Page 49 of A Castle of Broken Memories

She shot me a sideways look before carefully plucking the egg up with a square of purple cloth pulled from her bag. “Maybe. Like I said, I can’t be sure. If I’m wrong, and I try the same spell over again…” She grimaced as she squeezed the open pieces back together so that they clicked into place, then wrapped the rest of the cloth around it and tucked it inside the satchel. “In order to guarantee the spell doesn’t backfire again, I’ll need to know for sure that this was the original vessel.”

“Okay.” I glanced around the messy room in a bewildered daze. “Any ideas on how we go about confirming something like that?”

She bit her lip. “To be honest, I’m not sure that we can. But we can at least try. One thing we can probably assume is that the owner of this room was the one to release the curse.”

“Given the drawings on the wall and the fact that this is a main room in the castle and not part of one of the outer villages, I’d say it most likely belonged to the young prince,” I reasoned.

Mariana nodded slowly. “That egg was designed to open on contact. Someone could have planted it for the prince to release. But who? And why?"

“Only one way to answer that.” I slid off the bed and grabbed my shirt. “Let’s turn this place out.”

We hastily threw our clothes back on before stripping the bed of its blankets and checking for more hidden “treasures”. When nothing came up, Mariana moved to the opposite side of the room, and we systematically picked our way through the mass of trinkets and toys. I was starting to think we were wasting our time when my gaze snagged on some writing scribbled on a wad of brown paper. I smoothed it out and read, “To His Royal Highness in celebration of his tenth birthday. May you receive everything you deserve and then some.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s ominous.”

“Sounds like someone could have had a grudge,” Mariana agreed, working her way through the mess. She took the paper from my hands and examined both sides before folding it up into a square. It joined the egg in her satchel. “Too bad it doesn’t say who it’s from.”

“It doesn’t,” I murmured, my gaze shifting to the wall of tacked-up drawings. “But I think I know who we can ask.”

Mariana followed my gaze. A slow smile curved her lips, and we exchanged a look as our voices blended together.

“Harp.”

30

Iwas on the verge of falling for Jack all over again, and I had half a mind to let myself. Well, why not? It’s not as if he actually left you. Not intentionally, anyway. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye and blushed when he winked back at me. Clearly, he wasn’t too pissed about my stunt with Tenebris, and as for my less-than-savory past…

Well, people were allowed to change, right?

Maybe I could have this. Have him—my happily ever after.

One thing at a time, Mari. I thought of the golden egg tucked inside my satchel, the questions I needed answered if I wanted to cleanse this castle. We were so close to a solution, and yet… what if we were wrong? What if I ended up bringing the entire place down on us? Tenebris and Calum wouldn’t even know to see it coming. I won’t do anything until I’m certain. No more mistakes. Swallowing my worries, I flashed Jack a grin. “Ready for one last, crazy run through the foyer from Hell?”

“When you put it like that…” He waggled his eyebrows. “Hell yes.”

I rolled my eyes, turning my back to him as I squared off in front of the door.

He stepped into place beside me, looking far too pleased with himself. The worst part? I was actually enjoying it. Damn, I really was gone for this man.

I lifted my fist. “Tearing it up…”

He bumped his knuckles against mine. “…and burning it down.”

“Game fucking on,” I crowed, whipping out my daggers. Jack mirrored my action, fangs extending in a low growl, and together we threw the door open.

The giant lifted its head from where it sat hunched in the middle of the floor, but it didn’t matter—we were fucking fire. Legs and arms pumped in tandem, smooth and fluid while we raced down the stairs. Crumbling holes marred our path—evidence of Gregar’s brute strength—but we didn’t hesitate, leaping over the gaps as gracefully as the most nimble-footed deer. As if we weren’t in danger of being crushed or eaten at any moment.

Like we were the only people in the room.

The only people in the world.

My heart swelled with joy, and I beamed at Jack while we skidded to a stop in front of the ballroom door. His answering grin disappeared as fast as it came, and he jerked the door open when a shadow fell over our heads. We lunged for the ballroom’s promised safety, but a sharp slice of pain raked down my back before I could reach it. My eyes widened as one of Gregar’s clawed fingers dragged me backward, and I grabbed onto Jack’s extended arms while he strained in the opposite direction.

There was a loud riiiip, followed by a snap as I fell forward, smashing into Jack’s chest and sending us both tumbling into the room.

I barked out a stunned laugh. “That was close.”

Jack looked me up and down, his expression stricken. His gaze froze at my waist, and he swallowed. “Mari, your bag.”