Page 20 of The Curse

He took my heart with him.

How could I have done this? How could I have betrayed him in such a way? Why? Had I gotten drunk? It was hard for me to even imagine that I’d been capable of performing with a woman, but I remembered that part of the encounter. There were flashes of images of us having sex, but, thankfully, most of the details eluded me.

I stared at the spot in the sky where I’d last seen Corbin. He’d already disappeared. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I refused to accept that it was over between us. I’d find a way to win him back. My love for him was too great…too powerful to walk away from. I’d give him some time, but I would be back. I had to come back. I would die without him.

“Well. Well. Well.” A voice purred from behind me. “Someone has a fiery temper, don’t they?”

I whirled around to find Morgan Goodheart standing there, a look of wicked delight masking her features. I didn’t know the woman, other than the fact that she was the high witch of the Salem coven and Corbin’s enemy. She shouldn’t be in Corbin’s territory, much less on his personal property. “You aren’t welcome here, witch. You should go before Corbin returns and finds you here. He’ll make you pay for entering his territory.”

“My, my, it seems that Corbin has shared all sorts of information with his little whore, hasn’t it?” she said.

She didn’t seem at all intimidated by my threat that Corbin would be angry for her trespassing in his coven’s territory. Actually, she looked quite pleased with herself. Unease tickled my senses, and I glanced around at the empty sky, wishing Corbin hadn’t left me.

“Don’t bother looking around for your lover, Nico. I’ll know of his return long before you. I assure you that I’ve planned his destruction down to the very last detail. No room for mistakes when Corbin’s involved,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Did you know, Nico, that being with you has made him stronger? His powers have grown over the past months. Isn’t true love just beautiful?”

Corbin’s destruction? Morgan wasn’t strong enough to destroy Corbin. No one was. Were they? My eyes searched the sky again, this time hoping he wouldn’t return. Whatever Morgan had planned for him, I didn’t want her to have the opportunity to pit her powers against his.

“Why are you here, Morgan? You’re violating coven rules. You need to leave.” I didn’t know much about witchcraft, but I knew she didn’t belong here. I also knew that she should be powerless while in Corbin’s territory. Frowning, I realized she didn’t look powerless.

I tried to sound brave but knew my voice sounded weak…like the pathetic human I was. For the hundredth time since meeting Corbin, I wished for some of his magical powers.

“I’m here to take care of a problem.” She made a tsking sound and smiled at me. “Take a step toward me, Nico,” she purred.

In my mind, I was telling her to fuck off. In reality, I obeyed and took the step she’d requested. I frowned, wondering why I could no longer control my own body.

“Very good,” she complimented. “Yes, you’ve made our Corbin much stronger with your love, albeit your love has come with secrecy stipulations, hasn’t it? Did you know that you made him weaker with your betrayal? It’s that very weakness that opened the portal and allowed me to step inside.” She took a step backward and said, “Another step toward me, please.”

I obeyed.

“As his heart is breaking, he gets weaker and weaker. I suspected it would happen and, with a little nudge of magic, it looks like I’ve confirmed my suspicions. Another step, please.”

“I had one of my witches cast a spell on you to make you have sex with her and to impregnate her with your child.” She laughed. “Oh, you didn’t know Abigail Hawthorne was a witch? She hides her true nature well, and so does her family. They’re all a part of our coven. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of the child—no need for you to worry about leaving a child behind with no father to protect it. I’ve decided to send Abigail and her family north to Easthampton to join a coven there, so a part of you will still exist. All the more to torment Corbin with.”

She forced me to take another step and then another, putting me closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. I wasn’t sure when I realized what her plans were, but I suddenly knew she planned to make me kill myself. She was going to make me walk off the fucking cliff, and she was doing it so Corbin’s powers would be weakened in grief.

“Two more steps, love. Come along. I don’t have all night,” she cooed and then laughed maliciously.

“Don’t do this,” I pleaded softly. I wasn’t going to lie to myself, I didn’t want to die. My biggest pain, though, came from thinking that Morgan might actually succeed in her quest to destroy Corbin. I doubted that losing me would weaken his magical powers, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried.

“Tsk. Tsk. Don’t be such a whiny little human. You made a high witch fall in love with you, so surely you have some strength inside of you somewhere. It’s time to pull on that strength now, poppet.” Her eyes drifted toward the sky and then back to me, her smile growing even wider. “Take that last step, Sweets. Corbin is coming. I want him to almost get to you…but not quite make it.” She giggled like a child. “I think it’ll hurt more that way, don’t you? I need it toreallyhurt him.”

“He’ll see you. He’ll know you made me do this,” I hissed as I raised my foot into the air. I tried. I fucking tried so hard not to take that last step. I was scared. It would hurt. I didn’t want to leave Corbin. I needed to tell him again how much I loved him.

I needed to hear him tell me that he loved me. I didn’t want to die with our last words having been so angry and bitter. He’d torture himself with telling me to never come back.

“I’m invisible. He’ll only see his beloved walking over the cliff. Aww, here he comes. Last step, Nico. Goodbye.”

I took the last step and plunged over the edge of the cliff. I screamed in shock as I tumbled through the air. I could see the water below, then the sky above. The rocks were coming toward me fast.

I heard it, then. I heard Corbin’s scream of horror. He called my name, despair making him sound different. I’d never heard him sound anyway except confident, in love, and, a few moments before, angry. The fear and horror in his voice now made my heart explode in pain.

With my twisting and turning, it wasn’t until the very last second that my eyes finally locked with Corbin’s. It was as if time froze for a split second. His face was streaked with tears. His hands reached for me, but I knew he wouldn’t…couldn’t…get to me in time. Seconds before I crashed into the rocks, fire flashed from his fingertips, exploding in heartbreak and fury.

Then…nothing.

It was pitch black when I opened my eyes. Twinkling stars hung in the sky, laughing at me in a mischievous way. I looked around and took stock of my injuries. None. Okay, maybe a mild headache. I was lucky. I’d flown probably fifty yards and slammed into a tree. Several branches were broken where I’d hit the thousand-year-old oak tree. I should be dead.

But I wasn’t. What I was, was fucking pissed.

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