Chapter 38
38
ROMAN
“ A little warning before you fuck with reality next time, Ambrose.” Stellan burps and swallows thickly. He looks a little green.
The rest of the group is slowly shaking away the vision. Everyone but Bram and Stellan have tear tracks on their faces. Ambrose’s illusions are too fucking strong. I felt the love Tristan and Briar shared. I felt the pain of their loss. It was shattering. I wrap an arm around Josephine’s shoulders and drag her into my side. She buries her face in my chest, and I breathe her in.
Fuck, I’m lucky to have her. My thoughts stop me up short. I’ve never considered myself lucky. I have a curse that keeps me from feeling the most basic of human needs. And yet, I do feel fortunate. So incredibly lucky. What if I didn’t have my curse and I never saw Josephine for who she really is? I could have missed knowing her, being with her, if not for my damn curse. Maybe this all started because Josephine was the one chink in the armor of that curse, but so much has changed since then.
“That was fucking depressing.” Bram’s nostrils flare as he glares down at the book in front of him.
“It’s not the end, though.” Piper points to her grimoire. It’s open to a page near the end of the book.
“What other delights are waiting for us?” Ambrose sinks down into a chair, looking tired after using so much power on a mass illusion.
“It’s a cure.” Piper looks around the room before she drops her eyes back to the book.
“What?”
“A cure?”
“Kind of. I mean, there are ways.” She hunches over, her arms wrapping around her stomach.
“By giving birth to the next generation, who will take over the curse someday?” Odie signs. I share her words with the rest of the room.
“No. It’s not that.” Piper shakes her head.
“Well, that’s actually in the book Josephine got from Morty,” Ava interjects, holding up the diary. “The asshole who wrote this was one of the council members who was there that night. Apparently, they figured out a few things after her death when the curses kicked in. In here it says that a person can essentially shirk off their curse by passing it along to their children. Just go breed yourself a kid and voila, curse be gone.” Ava makes a poof noise, and her fingers flick out in a mimic of an explosion.
“We already knew that,” Bram says. Isn’t this why my parents have been pushing me to get married, so that I can offload my curse someday? That’s some real fantastic parenting.
“There’s more in here, though.” Piper points to Briar’s grimoire in front of her. “It says that true love can break the curse.”
“True love? Like Prince Charming kissing a sleeping princess without her consent? Or perhaps that same Prince Charming falling in love with a woman and then completely forgetting what she looks like so he has to use a shoe to find her?” Bram raises an eyebrow.
“Are you always so cheerful and optimistic?” Ava stares at Bram.
He holds her gaze for so long that the rest of us shift in our seats.
“Yes,” he finally says, but that doesn’t stop the stare-down.
“Should we leave? This is my house, but it’s not the first time I’ve been kicked out.” Ambrose rests his chin on his fist, peering at my brother and Ava with interest sparking in his eyes.
Ava turns away from Bram, blinking owlishly as she looks around the room. “Sorry, Piper, what were you saying?”
Piper goes on as if she hasn’t noticed any of this. “It talks of a fated bond. That by sacrificing your heart, your true intentions will break the chains of the curse.”
“Are you suggesting human sacrifices?” Bram asks. Ava groans, shoving her hand in Bram’s face and pushing him back.
“Stop being such a downer. We get it. You don’t believe in love. You’re dark and handsome and broody. Congrats.”
Bram opens his mouth, gearing up to say something inflammatory.
“Alright, let’s focus on the important stuff. What do we do with all this information?” I say before Bram distracts us again. We might have answers to questions that we’ve tripped over our entire lives, but what can we do?
No one says a word. Josephine’s little sister is still sleeping in front of the fire. Ambrose didn’t share the illusion with her. She must have been exhausted not to wake up from all the chatter. We haven’t exactly been quiet.
“I propose we all get some sleep. It’s the middle of the night. I, for one, am exhausted, and my buzz is starting to turn into a hangover.” Ambrose yawns, his jaw cracking. “There are a dozen guest rooms here. You’re all welcome to stay.”
The howl of the wind punctuates his invitation. I don’t think any of us want to go back out into that. Josephine’s gaze lands on her sister’s sleeping form near the fire.
“I’ll go grab some pillows and blankets. We can stay down here with Penelope.” I press a kiss to the top of Josephine’s head as I stand. Josephine tugs me down before I step away, her hand pulling at the nape of my neck until I meet her lips in a fierce, possessive kiss.
“Thank you,” she murmurs against my mouth when we finally break apart. I’m not sure what she’s thanking me for. All I know is that I’m pretty sure she’s the one who deserves my appreciation.
After I grab some blankets, Josephine and I lie on the couch. She’s tucked into my side, her head on my shoulder, and her hand is pressed to my chest. We should get some sleep, but I’m not sure either of us can relax enough for that to happen.
“What do you think it means to be bonded?” Josephine whispers. She lifts her head to look at Penelope, but the girl is still out to the world.
“I’ve only heard of a fated bond when people are claiming it doesn’t exist. Then again, everything I know is suddenly under question,” I murmur back, my fingers trailing up and down Jo’s back.
“Why do you think we can touch each other?”
“You’re asking all the hard questions tonight.” I chuckle, but I sort through my thoughts before I answer. “I never thought I believed in true love, that there was this one perfect person for me.”
“I feel like there’s a but coming.” Josephine’s eyes sparkle as I slide my hand down to her ass and squeeze.
“There could be.”
“Don’t get distracted.” She squirms in my arms, which doesn’t do a thing to help me stay focused.
I brush a strand of hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“My curse is one of the flesh. Over the years, I’ve slowly lost the ability to feel my own hand against my arm. Nothing brought me pleasure. And I don’t mean that in a physical way. I started distancing myself from my brother and my friends. I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten until I met you. When I saw you sneaking across the hotel lobby, something within me cracked open. I desperately needed to know why you were in my space.”
“Yeah, because you're bossy.” I can just see the corners of Josephine’s mouth tip up from the position we’re in.
“I am, but there was more to it than that. I was drawn to you. Then we touched and everything in my life changed. For the first time in a long time, I had hope. That tomorrow might be better than today. That I could find happiness when all I had for so long was isolation.”
Josephine lifts her head, her eyes vulnerable. She hesitates, biting on her bottom lip before she pulls in a deep breath. “This thing between us, if tomorrow we woke up and you couldn’t feel me and your touch hurt, would that be it?”
I cradle her face, letting my thumb drift over her cheek. My heart swells and aches in my chest. “I don’t know what twist of fate brought us together, but I’m so fucking grateful I get to see the real you. That you’ve opened yourself up to me and I get to be part of your life. It didn’t take long before the physical part, the need to feel your skin against mine, wasn’t the most important thing. When I’m not with you, I want to be next to you. To hear your laughter and see the passion you have for your friends and your sister. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. I’m lost for you, even if I never get to touch you again.”
Josephine presses a kiss to my mouth, her lips wet with a tear.
The thundering sound of footsteps running down the stairs has us breaking apart. Bram bursts into the living room. His already disheveled hair is further messed up as he yanks on his sweatshirt.
“My house is on fire,” Bram barks out, darkness swimming in his eyes.
Josephine and I jump up off the couch. Penelope sits up from her spot near the now-dead fire, bleary-eyed and confused.
The commotion draws the others from their rooms. By the time they reach the living room, Bram is nearly out the door.
“You can’t go alone,” I shout after him, grabbing my shoes and hopping to pull them on while standing.
“Then hurry the fuck up.” The door is open, and cold air is pouring in.
Bram snatches Ambrose’s keys from last night off a table by the door. “I’m taking your car.”
“Whatever you need.” Ambrose only has a pair of sleep pants on. He grabs a fuzzy throw blanket off a chair in the entryway and tosses it over his shoulders. “Call when you figure out what’s going on.”
I nod, swinging on my coat as I chase after my brother.