Cursed: Briar Rose's Story - Kaylin Lee Page 0,31

we finished. The curse shot yet another jolt of pain through my chest as I remembered the way Tavar’s blue eyes had held mine when we said goodbye after the match, so steady, so confident and unflinching. You’ll make it tomorrow, he had said. I know you will.

“Bri—”

I opened my eyes. Alba was back in the kitchen, watching me with a worried expression. The curse stopped the pain, ever mindful of an audience after the last time I’d nearly been sent to a healer. “Come on. We’ll be late.”

My sister followed me out to the fomecoach in silence.

Alba was strong, I reminded myself again as we got into the fomecoach where Mom waited. Alba would make it, even if I didn’t. And I’d do whatever it took to keep Mom from being lured into the crater. That was what mattered.

Chapter 13

“How much further to the campsite?” Alba whispered, resting her arms on her knees like they were the only things keeping her off the forest floor.

Lazy, foolish girl, the curse hissed spitefully. She will rest tomorrow with you, won’t she?

I spun the top on my canteen to lull the curse into silence. “Probably another hour or two. We’ll try to cover as much ground as we can before then.”

Alba shivered. “It’s so cold out here. I thought it would be warmer, since it’s spring.”

She never stops complaining, does she? Weak, weak, WEAK—

“The mountains are always cold. Here.” I gave her my gloves. “Keeping your hands warm will help.”

The vulnerable, hopeful expression that took over Alba’s face made me want to cringe. “But won’t you need them?”

Oh, poor creature, Briar Rose, will you be cold? The curse cackled. Cold is just the beginning—

“No. I’ll be fine.”

“Hey! What was that?” Eugene was on his feet, staring off into the forest.

The curse quieted warily. My stomach roiled with dread. Was this it? The moment the Masters had been planning to take me and Alba to the crater, to turn the rest of the team into hostages and messengers—if they were lucky?

“A squirrel.” Cole’s broad shoulders shook with laugher. “Calm down, kid. You’re going to shoot one of us.”

“You sure?”

“You can shoot the squirrel if you want.” Deacon smirked. “But then you’ll have to eat it.”

“I’m not joking this time. I thought I saw something.” Eugene finally lowered his crossbow and shrugged. “Guess I was wrong.”

The curse didn’t rest. If anything, it grew more alert and excited, straining my senses to search the woods for any trace of approaching company.

Poor, jumpy Eugene. There’s something wrong with her, Eugene had griped years earlier, the first time I beat him in training. He’d been right back then, and he was probably right this time. And still, no one believed him.

Dread made my limbs heavy as I sat motionless beside Alba. The curse’s control of my body was so tight, I couldn’t even fidget with my canteen’s cap anymore.

“Break’s over,” Cole said. “If you’re looking for a fight, we might as well start walking and see if we can find one.”

Alba looked terrified.

“He’s joking.” I could feel the curse’s disgust at her fear, but it still forced me to comfort her as it had in the fomewagon when we first entered the Badlands. It couldn’t have her running back to safety before the Masters came for us, could it? “You’ll be fine, Albs.” The emotionless lie tasted dry and lifeless on my tongue. “We’ll all be fine.”

We hiked on, apprehension thick in my veins, making me feel sluggish and jittery at the same time. I wasn’t ready yet. Didn’t I still have a day to get back to the crater? How could I break away from the team first if the Masters came to us now?

“Eyes out. Looks like a camp to the left of those trees. Bri and Tavar, go check it out.”

My heart sank. The last thing I needed was to be next to Tavar when the Masters came for me. The curse propelled me forward beside him, moving in sync as we had a thousand times before in training.

“Sentinels approaching,” Tavar called out sharply. “We mean no harm to you as long as you mean no harm to us.”

“Come out with your hands where we can see them.” I spoke to the woods around the camp. “Now.”

No one stirred. The small, makeshift camp was clearly empty. No fire, no markings on the ground where a Badlander or two might have spent the previous night. Had it been vacated recently, or weeks ago? Or was