Page 29 of The Cursed

Whatever purpose that served for Willow, I'd allow it. If she faked it for long enough, eventually she wouldn't be able to see through her own lies and they would become her new reality.

"We are settling the disputes among the witches by announcing the Covenant's replacement," I said, stepping away from her and pointedly ignoring her sigh. She would have merely argued it was of relief, but we both knew it was because she regretted the lack of touch as much as I did.

"Who?" she asked, sauntering to the bench and lifting the dress from the bag. She unzipped the corset, stepping into the dress and turning to give me her back. She was many things, although she would never forgo her responsibility to her Coven. No matter what she might have convinced herself she was here to do, she felt the urge to repair what she had played a role in breaking.

I raised my brow at her, smirking as she fought to find the zipper. Guiding her to the mirror in the corner, I brushed her hair over one shoulder. Wrapping that hand around her and pressing it to her stomach, I used my free hand to zip the corset for her. It glided up like butter, fitting her perfectly and hugging every one of her curves in the way I'd known it would. "There's only one witch fit for the job."

"The Tribunal will never accept me as Covenant," she argued, shaking her head as if I was ridiculous. "If you're hoping to quiet the fights, this isn't how to do it."

I stepped away from her, moving to the top drawer of the dresser and the jewelry boxes I'd stashed there. Willow reached into the intricate vine details crossing her chest, pulling her mother's amulet and her bone necklace free so that they draped over the fabric, appearing menacing compared to the delicate nature of the dress.

Her mother's amulet hung low, and I knew that even though it no longer served a purpose and did nothing to protect her, she would wear it for the rest of her life. The bones protected her from compulsion by nature now that she'd claimed them as hers.

She touched the bones with a grimace, desperately wishing there was a way for her to wear them the same way all her ancestors had, in a pouch at her waist rather than draped at her throat. I reached a hand toward her, drawing my finger over the bones in a gentle path that curved over her collarbone. I liked seeing the macabre reminder of just how gruesome her power could be if she accepted it. However, I also liked the sight of her chest bare without anything hindering my view.

The bones clattered, releasing from around her throat with my touch. Guiding them to her waist, I watched as they settled across her hips like a low-slung chain, draping over her gently and accentuating the curve of her body.

Willow touched her chest and neck, splaying her fingers over her skin. Her relief hung between us as she shifted her weight, the bones rattling against one another. "And who from the Tribunal would you be willing to have take your place?" I asked, setting the jewelry boxes on the bed. I opened the first one while she gawked at it, watching me warily as I settled the gold choker around her neck. It was structured, draping over the front of her throat without ever connecting and lingering between the sides of her mother's wire chain. I accompanied it with the matching gold earrings I'd bought her, threading them through her ears while she glared at me.

She didn't appreciate my gifts despite my intention to court her.

"That's not fair," she said finally, unable to come up with an adequate solution to my question.

"That's because they were all aware of the previous Covenant's intentions for this Coven, and you know as well as I do that you would never give one of them your support," I said, dropping the earring box to the bed.

I grasped the final box, ignoring Willow's gasp. The rings in the box were the perfect culmination of everything that made her the witchling she'd become, a gold band carved into the details of vines and leaves. The center stone was moss agate in place of a traditional diamond, but the meaning of that and the simple matching band of golden vines beneath it far outweighed tradition.

"Gray," she said, shaking her head as I reached for her left hand.

I smiled as I took it, holding her still as I slid the rings onto her ring finger. "You said you weren't a demon, and our marriage traditions aren't yours," I said, admitting to the truth and using her own words against her. "I intend to marry you in every tradition, Witchling. You'll wear my rings, and as soon as we are able, you will summon the Goddess. And then we will seek her approval for our union."

"Why would she ever agree to this marriage? The goddess claims the witches you abandoned," she argued.

I scoffed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. She looked up at me, finally tearing her eyes away from the rings I'd placed on her finger. Another mark of my ownership of her. Reaching into my pocket, I removed the single golden band and slid it onto my own, marking myself the same as her. "Where does the Coven teach you their Goddess has come from?" I asked, watching as everything in Willow froze.

"She is the personification of nature itself. She represents the balance," Willow argued, the ignorance of what I allowed as teachings showing in every word. Even if she hadn't been in the Coven to learn, her mother had relayed the message.

I grinned at her shock, straightening her necklace as she stared up at me. "She representsme,"I said, pausing to see if she had any response. Her mouth tensed into a line, revealing her frustration that I'd been playing the chess game before the Coven even realized one existed. "Because your goddess is my sister."

16

WILLOW

Gray laced up the boots he'd bought me as a compromise on the combat boots he knew I would have demanded to wear. I sat processing his words, quiet as I tried to understand just how far back all of this went. How was I supposed to function on the path to revenge when there were centuries of history I didn't evenknow?

"Your sister?" I asked, pressing my lips together.

He nodded, peering up at me with bright golden eyes through dark lashes. "Another angel cast down from heaven," he answered, standing smoothly as he caught my hand and guided me to my feet. He fluffed out the length of my hair, the bright red ends standing out sharply against the black fabric. “I am not the only one who has earned my father’s wrath over the centuries since our creation. I was just merely the first.”

"What did she do?" I asked, avoiding asking him about his own banishment. I knew what we believed. I knew what the humans believed. And I had no doubt both versions of the story were biased in the opposite way of what his would be.

Gray grinned as he directed me to the mirror in the corner of his bedroom, taking his place behind me as he left me with no choice but to stare at my own reflection. Even with the wedges on my knee-high boots, he was far taller than me. "The same thing as me," he said, giving me a vague response. The fact that he didn't trust me enough to provide me with a sliver of the truth shouldn't have surprised me, given my own nefarious reasons for even asking the question in the first place.

If I wasn't trustworthy, I couldn't exactly be angry that he didn't trust me. He shouldn't, even though I needed him to anyway.

“And what was that exactly?” I asked, swallowing as I asked the question I didn’t really want to know the answer to. I wanted everything to remain black and white, not muddled with personal bias and middle ground.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the story,” Gray said dismissively.

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