Page 61 of Knot Cursed

Prue was cursed but her brother was just downright insane.

Prue

I felt it the moment Rook put a glamour on me. A warmth spread over me like someone poured something on my head and it dripped down until it coated my entire body. One glance down at my invisible arm told me I was moving undetected now.

Tripp let out another low chuckle like this was all big fun. He’d fucking lost it. I always knew he had an insane ego and a bit of a sadistic side, but as I looked around at his torture chamber I nearly puked.

Blake was shackled to the wall, the chains short enough she couldn’t sit. Her body was covered in dirt and her clothes caked in grime, but she was alive.

The moment I stepped inside she let out a little sob but he turned to her and held up a hand, stopping it immediately. The way he stared told me he was threatening her silently.

When he turned back to us I snuck Blake’s way, my fingers tapping her nose gently before I whispered in her ear.

“It’s me. Shh.” She jolted but he didn’t notice as his fingers ran over his weapons. Merrick stood by the door, tense, but watching. I could feel the other two just beyond the door.

“He plans to kill you, Prue,” Blake hissed. “He’s mad that you’ve ruined his life with your curse. He lost out on a big pack once they heard about the sentencing.”

My chest tightened at her words. He wanted to kill me for something I couldn’t help. Something that I now couldn’t stop wondering was something he did to me in the first place.

“I’m freeing you, keep your arms up then when you can, fucking run,” I breathed out as quietly as possible.

I released one arm and gently laid the chains behind her. Blake played along, keeping her arm up. He was back to ranting now and I worked on the next. Then I was moving back to Merrick.

“Did you curse me, Tripp?”

He froze as my words landed, his hand curling around a pointed instrument of some kind. When he spun back around his eyes had bled to black and his expression was full of fury.

“Yes, of fucking course, I did! You were this perfect little princess for our parents. The smart one, the one who was incredible at magic. Everything was so fucking easy for you while I was an afterthought!”

His version of our childhood was so twisted that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re kidding, right? I was the one always blamed for your mistakes. Always expected to fix things,” I ground out.

He stepped forward, gesturing with the tool. “Because you were the responsible one! I was always the one they were hard on. And look how this treated me. Cursed you with chaos magic to make your life hell and you instead made mine worse!”

“I’m cursed and was sent here, but your life was worse?!” I demanded, now not caring that I was yelling.

He growled again. “I had a pack. One that would have given me the money and respect I deserved. Until you fucked up your final. Now I can’t get a pack or get a real job that isn’t tainted before they give me a shot.”

“Because of your doing!” I argued again, unable to stop myself. How could he not see that everything he was angry about was his doing.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” he said, personality switching from angry to proud of himself. “I’m going to kill you here. Blame your magic. Then I’ll come out the other side, the distraught brother who is a victim and wishes things could have been different. I was just trying to help and nearly died in the process.”

The fake pout at the end for emphasis had my eyes rolling. I knew damn well this wasn’t going to play out like he planned.

“I have no use for her,” he tagged on, pointing at Blake. “But she was such pretty bait. Led you right to me like I knew it would. Especially since I missed my shot at your wolf. I even made sure that merchant sold you the mirror. Gave you a way to track me.”

He swept his arms out to his side as if showing off all his hard work he’d done to get me here with him.

I felt the air shift around me as the other two joined us. The chain shifted, and Blake was suddenly gone now, too. Another breeze and the quick padding of bare feet echoed out and I knew she had escaped, my chest loosening enough to breathe normally for a moment.

Then chaos hit.

My brother muttered one word and out of nowhere there were thirteen of him filling the room. If he hadn’t cursed me, would my magic have also obeyed that easily? It had been too long since it listened to my intent… which was how we got monstrous chickens.

The illusion fell as Rook was distracted, showing both me and Merrick. My brother was so deluded by his fantasy he didn’t notice the changes in the room or me pulling my magic forward, forming a weapon in my hand. Unfortunately my curse had other plans, but at least it was something I could still use.

“You can’t escape your fate Prue,” the mini army of my brother said in unison. Their words thundered in my ears.