The Cursed Series, Parts 3 & 4 (Cursed #3-4) - Rebecca Donovan Page 0,133
shoulder, but I brush it off with a wave of my hand, getting to my feet. I breathe in again, air filling my lungs. And I take off through the mirror, after the monster.
I catch sight of the black cape whipping around a corner and race after it. Bumping into a few people without apology, leaving them cursing in my wake. We weave through the passages, somehow avoiding the gardens. Which means he knows the pattern of the maze. He knows where he’s going … and I’m following him willingly.
Despite knowing this, I can’t let up. Watching for the flare of his cape or the flutter of the black feather on his wide-brimmed hat, which reminds me of something out of The Three Musketeers but the evil version.
I round a corner and run into a wall of branches. A dead end. I spin, searching, backtracking, but don’t catch sight of him. Remembering the false wall the night that I was lost in the Court, I carefully feel along the hedge, my heart stammering and my breath panting.
And just when it gives, emptying into a void, a hand reaches out and grabs my wrist, yanking me forward. A fist collides with my stomach, leaving me sputtering for air.
“You’re not going to get to her in time,” he growls in my ear.
I want to ask who, but I know. Sophia.
He swings again, colliding with my temple, and black spots fill my vision. I try to shake it off but fall to my knees.
“What the hell are you doing?” a guy yells, sending Vic running again.
Hands help me to my feet.
A face painted gold with bright green eyes fills my vision. “Are you okay? We should get her some help.”
I don’t know who he’s talking to while I wrestle out of his grip, fighting to focus while faltering along the hedges.
“Hey, where are you going?” a girl calls to me. “You need to get looked at.”
Using the wall of shrubbery to hold me up, I force my legs to carry me toward the dorm, knowing exactly which building it is. I’m so close. I wave the group off. “I’ll be okay. Going to my room.”
They don’t follow, but I overhear someone saying they should let the cricket know. He’s around somewhere.
I blink away the dizziness, able to stand upright by the time I reach the rose trellis. Except … security is guarding the doors. And I have no idea what I look like. The last thing I want is for them to hold me up, asking stupid questions while Sophia could be … I refuse to go there. I will get to her in time.
The yard is scattered with princesses and fairies, laughing and talking. It’s easy enough to skirt the perimeter and disappear into the bushes. I reach for the grate, lifting it up and crawling beneath. The small window into the basement is open, so I slide in backward on my belly and drop to the ground. Arms close tightly around me.
“What took you so long?” Vic hisses in my ear.
I stomp on the instep of his boot, and he hollers, releasing me. A phone clatters to the floor, flashing yellow dots displayed on the screen. He knew where I was the entire time.
“Bitch!”
“Never denied it,” I say through clenched teeth.
This time, when he swings, I’m ready and block him with my forearm, but his strength knocks me back a few steps. He’s stronger than I am, and I need an advantage. A height advantage would be nice.
I pick up an old wooden chair covered in webs and swing it at him, knocking him off-balance. Then I run, hoping to remember the way through the dark. My hands skim along the wall as I search for the stairs.
The space opens up, and I trip on the step, landing hard on my knees, pain shooting up my legs. A beam of light isn’t far behind. I scramble up the narrow stairway and duck around the corner, where I wait, willing my breath to slow so he can’t hear me.
His feet scrape against the stone. The light illuminates the step right below where I’m standing just as my foot collides with his chest, sending him sprawling backward. I race down and pounce on top of him, slipping the knife from my boot.
Vic spreads his hands in surrender, my knife to his throat. The light from his dropped phone reflects off his mask, his hat lost somewhere along the way.