Page 34 of The Cursed

I raised my hand, motioning as the vines wound between Itan's legs and put pressure on the part of him that he'd used for violence against a girl who hadn't wanted it. "Uncle," Iban said, but the caution in his voice broke something inside of me. Iban was all about family and the bonds of it, having given everything just for the potential to create a new one of his own. Knowing that someone he loved and valued with a bond like that could be capable of such horrible things would ruin him.

Margot shocked me, stepping forward to make her way through the crowd. She came up beside me without a word, slipping her hand into mine. Her grip trembled as she took her place and stared down at her abuser as his face turned purple. "Enough," she muttered. I immediately released the vine around his throat, watching him collapse to his chest on the tile. I allowed him to fall, smacking his face against the floor as his lip split beneath the force.

"Margot, thank you," he wheezed, the hoarse sound of his voice barely reaching us though we stood in front of him.

Margot took a step forward, pressing the toe of her heel to the top of Itan's hand. She ground it down, drawing a scream from his throat as those mahogany eyes of hers heated to liquid fire. "I did not stop her for your sake," she said, squatting down in front of him carefully. There was such grace in the movements, a fluidity I would never hope to possess as she tucked her dress neatly behind her knees. "I want to hear you say it."

"Say what?"

"Tell them what you did to me," she said, her voice holding steady even as her nostrils flared. The wetness of tears filled her eyes, but she never allowed them to fall. From the corner of my eye, I watched Gray shake his head at Beelzebub as he stepped forward. Fury was written on his face, his body tense and a barely controlled killing machine. He froze in place, staring at Lucifer as if he might rip his head off. Margot pressed her foot down harder, shifting to put the stiletto of her heel in the center of his hand.

He groaned as I twisted my hand, allowing my vines to wind their way beneath the hem of his shirt and touch the waistband of his pants. The threat alone made him startle, jumping in place as if he could stop it. "I snuck into your room at night," he said, keeping his words vague.

"And did what?" Margot asked, shocking me as she stood and shifted back from him. I used the vines to force him up from the floor, putting him back on his knees so that Margot could have a shot at the most intimate part of him if she chose.

"Touched you."

"No," she spat, leaning into his face. "You didn'ttouchme. You raped me. Say the word."

"You little bitch—"

"Say the fucking word. Admit what you did to her and what you and the rest of the Tribunal conspired to do to this Coven, and I will give you a swift death. But make no mistake, Itan, you will die either way. I will make sure you suffer for every day you made her have to look at your disgusting face, fearing that it would be the day you came back," I said, waiting as he considered.

He glanced toward the other Tribunal members, the horror on their faces bringing me sick satisfaction. It would only take one confession for the victims of their plan to rally. For them to realize what their own family had intended to do to them to gain more power.

"I raped you," he said, making the only correct choice. Margot slumped in relief, her breathing turning ragged at the words finally being spoken. Beelzebub was there immediately, tucking her into his chest so that she could hide the emotions. I glared at him but didn't say a word, knowing she didn't need me to draw attention to her any longer.

"And the rest?" I asked, feeling Gray take his place behind me.

"The Covenant and the Tribunal conspired to rid Crystal Hollow of the Vessels once and for all," he said, and I smiled at his attempt to word them as if they were the heroes.

"Tell them how you planned to do that."

He groaned, clenching his teeth. "Don’t say another word!" the Petra Tribunal member shouted.

"We were going to starve them. To do that, we were starving the Source. When the magic dies, so do the family lines. Breeding becomes more difficult. Witches fall sick. Their blood becomes less potent, until..."

"Finish it, Itan," I said, observing him.

"Until only the Tribunal remained. The Vessels cannot feed on us without breaking the bargain, and the Vessels would then be weak enough to wither away. The Tribunal members would carry the magic within us then, and we would return the power to the Source. We'd fix it," he said as if it changed anything.

"You mean after everyone in the Coven was dead, you'd fix it for yourselves," I said, waiting for him to put the final nail in his coffin.

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean," he agreed.

Granting him the swift death he didn't deserve, I wrapped my vine around his throat again and twisted it, snapping his neck quickly and efficiently.

It was more than I could say for the Coven members who turned on the elders of their lines, eradicating the current Tribunal from existence.

I turned from the bloodshed, making my way to the doors that would take me outside. "Where are you going?" Iban asked, staring at me as if he'd never seen me before.

"I'm going to right another wrong."

19

WILLOW

Gray shouted my name from the carnage of Coven members turning on their Tribunal behind me, and I could practically sense him making his way through the crowd to follow after me. I waved a hand, slamming the doors of the Tribunal room closed behind me. Vines threaded through the gilded iron of the gates, entwining around the locking mechanisms and sealing it like a tomb. Gray would be able to escape, but I had to hope I’d bought myself some time.

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