Page 5 of Blood Oath
Ah, yes. The curse.
I’ve heard plenty about it, including the fact that the curse affects each legacy differently. Typically the stronger the legacy, the stronger their curse.
The gods put the Legacy Curse in place decades ago to ensure balance and peace since legacies have a long and gloriously bloody history of nearly destroying the world through warfare. Long story short, Everbound University has been the mandatory two-year graduate school for legacies for over a century. They come here to study, train, and determine how they fit into the hierarchy of the Four Houses based on their strength and power.
But mostly, legacies come here to find their missing pieces. Because the only way legacies can break their curses and reach their full potential is through binding their souls in a quintet pieced together from members of all Four Houses.
A matching set of monstrous soulmates, if you will. Hand-selected by the gods themselves.
What a crock of bullshit.
“Anyway,” Kenzie’s entire face lights up again. “It’s fine because the Seeking is only two weeks away! Can you believe it? I’m so fucking stoked. I’ve been waiting my entire life to find out who I’ll be matched with. Isn’t it so exciting?”
“Thrilling,” I mutter.
She tips her head. “I just realized something. Why are you so late to Everbound? I mean, we’re only a month away from the end of the semester.”
“Long story.”
She tries to hide her disappointment at my non-answer. “Got it. Well, then…hey! Want a tour of Everbound? I would love to be a tour guide. Not just for you—for anyone. I wish legacies could have boring, run-of-the-mill jobs like tour guiding because I think it’s my true calling in life. I know things about this place that even the headmaster can’t imagine. Dead-ass, if you ever have a random question about this place or anyone here, I’m your girl because I’ve made the gossip mill my little bitch.”
The corner of my lips twitch. So far, she’s not as annoying as I expected. She might even be…tolerable.
“A tour would be useful,” I decide.
“Yes! Let’s go now so we have plenty of time to do move-in shopping for you.”
Kenzie is buzzing with excitement as we leave the dorm, but as we walk down the corridor, she tries to loop her arm with mine. I sidestep away from the contact.
She gives me a curious look, but then she earns her first real brownie points as a roommate when she gets it, no questions asked, and gives me a thumbs-up.
“Not a touchy person. No worries. So, where to first? One of the two massive libraries? The dining hall? Ballroom? Courtyards?” Before I can get a word in, she waves her hand. “Who am I kidding? Let’s start with the entry, and I’ll show you everything!”
Too late, I realize we’re descending the same stairwell I took earlier. We both stop on the steps at the scene below us: two faculty members scrubbing blood off the stone steps.
But the vampire’s corpse? It’s nothing but charcoal.
I tip my head curiously when I note that they’re also cleaning up scorch marks and smoke all over the walls. It looks like a fire went out of control, consuming anything that wasn’t solid stone.
Kenzie gives me an oh yikes look before clearing her throat. “Uh…what happened here?”
One of the faculty members glances at us with a huff. “We’d love to know that too. Looks like a fire elemental lost control, or it was a fire spell or something like that. Whoever did it was a spoiled brat and left it for us to clean up.”
I almost snort out loud.
But I am curious who lit this area on fire. I had nothing to do with that.
Finally, we slip past them and make our way down another passage, and Kenzie whispers, “Oof. I mean, it’s not the first time I’ve seen shit like that here, but still. I wonder who that was. It’s pretty sad that they bit the dust when they might’ve been just two weeks away from meeting their soul mates. What a bad time to go.”
Whoever that vampire was supposedly “destined” to end up with, I did them a favor.
Kenzie shows me the key places at Everbound for the next hour and a half. Everbound is a maze of Gothic architecture that's remained relatively untouched despite modern times. Aside from the Wi-Fi, electric lighting, and plumbing, walking around the university is like stepping back in time several hundred years. The vaulted stone archways, winding stairways, gargoyles, chandeliers, multi-room libraries with domed glass ceilings, and sliding ladders for reaching the upper shelves…
I admit it. This place is impressive.
Just as we’re stepping outside into one of the courtyards filled with marble statues, a deafening roar fills the air. I go stock still and wait for it to die out. I’ve never heard a sound like this before. It’s nothing like a normal animal’s call. It’s powerful, hair-raising, vibrating through the air and echoing over the nearby forest.
And then a massive golden dragon soars into view.
