Chapter 31
My knuckles whacked rapidly on his door, the sound continuing until he flung it open, eyes wide with concern.
“What?” Dae asked, stepping to the side to let me pass as his eyes skimmed over my pale face.
I shook my head, grabbed his arm, and started pulling him toward the forest.
When I’d been with him earlier, I hadn’t even considered ruining the moment by telling him about my father’s research and my plan to break the curse. Honestly, it’d barely even crossed my mind then.
But now, with the horrible images of Cannon still fresh in my mind, I needed to confide him in my plans.
“Prue, what’s going on?” He asked, his brows furrowed as I dragged him along with me. “You don’t look well.”
“Because I’m not. Dae, just—” I tightened my grip on his wrist, practically running for the forest. He caught on, jogging alongside me. I didn’t dare let go of him, mostly out of fear that my legs would give out if I did.
“Dae—” I panted, slowing to a halt when we were far enough into the forest that I didn’t fear we’d be overheard. “She, Verena, had Cannon killed. Otieno, he killed him.”
The words rushed from my lips. He grabbed my arms, steadying my trembling form. My limbs felt out of my control. I used all my energy to get Dae to understand.
Eyes wide in shock, we both stared at each other, letting the words hang in the air. I was ashamed to admit that I didn’t know if he and Cannon had been close. But I knew Dae looked up to Verena.
“How do you know?” He asked with a gentle voice, searching my gaze for a sliver of doubt that I knew he wouldn’t find.
“Because I saw it,” I said, squeezing his forearm. “She wanted me to see it.”
His hair became messier with each ruffle from his hand as he tried to make sense of what I was saying. He blinked at me like it was the first time he was truly seeing me.
“Dae, I found something in my father’s old notebooks. This curse,” I said, holding my hand up between us so that my midnight-blue fingertips were on display. “There’s a way to break it. I believe doing so will make mooncasters stronger. We’d be able to fight back.”
He took my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I read it in Erebos’ book. Elio Boaz gave it to me when he—”
… ordered me to infiltrate the rebellion and betray you.
Dae nodded, sparing me the embarrassment of having to speak those words aloud. He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat bouncing. “Do you still have the book?”
“Yes, and my father’s notebooks too. It’s all we need to break the spell.”
“If Verena finds out, she’ll have us killed,” he said, planting a kiss on my knuckles, staring intently at me through his lashes. His dark eyes flickered between mine as if giving me one last chance to back down and regret it.
When I didn’t speak, he gave me a determined nod. “Let’s do it.”