Cursed: Briar Rose's Story - Kaylin Lee Page 0,10
true Master’s will to fuel it, or it will grow dull and clumsy at the end, right when it is most needed.” She lifted one eyebrow at him, then returned her attention to the thread. “Honestly, Piers, it’s like you don’t want to sacrifice anything for the mission these days.”
“Not sacrifice anything!” The man scowled. “You know full well what I intend to sacrifice. I simply don’t want to see you debase yourself. If you insist on using one of us, let me call one of the younger ones to give up a bit of will for your curse. It’s only proper.”
“Debase myself? I’d happily exploit every last bit of my own will in order to complete the Master’s plans. It is a high honor, old man.” She winked at me. If I could have moved, I would have shivered at the ugly delight in her eyes. “And it will be amusing to control this angry little thing. Truly amusing.” She threaded the needle, then shut her eyes and released a long, slow breath. A cloud of silver hovered around the threaded needle. “How old are you, Briar Rose?”
Bile filled my mouth as the magic choked the answer from me. “Thirteen last month.”
Elektra pouted but kept her eyes shut. “Too bad. I thought an eighteenth birthday would be nice for this one’s ending, but you want five years, right, Brother?”
“Five years, yes.” Piers sounded bored.
The silver cloud around Elektra’s needle grew, making the air in the room sizzle.
I absorbed its trace instinctively, every nerve in my body bristling at the hateful feel of her magic.
“I’d hate to rush needlessly and cut things short simply for the poetry of the moment,” she murmured.
The man yawned. “You are the only one thinking of poetry right now.” He regarded me with a curled lip and hooded eyes. “Death, I suppose? Back here in our palace, so that Zel follows? I imagine you want Zel to witness things firsthand, or you would have just killed her by now.”
“Yes, yes. But not death. Eternal sleep.” Elektra furrowed her brow in concentration. “It will be more fun that way. And live bait will be more effective, especially when Zel arrives for the end.”
Piers grimaced. “Knew you’d say that. You’re predictable.”
Her lips twitched, and she turned away from him slightly, as though hiding her amusement. “Predictably brilliant.” Her voice was deadpan, but still, that secretive twist of humor remained on her lips.
“Are you going to curse it or not?”
“Curse.” The silvery cloud intensified, growing completely opaque. There was a crack, and the shiny mist disappeared. What was left of the color in Elektra’s visage faded visibly, and her rigid posture softened. Her eyes fluttered open, her expression tired but satisfied. The huge spool of glowing thread was gone, replaced by a single, finger’s length of thread that glowed so brightly, it hurt my eyes. “Definitely curse.”
“You used quite a bit of that thread, you know. It does seem wasteful.” Piers crossed his arms. “And if you want to make a truly perfect curse, you need its will, too. Or have you forgotten the curse that made us?”
“I want the fulfillment to be pretty,” Elektra said testily. “Is that so wrong? And no, I haven’t forgotten about the creature’s will. Just because the rest of you are too stingy with your will to make a good curse doesn’t mean we’ve all given up on the Master’s ancient methods.”
“And how do you plan to obtain its will? You’ve frozen the thing.”
Motion flashed. Something tore. Elektra loomed over me, gripping my torn jacket in her claw-like fingers. She uttered a strange word.
The immobilizing magic fled, leaving me shaking like a dry branch in the winter wind, paralyzed by fear now, instead of magic.
“I know exactly where your mother and father are right now,” she hissed, her previously playful tone now icy and dark. “And that foolish, chubby sister of yours, too. I know everything.” She yanked down my jacket, exposing my bare shoulder and upper chest. With her other hand, she held the threaded, glowing needle over my heart. “Accept my curse, or I’ll toss my plans for Zel and simply kill them now.” She leaned closer, meeting my eyes with a cold, unwavering stare. “One curse, and I’ll be in their sitting room. Another, and I’ll break their necks. What’s it going to be? Your family, or your will?”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. “M-my family,” I whispered. “Please.”
Her nostrils flared. “Say the words. Say you accept.”
“I accept.”
She jabbed the