Page 41 of Cursed Magic

Raven slipped in her side, and the car’s engine hummed to life. She pulled away from Elara’s house, and soon, the expanse of the Shadowbrook Woods swallowed us whole. The faint glow of the dashboard, the headlights, and the rising moon were the only lights in the darkness.

That uncomfortable drowning sensation pressed on my body and had my heart racing. “I think the Blackwoods are near, or the witch is messing with my emotions,” I gritted out, struggling to speak every word.

“How do you know?” Raven’s head jerked my way, her eyes widening.

Ryker’s sigh sounded like one of relief. Instead of Raven focusing on him, she wanted an explanation from me.

“I…I don’t know. It’s like… When they get close, I feel a sort of cold pressure, and it’s hard to breathe.” That probably sounded crazy, but I wasn’t sure how else to explain it.

“Well, I don’t sense anything.” Raven glanced from side to side, examining the forest. “If anything, it’s Elara, just trying to get us off her property faster.”

“I told you we shouldn’t talk to witches,” Ryker bit out, each word laced with disgust.

As if she’d been waiting for that opening, Raven said, “I think there’s a more important reason than Elara using her magic to make us uncomfortable.” Her voice cut through the car like a blade, sharp and precise. “So, Ryker, care to explain what she was talking about? The spell and the magic?”

“Luckily, I don’t have to explain myself to you. All you need to know is that Iamthe same person, and my goals and loyalties haven’t changed.”

I grimaced, though I’d expected such a reaction from him. He’d clearly been trying to keep this magic a secret, and he was an alpha and didn’t like to be questioned.

“You don’t feel the need to explain yourself?” Raven’s tone was calm but carried an undercurrent of frustration. “You’ve been acting strange for weeks, Ryker. Moody, unpredictable, volatile.”

“What you should be worried about is that your heavily spelled protected area can’t actually detect all magic.” Ryker laughed harshly. “And I haven’t been acting abnormal. I’m merely doing what needs to be done to get retribution for what the Blackwoods have done.”

Silence filled the car, thick and oppressive, like a brewing storm. I tried to steady my breathing, but the lingering chill and pressure added to the tension, making my lungs evenharder to fill.

Raven exhaled, her fingers drumming against the steering wheel. “We did know.”

Ryker’s breath caught. “You knew what?” His voice was flat, but I heard the trace of something dangerous.

My heart dropped into my stomach, and my mouth dried. The truth was finally coming out, and I might be caught in the cross fire since Raven had confided in me.

“That you were spelled.” Raven flicked her eyes toward the rearview mirror. “We knew from the beginning. Our wards detected it when you arrived that day. They alerted me and Queen Ambrosia, and I wanted to give you a chance to come clean on your own first. To us. To your pack.”

He snarled. “You think my pack doesn’t know?”

Raven stilled. “Do they?”

“You assume I’ve been lying to them? We both know that’s not possible.”

“But withholding the truth works.” Her tone turned frigid.

Ryker cracked his knuckles, a telltale sign of how close he was to losing his temper. I needed to intervene so Raven didn’t take the brunt of his anger alone.

“Your pack doesn’t know about the spell, but they’ve talked about how you’ve been acting more and more strangely. They believe it’s from the burden you carry.” I winced, thankful he couldn’t see my expression. I had no doubt I looked strained. “What exactly did you think would happen, Ryker? That no one would notice?” He had to know that his packmates, the people who knew him almost as well as he knew himself, would realize something was off.

“I haven’t changed,” Ryker snarled. “I just want justice for our pack and yours.”

That I understood, but we didn’t have to lose ourhumanity for vengeance. “You must have noticed that things change when you tap into that magic.” I glanced over the headrest to stare into his eyes. The sheen covered the color once again. “Right now, there’s an iridescent sheen over your eyes that’s similar to how the shadows look to me.”

His fingers curled into fists, his breathing shallow but controlled. “You don’t understand—”

“Then help us understand,” I urged, turning in my seat to face him fully. “Because right now, all I see is someone who made a deal involving magic without knowing the consequences.”

He swallowed audibly, and a vein bulged between his eyebrows.

I gritted my teeth, ready for him to lash out and shut down the conversation entirely.

Instead, he said nothing.

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