Page 32 of Cursed
He nods, placing Nori gently on the ground, and scoots back against the wall, not wanting to be too far from her.
The four of them stare, mouths open, at the golden, sparkling light completely enveloping the she-wolf.
“What kind of power is this?” Adele asks no one in particular.
They shield their eyes as the golden light starts to change. Losing its shimmer, the light gets brighter and brighter. An instant later, a bizarre, blinding flash of light fills the room, followed by a shockwave of power that shoves the four of them backward.
Garek catches Zayne when he looks like he’s about to fall over. Adele has a death grip on Ryland’s arm, and Ryland leans forward, staring at his Mate. Waiting.
When he hears Nori coughing and gulping air into her lungs, Ryland covers his face and leans against his sister, shuddering with relief.
Garek, still holding onto Zayne, exclaims, “How is she alive?”
Nori clutches her chest and coughs as she tries to catch her breath. Her senses are swamped by Aylin’s blind panic. She looks around the room and says, “What—?”
Before she can finish, Aylin takes over Nori’s body. She flips off the floor and backs against the wall on the oppositeside of the room from Ryland and the others. She crouches down in a defensive position, claws out, growling at everyone.
Her head whips to Zayne when she hears the shock in his voice. “Look at her eyes!” Then back to Adele when she whispers, “Quiet, Zayne!”
Aylin growls loudly at Adele because she’s still mad about her earlier ‘little mouse’ comments. Adele shrinks back against the wall in fear, worried about what kind of magic this she-wolf can wield.
Ryland stares at Nori like he is seeing her for the first time. He fights the urge to run and grab her in his arms and never let her go. Instead, he slumps against the wall, raking his hands through his hair. His relief takes his breath away.
Nori has no idea what is happening. “Aylin?” Her tone is gentle. “Aylin, you need to calm down and let me back in.”
Aylin growls her answer, “No, they are our enemies!”
“Umm. I don’t remember what happened, but they aren’t attacking us, right?” Exasperated, Nori waits because she can’t override her wolf when she gets like this.
“Agreed. They are not attacking us right now,” Aylin finally responds. “OK. But if they make a move, I’m shifting and kicking someone’s ass,” she says with a huff.
Nori sighs with relief. “Agreed.”
Aylin’s gold eyes fade back to Nori’s amber color. Nori slumps back against the wall, rubbing her sore chest. Shelooks around the room and says, “I would appreciate it if you would all sit down slowly, and please, make no move to approach me. Aylin is hysterical and hasallowedme to have control back...for now.”
Garek and Zayne slowly take a seat against the opposite wall next to Adele and Ryland. Hearing his Mate’s voice, Ryland hangs his head in his hands, sucking in ragged breaths of relief. Adele does her best to console her brother.
Nori slides down to the floor. “Now, can someone please explain what has happened here?”
Unfortunately, that was the wrong question because everyone answers at the same time.
“The curse!”
“You were dead!”
“You were glowing!”
Aylin growls in her head, “He tried to kill you!”
Nori holds up her hands. “Okay, stop! Clearly, we need to go one at a time. Aylin first. What do you remember?”
“The Prince tried to kill you!”
Nori frowns and replies out loud, so the group can follow her conversation. “He tried to kill me?”
She glances at Ryland; he still hasn’t looked up at her. Nori leans her head back, rubbing her chest. “Well, to be fair, I did tell him to kill me rather than send me back to Starfall. Do you know how he tried to kill me?”
Aylin replies, “No. No, I don’t.”
