Dark Curse (Darkhaven Saga #5) - Danielle Rose Page 0,27

the things that make gift giving and receiving so exciting.

As I stare at my present, I think about the last time I received a gift, but I cannot think of a time. Every year, around my birthday, my mother would surprise me with breakfast and homemade tres leches cake, a traditional Spanish milk cake, but that was it. She always told me she never gave me presents because she did not want me to be reliant on material treasures.

If only she understood the only things I ever received that I cherished were my silver cross necklace and my stake, both given to me by my father. I never cared about fancy electronics or clothes. Still, it would have been nice to have received something.

I grab the sides of the box, using both my hands to hold it. The box is thick. It takes my full grasp to keep it on my lap without Jasik’s assistance. I do not think about the fact that this might just be because I am literally this weak now. Maybe it has come to a point when I can barely hold on to a simple box.

Furrowing my brow, I shake the box around, listening as something inside moves. Jasik chuckles beside me, but I ignore him. I probably seem very childlike right now, but I do not care. I am having fun—for once.

“It sounds…soft,” I say, even though I am not really speaking to anyone in particular. Still, I make my mental notes aloud for all to hear.

“It might be,” Jasik responds, trying his best to be as vague as possible. It is only slightly annoying.

I shake it again, and something moves. I gnaw on my lower lip, trying to guess the contents without actually opening the box.

“You know, if you just open it—”

“Hush,” I say, interrupting him as I continue my mental assessment.

What would Jasik get me? When did he even have time to buy something? I do not remember him ever leaving the manor except for his patrols, and I can’t imagine him ignoring his duty to go shopping. I wonder if Hikari has confided in him my requests. My heart sinks a little. I do not know why I am ashamed, but I am. I hate that I have to cake makeup on my skin to feel…pretty, normal, just like my old self.

There is a bright crimson-colored ribbon wrapped around the box. It is twisted into a perky, full bow at the center. The color reminds me of Jasik’s eyes—and of blood. I swallow hard, feeling my pulse race as I think about my formerly liquid diet. I do not crave blood the way I used to, but I desire the way it made me feel when I drank it. I have not felt that…power, that yearning since I hexed my coven.

Slowly, I unravel the bow. The ribbon is so silky smooth, it glides from the box the way blood drips down skin. I lick my lips as I remember the way it would coat my mouth as I drank deeply.

When one strand is free, I unravel the other one, twisting until the ribbon falls from my hands and lands in a heap on the floor. Jasik scoops it up, placing it on my bed beside him. He watches me intensely, his eyes a bright, fiery red. I feel my pulse race, my skin burning.

I wiggle the lid free, letting it fall to the floor as I stare at the contents. This time, Jasik does not clean up my mess. He stares fiercely as I take in his gift.

I suck in a sharp breath, my eyes burning at the sight. Placed inside the box are four things. One pair of black boots, already laced and ready for my feet to simply slide inside. The other is a black, military-style jacket, folded neatly, the cusp of the leather pristine and shiny. Atop that is a sparkly chain, and beside that is another box, sleek and black. I have seen all of these items before.

I run my hand over the boots, letting my fingertips graze each curve until I reach the jacket. I grab on to the fabric, squeezing it so tightly in my hand, my knuckles turn white. When I release it, I sit back and meet Jasik’s gaze, swimming with emotions I can barely keep them in check.

“They are exactly the same,” I whisper to him.

He smiles softly, nodding. “It took longer than I anticipated, but I found everything you lost that