

  He kicked the door shut behind us. “You’re not sleeping, are you?”

  I should’ve known I wouldn’t be able to hide it from him. Shaking my head, I said, “Not really. I mean, not since that night you stayed with me in the hospital.” I felt silly admitting that, although I wasn’t sure why. “You up for a nap?”

  “I think that’s a fantastic idea.”

  He tugged me toward the bed, and I didn’t waste any time lying down. I sighed with contentment as his super-soft bed cradled my weary body. A moment later, he was lying next to me, his arm curling around my stomach and dragging me against him.

  “Comfortable?” he asked.

  “Very.” I snuggled deeper into his blankets and closed my eyes.<
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  Trent nuzzled my neck. “When I found you, I had so many thoughts racing through my mind, but you know what I worried about the most? Besides you staying alive.” His soft chuckle tickled my neck.

  “What?” Sleep was quickly taking over, and I didn’t know how long I’d be able to hold a coherent conversation.

  “That there were so many things we haven’t had the chance to do yet.”

  That was an odd thing for him to worry about. I furrowed my brow and rolled over so I was facing him. “Like what?”

  “Well, I haven’t taken you on a proper date.”

  I laughed. “I think we’re past that point, aren’t we?”

  “No.” His face was relaxed, but his expression was serious. He was really concerned about this. “We have to hike to the top of Roaring Brook Falls. A road trip could be fun. Every normal couple has to go to at least one school dance together. We—”

  “Is this your way of asking me to go to prom with you?” I teased.

  He grinned. “That depends on what your answer is.”

  I laughed. “I’d love to go to prom with you, but I have one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Abby comes with us.” I wouldn’t go back on my offer to go with her if that’s what she wanted, but after recent events, she might decide not to go at all.

  “Deal.”

  I pressed my lips to his, and he rolled onto his back, pulling me over on top of him. At first, I tensed, surprised by the position, but then I relaxed into his embrace. There wasn’t anything awkward about being with Trent, and kissing him like this, in such an intimate way, was as natural as breathing.

  Placing my hands on the mattress on either side of his head, I moved my knees up to rest by his waist, straddling him, and then I peered down at his face. His eyes were half-closed, his lips plump… I’d never seen him so at ease before. My heart skipped and then jackhammered. Trent was mine—he loved me. And I loved him. But how could this possibly work out for us?

  “Chloe?” He trailed his finger across my lips. “What’s wrong?”

  With a heavy sigh, I sat up on him, my hands resting lightly on his stomach.