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Marcus sighed and dropped the paper on his desk.

“You kept it all these years?”

“I’m not sure I could throw it away if I tried,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve tried to destroy it. I’ve tried to give it away and I’ve tried to leave it outside the building. Each time, it finds its way back to my desk drawer. I suspect the same magic is what keeps me here.”

That…that was not what I expected. “You’re stuck here?”

He nodded, face grim. “I can leave for short periods of time, but if I try to stay away, I’m overcome with pain. I have been held prisoner by this building since the day I plucked you and your brother off the steps and touched this cursed note. And that’s what this note is—cursed. Like you and your brother.”

“I am not cursed.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But you are a curse to others. To me. You weren’t normal children. Especially you and the way birds always followed you in the courtyard. No wonder your parents abandoned you here. You should be grateful I took it upon myself to teach you the lessons your so-called parents couldn’t. But instead, you ran away, leaving me trapped here.”

“You enjoyed hurting us,” I whispered through gritted teeth, while my mind still reeled. I didn’t remember the birds following me when I lived in the orphanage. I hadn’t noticed them until I was older, and I certainly hadn’t realized someone other than my brother had made the connection. And cursed? Why would we be cursed? “Don’t act like you did us a favour.”

“You deserved it,” Marcus spat back. “Little devil children sent to torment me. I knew one of you would be back one day. I knew this note would pull you back.”

The note had nothing to do with me returning, but I wanted that piece of paper. Someone had placed enough magic on it to see to its survival. They must’ve wanted me and Paul to have it.

I gripped the hilt of my dagger and stepped forward. Before I could make a move toward the man who had haunted my nightmares for years, the door swung open and revealed the silhouette of another man.

I sucked in a breath as Ace stepped into the room.

Was he here to stop me?

Without a word, he closed the door behind him and stood beside me, his gaze unwavering and determined. “If you can’t do it, I will.”

Shock coursed through me at his words. He had heard everything—the truth, the pain, and the anger. For a moment, I hesitated, unsure if I could go through with this on my own. But then, Ace nodded at me, silently offering his support.

One last time, I met Marcus’s gaze, feeling a storm of emotions rage within me. He would finally pay for the pain he caused me, my brother, and all the other kids all those years ago. I raised my dagger and took a step forward.

32

The early morning air carried the biting promise of the winter season’s impending arrival. Dew pebbled on the orange leaves and moisture clung to the yellow grass. The sun would evaporate everything soon enough, but right now the forest around me glistened with the promise of a new day.

Ace hadn’t pressed me for details after we left the orphanage. His gaze kept sliding to me and he opened his mouth more than once to say something, only to shut it again.

We’d left the body of the headmaster to rot in his office, and hopefully, I’d never speak or think of the vile man again. Before we’d left, I’d swiped the paper with my name and my brother’s name on it and now it burned in my pocket.

When I’d touched the paper without my gloves on, I felt nothing. My fingers didn’t tingle, and I felt no magical curse. When I read the words, however, my stomach twisted in a knot. The writing looked so familiar, but I needed to be sure before I let my mind spiral out of control.

The streets we left behind had been empty from the normal midday riffraff, and only hard-working vendors rushed around to prepare for the market. Merchants arrived and left through the city’s main entrance, and we’d slipped out of Wast without causing a scene or drawing attention to ourselves.

“About earlier,” Ace said, finally ending his silence.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No… I know. I just…” Ace shook his head and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Mouse.”

I paused on the hill and turned to him.

“That’s all I wanted to say,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

I nodded and turned away, my eyes stinging. I refused to shed another tear for my childhood, for that man. Ace took the hint and remained silent as we hiked up the hill toward the forest.

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