Page 90 of Cursed Lifeline

Tired of waiting, Talon switches tactics and pulls Celeste into his lap a moment later, giving her no room to leave as he tightens his arms around her waist. Swiveling towards the desk, he cages her in and whispers something foul in her ear that has Celeste blushing and biting her lip.

Turning my attention to Dimitri, I growl, “I’m already fighting the most important battle of my life. I don’t have the time or energy to help with yours.”

Clutching Esme’s hand, I guide her towards a black, sweetheart wingback chair and signal for her to sit. When she refuses, I frown and sit by myself. Pulling her down, she protests my lap and perches on the armrest instead.

Leaning toward me, she whispers, “We’ll talk about whatever was on that piece of paper later.”

Giving into her stubbornness and swallowing nervously over a lump in my throat, I sling my right arm protectively around her slender waist and wait anxiously to find out what brought all of us together and why whatever it is couldn’t wait.

“That’s not very brotherly, is it,” Talon growls frommyseat behindmydesk. “Turning your back on your coven. Your family.”

Celeste tries to rise off his lap, but he anchors her in place.

“Brotherly?” I scoff. “If what Viktor did is any indication of what you deem brotherly, Talon, I’ll pass.”

Esme laces her fingers through mine as they possessively grip her hip. Talon opens his mouth to speak, but Esme cuts off his budding remark and asks Dimitri, “Who’s Ember?”

Dimitri grins. “Drusilla’s sister.”

I sit up a little straighter.

“My mother doesn’t have a sister,” I hiss.

“No?” Dimitri raises his brow, questioning my knowledge.

When I don’t answer, he sighs, “That’s what we all thought. In fact, that’s what your mother thought, as well. She’d assumed, with the rest of her former coven of witches, that her sister had run off and died of a broken heart centuries ago. Through searching for a cure for you, she recently discovered that wasn’t the case.”

“Let me guess,” I sneer, “There’s no cure, and now she wants me to come to my senses, journey home, and meet her long-lost sister?”

“Her sister is the reason for the curse, you idiot,” Talon seethes.

My gaze snaps to his. Speechless, I watch as he rolls his eyes, and pulls Celeste further into his chest. Resting his face against the crook in her neck, he breathes in deep, and I swear I hear him groan with pleasure.

“How’s that possible?” Esme asks when I still haven’t found my voice.

“We’re not sure,” Dimitri says, “Though the legend we all grew up hearing and believing is quickly unraveling as more and more truths are revealed.”

He rounds my desk and pulls Celeste out of Talon’s lap with an aggravated tug. Talon elicits a growl as Dimitri flings Celeste carelessly into a nearby chair. He rises a second later in anger. When she starts to stand as well and attempts to make her way back to Talon’s inviting lap, Dimitri raises a finger. Shaking it and his head at her, she instantly backs down.

“The most alarming bit of new information is that Drusilla’s sister, Ember, was your father, Draven’s true mate,” Dimitri suggests.

“That’s Impossible,” I scoff.

“Mate?” Caelum questions, “If they were mated, how and why did he marry Drusilla?”

“Power,” Silas hisses beside him. Dimitri’s eyes find his and he nods in agreement. “Besides, not all mates accept the bond.” He eyes Alfred, who’s once again intently watching Evangeline. “Some refuse it outright. As if it’s a curse in itself.”

“There’s a lot to this story we still don’t know,” Dimitri suggests, turning and making his way toward the three large windows behind my desk; he peers out into the bleakness of night and takes a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, he says, “Drusilla has never been forthcoming with information about her past. It’s almost as if when Draven died, the truth died with him. Though she knows we need facts, I can tell she’s scared to reveal them.”

“Make her,” I demand. My brothers eye me with dangerous warning, but I don’t heed it. “You’re part of the council. Your job is to advise her.”

“She won’t listen to us,” Talon seethes. Angrily rising from his seat, his hands grip my desk, his knuckles turn white as he says, “You’re her son by blood. You tell her.”

Talon and I bitterly stare each other down. Esme places a tender, calm hand on my forearm, but it doesn’t cool the fire rushing through my veins.

“Regardless of the mating bond,” Dimitris sighs, “When your mother wed Draven, Ember became furious. She disappeared. Like I said, everyone thought she’d died when, in fact, Ember vanished and spent her time hunting for ways to seek revenge. Hence the curse you and Esme find yourselves under.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to evoke a sense of calm, and attempting to focus, I turn to Dimitri and ask, “If this is true, Ember is also the key to breaking the curse?”

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