Page 88 of Cursed Lifeline

“It’s been worse,” Caelum scoffs.

“The priority,” Silas growls, “Is making sure it never gets that way again.”

I catch Silas’ serious stare and nod in agreement. Celeste pokes Evangeline excitedly in the side as the coven closes in. Grinning from ear to ear, she giggles under her breath when she catches the eye of Talon. Too bad for her, she'll be very disappointed to find out he’s sworn off love. Ever since the woman he vowed to worship for eternity was murdered right before his eyes three centuries ago, he’s committed to never falling in love again, and he’s kept that promise. However, that hasn’t stopped him from enjoying sexual conquests with the opposite sex any chance he gets.

To my surprise, Talon gives Celeste a wicked grin. Celeste, ever the flirt and always looking for an immoral time, winks at him. Talon elicits an immodest growl that has Dimitri and I looking at one another in disbelief. Maybe the two will be good for each other. If anything, to at least scratch a carnal itch that drives a sane person mad if left alone long enough.

Alfred watches Evangeline intently. She blushes as Dimitri’s gaze drifts her way next. My brother’s heated stare devours her as if she’s wearing nothing at all. But once Evangeline notices Alfred studying her reaction, her gaze drops to the floor, and she takes a step back as if she’s instantly reprimanded for enjoying Dimitri’s salacious thoughts.

“We need to talk,” Dimitri hisses as the fae’s gaze falls away.

“That seems to be the trend tonight,” I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. “Tell me, did Mother send you? Or was it Viktor this time?”

“No one has seen Viktor since the massacre at Notre Dame,” Dimitri says, coming a step closer. “That was over a century ago. You haven’t been home since, either.”

Esme takes a step back, intimidated by my brothers. Her thoughts race, and memories quickly resurface about the night he speaks of. The night my brother Viktor took her life. Shaking my head, I pull her to my side and wrap a protective arm around her waist.

As I think of a witty response, Talon hungrily eyes Celeste. Meanwhile, Evangeline steals a glance at Dimitri who steps towards her with earnest intent. But Alfred blocks him, quickly side-stepping and coming between the two of them. He earns a growl from my brother, but he doesn’t back down.

Good for him.

“Why would I go home?” I sigh. “I have nothing to say to my mother. And I can’t say I have much to say to the three of you, too.”

“We had no part in...”

“You didn’t stop it, either!”

Dimitri eyes me angrily. “And if we could stop it now?”

Surprised, I glance at Alfred.

“There has been a development,” he says. “It involves Viktor. The coven. Your mother. I’m the one who called Dimitri here. Though now I wish I hadn’t.”

Dimitri grins viciously at Alfred before hungrily eyeing the fae at his side.

“Your mother,” Dimitri says, “Has been working endlessly for the last century to find a way to break the... burden her previous mortal life has bestowed on you and the woman you love.”

My brother’s eyes lift to Esme, and I release a primal growl, cautioning him to tread lightly. We’ve talked since the train ride here about the curse, but there are still things I haven’t exposed about the past. Mostly because I want to protect her, and that includes allowing her memories to return at the right time so we can work through everything calmly when she’s ready, with the hope of finding a better future than our past.

“Ember Jade,” Talon grins as his eyes finally peel themselves away from Celeste. “Ring a bell, Felix?”

When I don’t answer, his smile grows.

“No, I would guess not. Someone who’s turned his back on his family for the last century wouldn’t be privy to inside information, would they?”

“My family turned their back on me first,” I hiss, drawing attention from the crowd around us. “Maybe if things had turned out differently, I wouldn’t have had to...”

“Blinded by the past only tangles you in webs you can’t fight your way out of in your future,” Dimitri hisses, repeating a line I once told him at Esme’s father’s house over a century ago. When neither of us says a word after a tense moment, he sighs, “I seem to remember Talon warning you once this was trouble.”

“And I’ll tell you what I told him, as next in line to the throne and highest up in this council, you’ll hold your tongue before I silence it myself.”

“Your position is only a threat if you intend to claim it. For your mother’s sake, for the coven, I hope you’re finally ready to take your place. Because it might be your only chance at keeping Esme alive this time.”

I take a step forward in challenge, but Esme places a calming hand on my arm, stopping me from saying something I might regret later.

“I think it’s best we retire to a more private setting,” Evangeline worries, glancing around us at the heads that have turned and are now intently watching the brewing brawl that is destined to erupt the longer I have to stand here and listen to my brothers list my faults when they are just as much to blame.

“Marvelous idea,” Dimitri grins.

---