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Ben and Adrian Everhart hadn’t been born into this curse, but they were in it whether they liked it or not.
In an attempt to get around it, decades ago, the Everharts had travelled to Japan to adopt some kids. It wasn’t until they returned to Dusk with Ben and Adrian that they realised two Everhart family members had died.
This curse had no loopholes. Adoption wrapped people up in this shit show the same way as being born into it.
My mind teemed with smart remarks I wanted to make to the next Everhart I saw as we wound down country lanes. The eastern half of Dusk housed the tourist towns and larger settlements, whereas in the west, where we lived, it was more rural.
Dad and Isadora remained silent, both staring out of the window. I was content to leave them to their thoughts.
Fireflies drifted between the trees along the road, their glow outmatching the dying sunlight.
Despite the day’s events, the sense of home brought an inner peace I knew was short-lived. It wouldn’t take long to get embroiled in the feud again, and taunts from across a car park were on the milder end of the feud’s spectrum.
As we pulled up to the electric gates, I wound down my window.
“What’s the code now?” I asked.
Keith changed it every week.
“Six, four, seven, two,” Dad said.
I punched it in and the gates opened. Up the winding drive to the top of the hill, Arrowood manor stood as proud as ever. Built by my ancestors in the curse’s wake, it stood at four storeys and was the length of more than three Olympic swimming pools.
Our ancestors had decided that safety from the Everharts meant sticking together, and they created a red brick fortress so large that it would fit every generation to come. On this whole island, Arrowood manor was the one place we were safe from the Everharts.
Revenge wasn’t the only reason they might try to harm us. A tentative rumour had banded about both the Arrowoods and the Everhart families for years that if one family went extinct, the other would be freed from the curse. Of course, the opposite could also be true in that both families would perish if one did. In my opinion, that possibility was the only reason we were all still standing.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I whipped it out as I pulled into a parking space.
“Is it Sandra? Do we need to go back?” Dad asked.
“It’s Kira.” I tapped a quick text back. “She’s just making sure I’m okay.”
I stowed my phone away as we got out of the car. After wondering if I would ever see my friends again, the edges of the icy feeling in my chest warmed at the prospect of having more time with them.
I grabbed my bag and suitcase from the trunk and followed Dad and Isadora into the house.
My heart sank as I stepped into the entrance corridor.
Draped across the wood-panelled walls, a dusty tapestry hung. Depictions of fights, complete with blood, balls of magic, and potion bottles had been weaved into its surface. And of course, the famed bow and dryad’s heart stood together at the top, a black lightning bolt separating the two.
“I thought we agreed to take that down?” I said as I put my suitcase down by the hat rack.
We had put it to a vote when I was fourteen. I remembered because it was the first time I had been allowed a say in family matters. We had all but unanimously decided to store the wretched thing in the attic with other old feud-related memorabilia.
“Well… many of us had a change of heart after we learned Rose was pregnant,” Dad said.
Great. I’d have a daily reminder of our family problems from the moment I came down for breakfast.
“Izzy, do you want some food?” Dad asked as Isadora made her way toward the grand staircase at the end of the corridor.
“I just want to go to bed, Theo.” Her teenage tone told us everything we needed to know.
A series of excitable barks echoed from an adjacent corridor, and a moment later, a fluffy collie skidded around the corner.
“Hey, Sammie.” I dropped to my knees just in time for my first face lick. “Ew.”
I scrunched up my face under his barrage of affection but hugged him all the same. He was a smart boy, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t forget me.
