Page 116 of Dark Bonds

Finally, I stand, my decision made. The curse flares within me, as if sensing the impending revelation. “You’re right, Uncle,” I mutter to the empty room. “It’s time to face the music.”

I rush out of his room and down the stone stairs. Each step feels as though I’m moving through water.

As I burst free of the dorms, I take a long, deep breath before making the short walk to the cottage. It still smells of mold and a dampness that we haven’t yet cleaned away.

It doesn’t matter that it’s a temporary home. It’s one we are slowly putting together.

As I approach the cottage, my footsteps falter. The weight of my secret presses down on me, threatening to crush my resolve, but I force myself forward, one leaden step at a time.

The cottage looks so normal, so peaceful. It’s like it’s laughing at how messed up I feel inside. Light spills from the windows, warm and inviting, a stark contrast to the darkness roiling within me. I can hear muffled voices inside, and Frankie’s laughter, light and carefree, cuts through me like a knife.

I pause at the door, my hand hovering over the weathered wood. The curse pulses beneath my skin, urging me to turn back and keep my secrets buried, but Uncle Everett’s words echo in my mind, steeling my resolve.

With a deep breath, I push the door open.

Quiet envelops me as I look around the space.

Leo’s forgotten sneakers lie at the front door, Matteo’s knives line the counters, and there, on the rickety table, sits a book I gave Frankie weeks ago, open on a page about Nyx.

My finger glides over the worn parchment before I hear a curse from deep in the cottage.

Before I know it, I stand in front of her door, my hand poised to knock. The curse writhes beneath my skin, urging me to run, but I force my fist forward, the sound echoing like a death knell in the empty hallway.

An eternity passes before I hear her muffled, “Come in.”

Frankie looks up as I enter, her eyes widening slightly. Even now, with the weight of my betrayal hanging between us, she takes my breath away. “Dorian? Is everything okay?”

My stomach clenches, and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin. Each word I speak feels like swallowing broken glass, the weight of my deception threatening to choke me. “No, it’s not. There’s something I need to show you—something I should have told you a long time ago.”

Confusion flickers across her face, but she nods, rising to follow me out of the cottage and onto a worn path back to the library. As we make our way through the winding corridors of Shadow Locke, I can feel the weight of her gaze on my back. It’s a physical sensation, her eyes burning holes through my flesh, peeling back the layers to reveal the rotting core of my deception.

I can’t even speak. My tongue feels heavy, dry, and coarse, preventing me from speaking as I lead her into the library.

The hallways seem to stretch endlessly, the shadows deepening with each step. The air grows thick and heavy with the scent of ancient stone and dormant magic. Our footsteps echo off the walls, a rhythmic reminder of the secret I’m about to reveal.

“Where are we going?” she asks as we descend a narrow staircase we’ve taken a hundred times before. The stone steps are worn smooth by centuries of use, each one taking us deeper into the bowels of Shadow Locke Library and closer to the truth.

“To the truth,” I reply cryptically, unable to bring myself to say more just yet. The words stick in my throat like shards of glass.

Once at the bottom, I turn to the right, striding past our usual spot and into an area I haven’t shown her yet, turning down a corridor that if one isn’t looking for it, they’d easily miss it.

We reach a door that seems to devour the surrounding light. Ancient oak, reinforced with bands of shadow-infused iron, it pulses with malevolent energy. The air around it shimmers, reality warping under the weight of the magic contained within. Runes of protection and concealment are carved into its surface, pulsing faintly with suppressed power.

I press my palm to its surface, whispering an incantation. The door swings open with a groan that sounds like the wail of the damned, revealing a dimly lit passage beyond.

Frankie hesitates at the threshold, her body tense, ready for flight or fight. “Dorian, what is this place?”

I turn to face her, seeing the mix of curiosity and apprehension in her eyes. The curse writhes beneath my skin, urging me to run, to keep my secrets buried, but I force the words out, each one a dagger in my own heart. “It’s where I’ve been keeping my promise to you, and where I’ve been betraying your trust at the same time.”

Her brow furrows, but she follows me into the passage. The air grows colder, laden with the weight of unspoken truths. As we walk, I begin to explain, and once I start, I can’t stop. It all comes pouring out.

“Do you remember when you first came to Shadow Locke?”

She only hums in response.

I lick my dry, chapped lips. “I know about the men you’ve pushed through the shadows.”

Frankie stiffens beside me, her voice tight with suppressed emotion. “What?”

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