Page 49 of Wrongfully Magicked
It’s becoming an annoying habit.
Being naked is natural. Normally, I’d brush it off. It happens often enough that I usually just walk out and grab clothing. Yet something about the intense way the guys stare at me makes me feel vulnerable and exposed, and I don’t like it.
What’s worse, the clothes Porter provided were destroyed when I lost control. They weren’t anything extravagant, but they fit like they were made for me.
For one glorious second, they made me feel beautiful.
Now they are gone, and I can’t help but mourn the loss. It’s more than just the clothes, it was the thought behind them.
It’s been a long time since anyone even bothered to put in the effort to do something that would make me happy.
As if sensing my insecurities, Porter releases his shadows. They swarm over my legs and skate up my body like a caress. I shiver at the intense cold, expecting them to feel slimy. Instead, they make my skin tingle everywhere they touch. It should feel invasive, but they are like a salve on a burn, and I sigh when they cover my oversensitive skin.
Looking down, I watch the shadows thicken until it looks like I’m wearing a wispy dress. The darkness shifts like it’s moving in a breeze, but the dense fog keeps all the important bits covered.
A blush heats my cheeks, and I have to clear my throat before I can speak. “Thank you.”
Without my flames to keep me warm, the air feels chilly to the touch. It’s been so long since I’ve been without my fire that I’m not used to feeling normal temperatures.
I’m not a fan.
“What happened?” Darby crouches in front of me, concern digging deep grooves around his mouth. He hesitantly reaches for my hand. My skin is so cold that his warm fingers almost burn. Feeling my shiver, he wraps his hand around mine, rubbing it as if to get warmth back into it.
I avoid looking at Cassius, waiting for his taunt that he knew I couldn’t handle working with them. It galls me to admit it, but maybe he’s right. I stepped right into that trap.
To my surprise, he remains suspiciously silent.
Which only makes me feel worse.
“A dark curse was performed on the body,” I mutter more to myself than anyone else. Curses are performed so rarely that few people recognize them. Once cast, curses take on a life of their own.
They are almost sentient.
They want to live and will do whatever is necessary to survive, not to mention that they’re notoriously hard to banish once cast.
I know because my family likes to dabble in the forbidden.
“Dark curses are dangerous and illegal for a reason. If done incorrectly, and you skip even the smallest step, the curse will rebound on the caster.” I jerk my head up and study the guys, suddenly worried the curse might have attached itself to them too. I expect to see their skin to be a chalky gray as their magic is siphoned away, killing them slowly.
When their skin retains its healthy hue, I release a shuddering breath, then I look anywhere but at them, hating that I feel so exposed. “When I got close enough to the corpse, the remnants of the magic must have sensed me. It triggered a trap, one that reactivated the curse. It was trying to latch onto me. Whoever cast the spell is fucking strong. I can normally burn black magic and curses away, but it’s almost like this one was created specifically for me.”
I shake my head to get rid of that crazy thought, but when I look at the guys, their grim expressions have my gut twisting into knots. Soren stiffens, his body like a rock beneath me, and a menacing rumble vibrates from his chest. His arms slip aroundmy waist, and I suddenly find myself crushed against him once more.
I should protest that I can take care of myself, but even I have to admit it was a close call. If Soren hadn’t helped, I’m not sure I would have been able to hold off the curse for much longer. The thought of being infected with black magic sends a shiver down my spine. I cast a look over my shoulder at the corpse, then swallow hard.
That could have been me.
Soren reaches up and grabs my chin, forcing me to look away from the mangled mess of what once used to be a human.
I’m sucked into his dark eyes. Streaks of silver slice through the darkness, and I’m immediately captured. “That won’t ever happen to you. I won’t let it.”
I swallow hard at the ridiculous urge to cry and give him a hesitant nod, actually believing him. May the gods help us both.
“Why attack you and not one of us?” Porter gazes around the crime scene with narrowed eyes, searching for what he missed.
I find myself doing the same.
Again and again, my eyes are drawn back to the corpse. I wiggle out of Soren’s embrace, much to his grumbly annoyance, but Darby doesn’t release his hold. He helps me rise, then steadies me when I stagger, my legs still wobbly from the attack.
