Cursed to the Bone

28. Run away, little girl!

Lauvet cackled. "Run away, little girl."

Thank goodness I wore sneakers. I spun around and barreled to the door, ripping it open and darting through. As I got to the staircase at the end of the hall, I heard the door creak open. I didn't dare to look back. I raced up the steps, telling myself not to trip, and leaped through the opening of the stairwell.

My steps echoed as I sprinted down the hallway, puffing air, and ignored the stitch in my side. I had a good distance to travel, so there was no time for rest, especially not as I heard the reverberating whines of the Shades in the stairwell I just exited.

"Oh, Goddess, save me," I panted out, quickening my pace. A terrible thought crossed my mind, then. What if he wasn't there? The very idea made my throat feel tight and my eyes water. I blinked the tears away and screamed up the hall as I heard them growing closer. I threw myself around the corner and squinted at the flickering candlelight in his classroom. He was there!

"Professor!" I shrieked.

I was so close, mere feet away, when he appeared in the doorway. His eyes went wide and he threw his hand forward. Magic blew past me, tingling across my skin. A Shade yelped behind me as I crashed into his arms. Thankfully, nothing broke. He all but threw me into the room and shut the door, locking it seconds before something crashed against it. A Shade, probably. Then another crash. It happened repeatedly. That door wouldn't hold for long.

"Those Shades—" Lucien took my shoulder. "Tell me what happened. Quickly."

Licking my lips, I managed to speak between ragged breaths, "Lauvet. Sent them after me. Said to get you."

"They are my family's shades." Lucien inhaled a long breath and turned from me. With a violent swing of his arm, the desks all slammed across the room, some of them breaking windows. "Damn it all!"

"Professor?" I asked, voice quaking. I wasn't sure what he was mad about, but it couldn't be good.

Glancing in my direction, he stalked to a cabinet and took a jar and a dagger out. The liquid inside the glass was dark and thick. Blood, I was sure. Gross. I was too freaked out to say anything as he popped the jar open and drew a large circle on the ground. On his knees and within the circle, he drew two sets of sigils.

"Sit there." Lucien pointed to one side.

I stepped into the ring, careful not to mess anything up, and sat cross-legged between the sigils. Lucien sat across from me. He dipped his fingers in the jar and took my hand, drawing a mark upon it. "I will explain in a moment. Do not move."

The door slammed behind us, and this time the wood seemed to splinter. I glanced over my shoulder, relieved to see it hadn't broken the thing down just yet. "Whatever you're doing, you might want to do it a little faster."

Lucien drew the same mark on his hand, but in reverse, and then held his hand out over the center of the circle. With his other hand, he clipped my shackles off and tossed them aside. My fingers tingled as he positioned my marked hand atop his. Our eyes met. "We are getting married."

My blood ran cold. I tried to pull my hand away but his grip tightened. "What? I can't—"

"Vera."

"No! We can't. There's got to be another way."

He shook his head. "Not in this case."

My chest tightened. Marriage? That was a big leap from out of nowhere. Even worse, to my professor? And what about Rhett? No way. No. No. No. I shook my head. "But why? This makes no sense. I refuse!"

"Enough!" Lucien yelled, his shoulders falling. "Please understand, I do not do this for pleasure. If it is your will to live through the night, you will do as I say."

Even though he was getting screwed over, too, I was angry. I didn't want to be married. Not to anyone. I had too many goals to be bound to someone else. For reasons unknown, I dropped my voice to a harsh whisper, "This is what she wants?"

"Undoubtedly." Lucien closed his eyes and inhaled. "I apologize, but this is the only way to call off the Shades. We will deal with everything else when the time comes. Do not lose your faith in me now. She will not kill you."

"Please don't make me—"

"I apologize, but there simply is no time for this."

I glanced at the door. One of the Shades was half-way through and clawing at the ground to drag itself inside. When I looked forward, Lucien's eyes were open and the dagger was poised over my hand and pointed down. I had a terrible feeling about his intentions with that dagger. "Fine. Fine! Hurry!"

"There is no need for an exchange of vows. Simply state that you understand."

"I . . . I understand."

Lucien dragged a long breath through his nose. "I understand." And then he stabbed through my hand, all the way through and into his.

Naturally, I screamed. The surreal sight of the dagger sticking out of our hands was hard to bear, and the sharp pain was excruciating. Every flex or twitch of my hand, fingers, and arm made it so much worse.

The Shades circled us, screeching as Lucien ripped the dagger free. A whimper escaped me as I cradled my hand in my lap, uncaring for the blood that dripped all over me. The skin sealed on its own and the mark was complete. It was so faint it could be nothing at all. But it wasn't nothing. It was a brand with a memory that would last forever.

Lucien collapsed, the dagger clattering on the tile from his weakened state. He squeezed his eyes shut and his brows furrowed as he breathed laboriously.

"Professor?" I whispered, furrowing my brows. "What—"

"My congratulations to the happy couple!"

My breath hitched as I faced the door and snatched the fallen dagger. It was Lauvet, and considering that Lucien was out for the count, escaping her clutches would require one hell of a trick.

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