Curse Broken (Cursed Descent (MistHallow Academy) #3)

6. Matilda

6

MATILDA

The fall feels endless, but I know every second brings us closer to what needs to be done. The purple light from my skin illuminates the faces of my companions as we descend.

My stomach lurches as we finally hit bottom, landing in a pile of bodies with me at the bottom.

“Get off,” I pant, unable to breathe. Ellie kicks me in the shin, and I growl. “I can’t wait to fucking throw you into the pit!”

“I can’t wait for you to do it,” she responds, struggling to her feet, still bound with magick.

“Rah!” I roar and go for her, but Blackthorn is the first to grab me and hold me back.

“She’s taunting you and you’re falling for it, Matilda,” he chides.

I shove my hair back from my face. “Sorry,” I mutter. “She just really pisses me off. ”

“ You piss me off,” Ellie singsongs. “It’s such a shame I can’t watch you being forced to suck cock anymore.”

“Ah!” I gasp, my cheeks heating up as my trauma is laid bare like that. “You watched?”

“Every time. Your tears gave me joy.”

“You’re a child!” I screech in horror. “My gods! This is sick!”

“I’m no more a child than you are a decent witch. I am aeons old, you stupid cunt!”

“Enough,” Luc says calmly and backhands the little bitch. “So glad you mentioned you aren’t a child, so I don’t feel bad doing this…” He kicks her in the stomach, and when she doubles over, he elbows her on the back of her neck. She falls, hissing and spitting, her eyes flashing red.

Draven takes me in his arms as I wipe tears from my eyes.

“This is horrendous.”

“She deserves it.”

“Not that. This whole situation I was placed in with her and Janice-slash-Anu and my godawful parents. All for power.”

“Power corrupts,” he murmurs, stroking my back.

I look up at him and wonder if he thinks I will be corrupted. Or if I already am.

Luc hauls Ellie to her feet and shoves her towards Blackthorn. “Keep that vermin under control, will you? Or I might kill her before we get to sacrifice her.”

“Indeed,” Blackthorn murmurs and takes hold of Ellie roughly .

The underground chambers stretch before us, vast and dark, the walls shimmering with rainbow light.

“Which way?” I ask, merely as something to say.

“Left,” Blackthorn mutters, and I snort.

“Why am I not surprised?” We share a smile.

“Always left, Matilda. You know this already.”

“Wait,” Draven interrupts, his voice echoing off the stone walls. “Something’s not right here.” He turns to me, eyes narrowing before his gaze darts to Blackthorn. “Why are you calling her Matilda?”

“That is her name, is it not?” Blackthorn replies.

“Why so informal?” Vex asks, barging to the front of the group to get in on the accusations. “You never break that stick up your arse. What’s going on? What are you two involved in?”

“What aren’t you telling us, Matilda?” Draven asks as Luc remains silent, clearly not having picked up on this.

“Nothing,” I lie.

The chamber trembles, dust and small stones raining down from above. The entities may not be able to follow us down here, but their assault on MistHallow continues. We’re running out of time.

“Tell them,” Blackthorn says quietly. “They deserve to know.”

I close my eyes for a moment, feeling the Praxian force churning inside me, growing stronger with every passing second. When I open them again, I find Vex’s gaze locked on mine.

“Blackthorn is here in case I go feral,” I state. “You won’t be able to go through with removing me off the board. He will.”

“Excuse me?” Vex snaps. “You went to him to ask him to kill you if you go evil? That’s my job. Don’t you remember the Well family history?”

“I do, but can you stand there and really say after everything we’ve shared now, you can do that?”

The raw pain that flashes across Vex’s face makes my chest ache. Behind him, Luc and Draven have gone very still.

“You don’t trust me to do what needs to be done?” Vex asks, his voice dangerously quiet.

“I trust you with my life,” I say softly. “But I love you too much to ask you to end it. Any of you.” I look at all three of them. “That’s why Blackthorn is here. He’ll do what needs to be done if I lose control when we break this curse.”

“So you went behind our backs,” Draven says. “Made arrangements for your execution without telling us.”

Another tremor rocks the chamber. More debris rains down.

“I did what was necessary,” I snap, feeling the Praxian force growing impatient inside me. “Look at what’s happening up there. Look at what’s inside me. Someone needs to be ready to put me down if this goes wrong.”

“And you didn’t think we deserved to be part of that decision?” Luc demands.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Ellie interrupts with a cackle. “ You’re all so dramatic. She’s right, for once in her stupid life. None of you would be able to kill her. You’re too weak, too in love. It’s disgusting, really.”

“Shut up,” Vex snarls at her before turning back to me. “We deserved to know.”

“Yes,” I admit. “You did. But we’re out of time for arguments about it now. If I survive this, you can berate me some more then, okay?”

“Tilly,” Vex growls, but the chamber shakes again, more violently this time. Through the rabbit hole, I can hear the entities’ screams growing louder.

“We need to move.” I meet Vex’s eyes, seeing the hurt and anger, but also understanding. He knows I’m right, even if he hates it.

“Let’s go,” Luc says, brushing this off the easiest and starting down the tunnel. “We can fight about your poor life choices after we save the world.”

If I survive this .

The tunnel seems endless, each step taking us deeper into the earth. The rainbow light pulses stronger here, making my head spin as the Praxian force inside me responds to its ancient source.

“How much further?” Draven asks, his voice tight. He hasn’t looked at me since our confrontation, which hurts more than I expected.

“Almost there,” Blackthorn responds, yanking Ellie forward as she tries to drag her feet. “The ritual chamber is just ahead.”

“How do you even know that?” Vex grumbles. “ Every time we’ve been down here, it’s been a maze of shit.”

Blackthorn chuckles but doesn’t reply. I gain even more respect for him. The tunnels know him. I would even go so far as to say they like him.

But he is leading us in the right direction. A wave of power so intense it nearly brings me to my knees, crashes over me. Vex’s hand finds my lower back, steadying me despite his anger. Always protecting me, even when I’ve hurt him.

The tunnel opens into the vast circular chamber, its walls covered in writhing symbols that shift and change as we watch. In the centre is the dreaded altar.

“Quick question,” I mutter. “What exactly do we plan on doing about the Hell’s gateway?”

“We hope Mum has it sorted on her end,” Draven mutters.

“I’m sure Annabelle has it under control,” Blackthorn says. “We need to focus on?—”

He is interrupted by a loud chittering and sharp claws grating against the stone floor.

Chaos leaps at me and wraps himself around my neck. “What are you doing here?”

The air freezes for a moment as a presence materialises. The guys go on the defensive, but Draven and Luc stand down when they see who it is.

“Xavi,” Draven says suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

She smiles. “What do you think? Your mother sent me here to make sure this doesn’t go ass over tit. ”

“Of course she did,” Luc mutters. “She doesn’t trust us.”

“Oh, she trusts you,” Xavi says, her eyes on me. “She doesn’t trust that divine force.”

“With good reason,” Draven says. “The Praxian is wild.”

“Not that divine force,” she says with a smile that borders on sinister. “Besides. Your girl here needed her familiar.” Her eyes narrow. “Don’t you know how this works?”

“Not really,” I mutter, embarrassed. “I’m not your ordinary witch.”

“No, you are a powerful Druid with some extras thrown in. Chaos, here, I believe that’s his name, will help channel your power. You need him. It’s why I sent him.”

“And who are you, exactly?” Blackthorn snaps.

“Ah, Luke Blackthorn. I am Xavier, the Horseman of Pestilence and mother to these two cretins.”

“Mother?”

“Other mother,” Luc says.

Blackthorn blinks, and then his eyebrow goes up. “Oh, I see.”

Despite myself, I snicker.

The chamber trembles again, putting an end to the chit-chat.

“We need to begin,” Blackthorn says, pulling ritual components from his robes. “The entities are weakening the barriers faster than we anticipated.”

“Wait,” Vex says, grabbing my arm. “Just... wait.” He pulls me close, pressing his forehead to mine. “Promise me you’ll fight. Promise me you won’t end up needing him to kill you.”

“I promise,” I whisper, even as I feel the force inside me dragging me toward its ancient home. “I’ll always fight to come back to you.”

Luc and Draven join us, their arms wrapping around me in what feels terrifyingly like a goodbye.

“Now,” Blackthorn calls, picking Ellie up and chucking her unceremoniously onto the altar. I laugh inappropriately but put it down to nerves.

A massive tremor shakes the entire chamber. Above us, the ceiling cracks, rainbow light pouring through, and with it come the voices. Hundreds of them, thousands, all crying out in ancient tongues.

“They’ve found a way in.”

“Time’s up,” I say, pulling away from my boys. “Let’s do this.”

“How?” Luc asks. “What exactly do we do?”

I focus on Ellie. She doesn’t even flinch under the power rolling off me. “We slit her throat and offer up her blood to those fallen.”

“Good riddance,” Luc mutters.

The entities’ screams are getting closer, their presence pressing down on us like a wet blanket.

“Form a circle,” Blackthorn commands, his voice cutting through the havoc. “Around the altar. Now.”

Chaos perches on my shoulder as we take our positions, his small, warm weight oddly comforting against my neck .

The rainbow light grows stronger, making my head spin as the Praxian force inside me responds to its ancient source. It wants out. It wants to be whole again.

“Ready?” Blackthorn asks, a ritual blade gleaming in the shifting light.

I look at my guys one last time. Whatever happens next, I know they’re with me.

“Do it,” I say, stepping forward to face whatever comes next.