Page 48 of Blood Brother Cursed

Phoenix squeezed her hand, and she got the impression that it was more of a nervous reaction. “Yes. He used to do it every few years.”

“Does he still do it?”

“I won’t allow it anymore.”

“You mean, you used to allow it?”

“Not exactly. He threatened to use my brothers if I didn’t give in to his demands. I don’t think my stepmother knew, but I’ve no doubt he would have managed it to get them closer to me without her realizing what was happening.”

“What happened?”

“They finally left home. I think, now, they have a much better relationship with my father, but I know they aren’t close. Like me, they are messed up in their own ways.”

“Are they cursed, too?”

“No. He was just a horrible father, and their mother spoiled them far too much. I don’t really know that much aboutthem, but I do remember hearing about their antics on the rare occasions when I came to visit.”

“Ah, so he can’t use them anymore since they probably don’t trust him.”

“And there’s no one else he can use. Of course, now I have no reason to listen to him or do what he wants, so I’m slowly working to push him out of the business.”

“So, you have a long-term goal.” She looked up at him with a sly smile.

“I do.”

“Well, if you can remember what he did, we can go over those steps. If you can talk about it, it would help me to figure out what will help to remove the curse.”

“So, you have a long-term goal?”

She bumped him, and he laughed. “And no, it’s not because I want to leave you, Phoenix, before you say it. It’s because I want you to see that I’m staying with you because I want to, not because of some curse.” She gave his hand a couple of squeezes, “However, I’m not sure that you need to do anything.”

“The curse is very real, Astrid.”

“I’m not doubting it. It does sound far-fetched, but so does dragons being real. Deaths could be explained as being natural because theyseemto be inevitable, which, based on my research, isexactlywhat the best curses do. That way people will distance themselves because either they believe in curses and don’t want anything to do with the person, or they think the person is crazy.”

“Sounds about right.”

“However, what I’ve found is that the more powerful curses, like the one you have, have to be refreshed to continue to work, kind of like vaccines but in reverse.”

Phoenix gave her a skeptical look. “You mean like a booster shot?”

“Kind of like that, yes. I’m not saying I’ll stop researching, but I think that the real way to stop the curse is to develop and mend relationships instead of keeping your distance.”

“That’s putting people’s lives at risk unnecessarily.”

“If the curse weakens over time, it becomes less of a risk to people. I don’t have any definite answers, and I’m not suggesting you go diving in head-first to try it. It’s just that I don’t think getting rid of the curse is quite the same as the way it was cast and maintained.”

“I will follow your lead, but please, don’t ask me to let you be the guinea pig to find out if you are right because I will not allow that.”

“If I can find a way to determine if the curse is gone, then I’ll let you know because I understand not wanting to lose someone close to you. It’s just something to think about.”

They walked in silence for the next few minutes until they reached the lake. Dipping into her pocket, Astrid pulled out the rock her brother had given her. She had picked it up when Phoenix had taken her back to the house to get her stuff, and she had kept it in her pocket ever since.

She took his hand and put the rock in it. “It’s time we picked up where you left off.”

He looked between her and the rock. “You know how to skip rocks?”

“Evan started teaching me the last time he was home. Before we left the pond, he told me that I was to keep learning until he came home to finish showing me. According to him, from the time he started until the time he learned how to do it well, he learned a lot of important life lessons.”

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