Page 32 of Wicked Curses
Sahira had thanked the lycan before retreating to her room. One of these days, she’d have to make it to the mercantile, but since she had no intention of having sex any time soon, that could wait.
Standing there, staring at the brush and powder, she brushed her teeth and rinsed with the glass of water on her nightstand. She’d brought the water up last night and left it there this morning, but she wasn’t returning to the pub to get more.
Plopping onto her bed again, she stared out the window before rising and retrieving the books she’d taken from the library. Lifting the first one, she studied every detail of its cover and binding before setting it on her nightstand and shifting her attention back to her room.
She’d been too exhausted to explore it last night, but she went over every inch of the small space with meticulous care. When she finished examining the closet and walls, she crawled under her bed to look at its wooden slats. Afterward, she scooted out, lifted her mattress, and inspected it as well as the top of the slats.
Discovering nothing, she flipped over her nightstand and moved the bureau before getting down on her hands and knees to examine underneath it the best she could. No matter where she looked, she found no sign of the symbol, or any other symbol, in her room.
When she finished, she returned everything to where she found it, closed the curtains, and settled on the bed with the book categorized as 01 from the library. She figured there was no better place to start than the beginning, but many others had probably felt the same way.
Book 01 detailed the story of every immortal who had arrived in this realm. It was a history of what they knew about this land, the immortals who’d come and gone, and the deaths or banishments many had faced.
When she reached the end, there were blank pages for her to add her story. Orin hadn’t added his yet. She understood why, as everything in her recoiled against becoming such an ingrained part of this place.
She’d do it, eventually, but she hoped she was gone by the time anyone new arrived to read it.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Orin tookSahira to all the locations of the original buildings and the symbols carved into their walls. Their last stop was the stable, where they encountered Zeth arriving to feed the animals.
The demon stopped and smiled when he spotted Sahira. “What brings you here?”
“I wanted to see all the symbols and the original buildings,” she answered.
“Ah.” The demon rubbed his chin as his attention shifted to Orin. “You got to this stage a lot faster than most.”
Orin didn’t respond. Unlike Sahira, he’d assumed the other immortals here were idiots, and he’d find a way out of here. But first, he’d spent time with some women, looked for crudue vine, wandered the library, and stalwartly continued trying to open a portal.
When none of those things proved useful, and Belda started threatening to banish him if he didn’t get to work, he realized this place and his circumstances were more dire than he believed.
He could have told Belda to fuck off, though it would have resulted in a fight with her, her pack, and probably half the town. He could take down a good chunk of them, but he had to admit, he couldn’t destroy them all.
Orin finally came around to Belda’s way of thinking and started working, but he wouldn’t stay in this place or work for any longer than he had to. He’d been here for a week before he set off down the same road Sahira now traveled.
“Does everyone ask to see them?” she whispered.
Orin didn’t like the defeated tone of her voice. She’d hoped to be on a new path. He knew she wasn’t, but he decided not to take that hope from her; they all needed it in this place.
She acted like it didn’t bother her, but she had enough to deal with when it came to the witches and their shitty attitudes. He admired that she refused to back down or hide from them.
He’d nearly laughed out loud when she asked Blair if she wanted a cookie, but he was too annoyed by Blair to laugh. If those bitches tried anything with her, he’d make them pay, something he’d made clear to Carmella, and he hoped she’d passed it along to her fellow twats.
If she didn’t,hewould.
Zeth rested a hand comfortingly on Sahira’s shoulder. “Yes, eventually.”
Orin bristled, and his eyes narrowed on that hand before they shifted to the demon. He couldn’t tell if Zeth was competition for her, but if the demon decided to pursue her, he’d have to wait until Orin finished with her.
The demon could have her after that. Until then, it was hands-off.
When Orin stepped closer, he forced the demon to move aside and lower his hand from Sahira. Zeth shot him a look that Orin chose to ignore.
“Let’s go see the symbol,” Orin said as he rested his hand on the small of Sahira’s back and guided her toward the closed stable doors.
Zeth slid open one of the doors, and Orin guided her inside. The lamps on the wall held a steady light like those in the chandeliers in the library and pub. Every one of the original buildings possessed that magical glow.
“There are horses here,” Sahira breathed.
