Page 33 of Little Music of Night

I shook my head, my eyes slowly opening. What if Christy rejected us? What if we were trapped forever?—

It’s worth the risk. It’s worth it,Erik said.We need to tell her about the curse?—

We are not telling her about the curse,I snapped, my form shifting enough that I felt my skin split and my teeth sharpen.

The most monstrous part of me threatened to come free and unravel. I shoved Erik off me, but he dragged me with him and we both tumbled to the floor. I straddled him, glowering down at my mate—but then Christy’s voice made my heart drop.

“What curse?”

11 /CURSED

Christy

Ray drew away from Erik, hurt flashing across his face as he stood up. All three of us were disheveled from sex, especially Ray. Blood dripped down his chest as he turned away from us. Erik sat up, but went very still. His expression was unreadable.

A curse. He’d mentioned a curse. I’d heard his voice. What was he talking about?

“What curse?” I asked again.

“Ray,” Erik whispered, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.

My heart ached. Forbothof them. Whatever this was, it was weighing on them.

“I just need a moment,” he whispered. “Sorry. Please.”

“Take your time,” I said. “Do you . . . need a bandaid?”

He let out a broken laugh and when he turned to face me, I saw that the bite marks were already healed. But then, I realized tears were rolling down his cheeks. Erik reached for him, but he pulled his hand away before he could touch him.

“Tell her,” he said flatly.

Erik swallowed hard, his shoulders slumping. “If you really wish for me to be the one, then I will.”

Ray ran his claws through his hair, his brows furrowing together. Before he could speak, Erik turned to look at me, still on his knees.

“Ray and I are cursed,” he said. “We’ve been cursed for two centuries. When we first met, I was to wed another. A witch. And I left them at the altar for Ray, as Ray was my fated mate. The witch cursed us so that once we found our other mate, we would only have a few days to complete the bond with them or else we would be bound to this place forever. We have not been able to leave this place since then.”

That . . . was a lot to digest. I grabbed a blanket and pulled it around myself, then moved to the foot of the bed. “You’ve been trapped in these apartments for two centuries?—”

“No,” Erik said gently. “No. Just to the ground. There used to be a theatre here, but it mostly burned down and the city changed a lot. Apartments were eventually built on top of it. Frankly, it was pure luck that you ended up living here.”

Or fate.

“Wait,” I said, frowning. “Does this mean that you’ll soon be trapped?”

“Yes,” Erik whispered. “It does. And it also means we will start to fade from this realm.”

“Then we should mate,” I said immediately. “I mean?—”

“We did not want your choice to be dictated by us,” Ray interrupted. “Well, I did not want that. I wanted this to be something you’ve chosen for yourself.”

“I have,” I said, rubbing my chest. My heart ached. “I have chosen. And I said I wanted this without even knowing about the curse. But . . . you didn’t need to keep this from me.”

Ray shook his head. “You should take your time to think about committing to us. You’ve just learned about our world.”

“I have, and it’s beautiful,” I rasped. “It’s absolutely beautiful and I know this is right.”

It was as if he weren’t listening, though. Erik turned his head to look at Ray and then shook his head. “Ray, you should go collect yourself. You are spiraling.”