The Cursed Key by Miranda Brock & Rebecca Hamilton

Author:Miranda Brock & Rebecca Hamilton [Brock, Miranda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evershade Publishing

Chapter 17

I was tied to a chair in a house in Scotland under the hard, unwavering gazes of a trio of witches, while a shifter rumbled beside me. When this whole thing was over, I’d never take a mysterious relic from a ruin again.

I ground the lie between my teeth.

Aileen didn’t break her stare from me as she spoke to her sisters. “This girl claims they came here seeking a key.”

Girl? I scoffed. I wasn’t a girl. I was a strong, capable woman, and I would not remain restrained in this chair for long.

“I assure you we have good intentions,” I said. I spoke calmly, though anger buzzed inside of me. They had no right to treat us like this.

Kael, strangely, seemed to have stopped struggling. He was watching the witches with his head cocked, as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

“The world has stumbled many times in the hands of people with good intentions,” said the sister on the right. Her hair was black as ink and her eyes a startling blue, frozen and carved from ice. I could almost feel the cool touch of her gaze on my skin. “Besides, we know nothing of the key you seek.”

So, that was how they were going to play it? “I think you do know what key it is we are seeking, and if you would rather it not end up in the hands of a dark mage, you should probably tell us where to find it.”

Aileen narrowed her eyes. “What mage would that be, child?”

I sighed. I was growing tired of repeating the same story over and over, of telling other people of my failure. Kael was silent beside me as I repeated the recent events, though his shoulders stiffened and jaw clenched when I spoke of taking the key out of the ruins.

Was he more angry at me, or at himself?

As I spoke of the mage, a glance passed between the trio of witches. It wasn’t a question that sparked in their eyes. With slight nods between them, I knew they already had knowledge of the mage.

“So, he already has one key,” I finished. “We have been told the second key may be able to help us track him down, so we can recover the first.”

“How do we know what you say is true?” asked the third sister. She was a mirror image of her black-haired sister, except her eyes were a rich brown. Perhaps they were twins.

“Cordelia is the one who told us about you. She sent us here. Call and ask her.”

Aileen shook her head. “We don’t use phones. Besides, Cordelia hasn’t set a toe in these lands for a very long time. For all we know, her allegiances have changed. She could be a traitor.”

Show them your magic. Cordelia’s words flitted back to my mind. They, too, will be able to sense its ancient breath.

“I can prove it to you.” I struggled against the invisible bonds. They chafed and itched against my skin, as if they were twined with coarse rope.

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