Page 41 of Curses and Casualties
“Doesn’t matter,” Scarlett says, getting slowly to her feet. She still looks pale, but the frantic energy is gone. “Whatever you two just did, it worked. I can handle this now.” She manages a weak smile. “Though maybe we should hurry before it wears off.”
We pile back in, but the atmosphere has shifted. There’s still tension, but now it’s mixed with wonder. Ryan keeps glancing at Scarlett in the rearview mirror, and I catch myself studying my palms like they might hold answers.
The trees begin to thin, and Ethan lets out a gasp.
“Holy fuck. Look at the size of that place.”
Ryan slams on the brakes so hard I nearly hit the dashboard. His face drains of color, and through our bond, a wave of terror hits me so hard I whimper.
NO!Kane’s voice explodes in Ryan’s mind, bleeding through our connection.Death place! Trap place! Where we died! Where she died! RUN!
At the same moment, Luna rears up inside me with such violence I cry out. Images assault my consciousness. Not my memories, but hers:
Running through these exact trees, clutching a leather scroll. Kane beside her in his massive wolf form. The crack of a rifle. Kane’s agonized howl as he falls. Blood on snow. A woman’s voice chanting in a language that burns. Racing back home. Struggling for air. The sensation of being ripped from my body, compressed, crushed into crystal?—
“This is where it happened,” I whisper, my voice shaking as badly as my hands. “This is where Kane and Luna came for the scrolls. Where they were ambushed.”
“Where they died,” Ryan finishes, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
The weight of it crashes over us. Magnus Erikson isn’t just some reclusive wolf who might help us. He’s connected to what happened here—to the ambush, to the witch who cursed them.
“We should go,” Ethan says quietly. “Turn around right now and?—”
“No.” The word comes out harder than I intend. “No, we can’t. That witch is the only one who can break her own curse. And he’s the only one who knows where to find her.”
“But if he was involved—” Scarlett starts, then doubles over with another wave of pain. “Fuck. Can we just... decide quickly? Whatever’s happening to me is getting worse again.”
Ryan looks at me, and I see my own conflict mirrored in his eyes. Every instinct screams to flee, but we’ve come too far to turn back now.
He pulls the car to the edge of a cleared area, and we sit in tense silence. Through the windshield, Magnus’s compound rises like something out of a tech billionaire’s fever dream. All glass and steel and sharp angles that somehow blend with the natural rock formations.
Security is everywhere. Not just cameras—I count at least twelve—but things that make my skin prickle with their wrongness. Symbols carved into posts, etchings in the stone driveway, even a string of animal bones wired above the entry gate.
“Magical defenses,” Ryan murmurs. “Strong ones.”
We roll slowly up the drive, the cameras tracking us. No guards visible, but I know we’re being watched. The silence itself is a threat.
As we approach the main gate, Scarlett shifts uncomfortably.
“It’s getting stronger,” she says, her voice tight but controlled. “Whatever you two did is wearing off.”
A speaker crackles to life:“You’re expected. Drive to the main entrance. Do not deviate from the marked path. Do not exit your vehicle until instructed. Any violation of these rules will be met with immediate response.”
Ryan and I exchange surprised glances, both thinking the same thing.
“I thought he was supposed to try and kill us on sight,” I whisper.
“He hasn’t technically seen us yet,” Ryan mutters back, but I can hear the confusion in his voice. Nicolai had warned us Magnus killed wolves just for existing in his presence. This civil reception—cold as it is—wasn’t what we’d prepared for.
The gate swings open on silent hinges. By the time we reach the main entrance, Scarlett is gripping Ethan’s hand, her jaw clenched but holding herself together with sheer determination.
Two guards materialize from concealed positions—ex-military by the look of it. They scan our car with devices that make my teeth ache, then the taller one approaches Ryan’s window.
“Names.” It’s not a question.
Ryan lists us, keeping his voice carefully neutral. The guard’s eyes linger on Scarlett’s huddled form, but his expression doesn’t change.
“Exit the vehicle. Follow the path. Enter through the main doors. Proceed directly to the receiving area. Any deviation will be considered hostile action.”
