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My eyes flick open after having one of the best night's sleep of my life, understandable considering how exhausted I was after Diamond wound up the curse and made me feel like I'd been hit with a shovel on repeat. Then how Kassian and I had unexpected yet dirty sex on the guest bed.
But what shocked me the most was I was still sharing the bed with him, our legs were somehow entwined at the bottom of the sheets. His arm lightly draped over my midriff as I lay against the pillow.
My eyes almost bulge out of my head at the sight of our bodies but I force myself not to say anything, desperately trying not to wake him. Especially after last night, whatever the fuck that was.
Sliding my body out from underneath his arm, not knowing that the time was but I knew I needed to eat. My stomach growled and I press down on it tightly to try and stop the sound from echoing through the room. As I press my feet to the cold floor I reach down to throw on a jumper and some leggings.
The room felt suffocating, sleeping in our sex smelling air and that made me feel somewhat nauseous.
Even though I felt relieved from my heat, I still felt agitated. Like I could snap any moment and it wouldn't end well. Diamond's actions on me relit my curse in ways that I thought I would forget, but now thinking about the burning pain in the pit of my heart. I'm shocked that I even thought that I could.
My body shook with lack of food and dehydration, praying that I'd feel better once I had some kind of energy inside of me.
I find my way to the kitchen and push through the double layered doors, my eyes finding Nella and Diamond both sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee between their hands.
Nella's dark eyes land on mine and she instantly stands from the chair. "Cleo," she comments as she takes a step closer.
Holding my hand up to her as I shake my head. "Don't touch me," I say suddenly before turning to Diamond who was staring back at me with concern. "Please don't touch me."
Nella nods but continues to stand. "Okay, we won't touch you. How are you?"
"I've been better, I've been worse," I clarify, attempting to calm the curse before I created a storm for absolutely no reason.
"I am sorry Cleo," Diamond says strongly. "I am sorry that I put you through that, I know how strong you are and I didn't know it would affect you this bad and I'm sorry."
My shoulders shrug. "Well we found out where she is now so it doesn't matter," I say quietly.
"It does matter Cleo," Nella butts in. "You matter, so if you're not feeling okay then that's absolutely fine. You don't need to put yourself down for it, you did something amazing to help us all and I know you're really trying."
"I'm just hungry," I say lowly. "I need to eat."
Diamond sweeps herself up from the chair and waltzes across the kitchen to the pantry. "Well lucky for you we have fresh pastries and bread, jams and everything else. We like to eat efficiently here."
She soon returns with a basket full of delicious buttery croissants and a fresh loaf of tiger bread, every type of jam under the sun with a pot of butter. "Here you are my dear," she nods as she places it down onto the table.
I nod back at her and sit at the other end of the table, needing my space to help the situation. Diamond and Nella carry on their conversation as I dig into breakfast, not really listening to what they were saying. All I cared about was the energy I wanted to feel in my veins.
Anything to recover from this hell hole.
When Nella notices that I'm done, she shifts in her chair and turns to me. "Cleo, I told Diamond that thing I read in that book about the cursed dying if they kill the cursor." She says.
My eyes float to Diamond who nods. "It's not always an outcome, sometimes the magic isn't strong enough for that to happen. But as you two are bound by the heart, I believe what happens to her will also happen to you."
"So if she were to die right now, I'd drop down dead too?" I raise an eyebrow at her.
Diamond shifts her shoulders. "I'm not one hundred percent sure but it is likely Cleo, I don't want to sugar coat anything with you."
The kitchen turns silent for a few moments, my eyes flicking between the both of them. "So is this just a suicide mission then?" I say as I lean back into the chair and fold my arms across my chest.
Diamond shakes her head instantly. "Not necessarily."
"Why?" Nella asks sounding confused.
"There is this spell, it's an ancient spell used to protect lots of witches back in the eighteen hundreds. When all the witches would turn on each other and curse one another," Diamond says as she presses her palms flat to the table. "It really was not a time to be alive and be a witch."
Nella and I take one glance at each other before fixating on Diamond again, waiting for her to continue.
"What you need is a Guidant's Locket, the spell will be created by taking a part of Cleo's soul and placing it inside the locket. It is sacred by witches and the superior, not that many people actually know about it." Diamond clarifies before taking a sip of her coffee.
"So how does it work?" Nella asks curiously.
"Once Cleo's soul is inside the locket, she will have to wear it continuously. If she takes it off and Pandora dies, she won't be able to be reincarnated." Her voice lowers for a moment.
Nella's eyes almost bulge out of her head.
"So when it comes to when you plan on attacking, Cleo you must be wearing the locket. It will protect you."
"But will I die?"
Diamond nods. "For a few days, the magic is so strong and powerful that it needs a few days to charge and to work."
"What?" Nella's concerned eyes flick between us both.
"I know this is scary for you Nella but this might be the only way for Cleo to find true peace," Diamond leans over the table to her.
"But what if she doesn't come back?"
"Nella," I say to catch her attention. "I brought you all into this, it will be my decision. I want to do this, so I'll do whatever I can to break this curse and let everyone live their normal lives again."
She chews down on her bottom lip and begins to pick at the skin around her fingers as she listens to me talk. "Knowing that I could have stopped this when something goes wrong is going to kill me Cleo." She says seriously.
"I'd rather die than live the rest of my life like this Nella," I state harshly. "I am in unbelievable amounts of pain, pain that you couldn't even try to understand. So please, do this for me. I need you to help me."
Nella huffs out a breath and looks up at the ceiling, her eyes clouding over with confusion and fear. No one says anything for a good minute as I watch all of her thoughts tick over in her mind.
"Fine," she says eventually. "But I'm only doing this because if it works then that means you'll be happy, Hope and Alfie will be happy. Hell, everyone she's ever wronged will be happy."
"And that outweighs what could happen to me completely Nella, I want you to understand that." I say slowly.
Her eyes flick between mine. "I don't think so because no ones life is more important than someone else's, there is no price on a life."
"No, but if I can save Hope, if I can allow people to be happy again then that is all I care about." My throat burns from just talking about this.
Nella nods and turns to Diamond. "Where do we get a Guidant's Locket from and who can do the spell?"
Diamond smiles back at her, the tiny wrinkles next to her eyes creasing ever so slightly. "You my dear will be powerful enough to do it if you practice," she nods firmly.
Nella's eyes narrow towards her, unsure of what she just said. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," she says before pushing herself up from her chair. "Give me one moment."
We watch as she leaves the kitchen, Nella and I sitting in silence.
"Let's keep this between ourselves," I tell Nella.
She stares back at me like I was crazy. "No, we have to tell them."
"I know for a fact that it isn't going to sit well with them. Especially Hope and we need to do this as quickly as possible. We don't have time to discuss a different approach or a new tactic. We need to do this now." I say, my voice lowering to a hush in case anyone else could hear us.
She digs her fingers into her eyes and groans. "Oh my God Cleo, what have you got me into?"
"Promise me," I tell her. Her eyes fall sad for a second. "Promise me that you won't say anything."
She grunts and lowers her head to the table. "I promise."
Before I can respond Diamond waltzes back into the kitchen with a book in hand, she places it down onto the table and pushes it over to Nella.
"Everything you need is in this book." She tells her as Nella stares up at her, her lips parted and eyebrows furrowed.
"Diamond are you sure I can do this? I don't want to mess anything up. I don't want it to be on me." She shakes her head vigorously.
"Nella," Diamond says to stop her from talking. "What did I tell you about your magic that is dependent on you? If you believe it, if you feel it, then it's real. The only validation you need is from yourself. No one else. You can do this. I promise you, you can do this."
"Where do we get the locket from?" I question, watching as Nella flicks open the first page of the book out of the corner of my eye.
"I know a witch who might be able to sort you out," she nods. "They live just South of here, it might be easier for you to get to."
"Thanks Diamond," I say, the words pinching my tongue like I had licked a thousand shards of glass.
"I can write down everything I know, the exact location of Pandora, where to get the locket from, some tricks for the spell." She smiles warmly towards us. "I don't doubt you girls can pull this off, you just need some faith."
Nella lets out a strained sigh. "God, I can't believe we are doing this."
"It's for good reasons Nella," I tell her straight. "Don't forget that."
She nods back at me as she runs a hand through her hair, trying to convince herself that this would all be okay in the end.
Footsteps pound against the floor as the kitchen door swings open, Mace and then Kassian slipping through into the room. Just looking at Kassian made my heart ache, my fingers turning numb and my lungs to full capacity.
"Good morning lover," Mace grins as he walks towards Nella. "And everyone else."
Kassian lets the door close behind him as he strolls over to the kitchen table, our eyes catching a quick glance for just a second. Even I didn't know what to do with myself, I hated how this was making me feel.
Like my body was trying to fight itself on its true emotions, giving me one big head fuck.
"What's this?" Kassian questions as he looks down to the book in front of Nella.
Her mouth hangs open like she didn't know what to say, I could tell she was a shitty liar. All she wanted to do was tell the truth so that she could never get caught out but I give her the eyes over the table.
Eventually she swallows and smiles. "Diamond gave me this book on spells, it's to help my magic." She tells him somewhat confidently.
Kassian hums and moves around the table.
"There is breakfast in the basket if you boys are hungry," she declares to them, Mace places a kiss on Nella's head before looping the table and following Kassian's lead to the food.
"We're gonna head off in half hour," Mace tells everyone and we all nod.
"Okay," Nella smiles towards him. "Thank you so much for having us Diamond, is Ludo around?"
Diamond nods. "Yes, he's just out on a run. He'll be back shortly to say goodbye."
Nella's eyes float to mine and we stare at each other for a few moments, listening as Kassian and Mace make their food beside me. Praying in my head that she keeps her promise and doesn't tell anyone of her plan, otherwise I might just end up dead instead.
. . .
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Hey my loves! What did you think of this chapter???
Shit just got real... when they attack Pandora it's really going to be a fucking movie. I can't wait for you all to read!
Do you think keeping this infromation on the locket a secret will be a good idea?
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Eeeee so excited for this story!
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