Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 32

Chapter

Thirty-Two

S teeling myself, I edged around the corner, just enough to catch sight of her—a vision of determination, facing down two burly guards who looked about as movable as the fortress walls themselves. The fiery cascade of red hair glimmered in the torchlight.

I collapsed against the cold wall, out of sight, relief washing over me with crushing power.

Legacy was here, a foot or so away. She was alive. And mostly okay, save for the ropes bound around her wrists behind her back.

With shaky hands, I took her bracelet from my wrist and pressed it into her grasp. She froze, a tremble rippling up her blue and gold Montrose armor, but she gripped the bracelet so tightly that her knuckles turned white. I reached out with my dagger next and cut her ropes.

She left her arms behind her back, didn’t turn, didn’t draw attention to her newfound freedom in any way.

“For the last time,” one of the guards said, “you don’t get to dictate what does and does not happen here.”

“I… I…” Legacy stammered. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

That seemed to shock the guards, so I decided to shock them further.

I summoned my magic and unleashed it toward the training yard with another explosion of sound. The guards abandoned their posts with urgency.

“What about the Montrose prisoner?” one shouted.

“She’s tied up,” the other yelled. “She’ll be here when we get back!”

As soon as they were gone, Legacy whirled, tears sparkling in her vibrant blue eyes.

"Collie!" Her shock lasted only a second before she crushed me in a fierce embrace. “You were dead. I saw you die. Everyone confirmed it.”

" You were dead," I choked out through my sobs. “You killed yourself.”

"Never," she breathed. “I would never do that, not if there was even the tiniest chance you were alive.”

I cried harder then, clinging to her with my whole body, heart, and soul.

“Are you sure you aren’t part cat?” Legacy asked, her tears mixing with mine. “Nine lives and all that?”

“I’m beginning to wonder.” I laughed, which only poured my tears down harder.

Varna sniffled. “I hate to break you two lovebirds up, but we’re not exactly finished here.”

Reluctantly, Legacy and I pulled apart. I stared at her, at the familiar curve of her smile, the sparkle in her eyes that had haunted my dreams for countless nights.

She gently cupped my cheek. “Promise me you’ll never die again.”

“No way.” I covered her hand with mine. “Not with you by my side.”

With a nod, we silently reaffirmed our vow—to end this war. Once and for all.

We moved as one towards the advisors' meeting room at the end of the hall. The air crackled with magic from underneath the door.

Legacy brushed her hand against mine in a fleeting touch of reassurance. I couldn't help the warmth that spread through me at the contact.

Outside the door, we stopped. Low murmurs carried from within.

“On three?” Legacy mouthed.

With a mischievous grin, I shook my head and wrenched open the door. I’d waited long enough for this. The three of us strode in with the kind of confidence that can only be born from a complete lack of better options.

Tannin, the other advisors from both the Montrose and Caputo sides, and high-ranked soldiers spun around in their seats around a long stone table, their eyes wide with shock.

"Ah, the smell of treachery," I said and sniffed the air melodramatically. "I knew it came from inside here."

Tannin sneered, trying to reclaim some semblance of control. "I see you’ve brought friends to your own execution, Collie.”

“Lies,” I snapped. “You need me alive, and you know it.”

"Enough!" Tannin lifted his gauntleted hand. "Seize them!"

The soldiers rose from the table and lunged, a force of gleaming steel and snarling faces.

But we were a whirlwind of resistance. Legacy quickly relieved a soldier of his sword and stabbed him with it. Varna outsmarted a coming storm by lobbing chairs at the overeager fools who thought they could take us.

And me? I realized we were absurdly outnumbered but ducked swords as threads of magic tangled around my ungauntleted fingertips.

Meanwhile, Tannin and his advisors rushed to the back of the room toward another door.

"Cowards," I shouted, fighting my way towards them. "You don’t want to scuff your armor?"

"Shut her up." A soldier grunted as he swung wildly, only to meet empty air where I'd been moments before.

"Not possible," I muttered, seeing Legacy's fleeting smile in the fray.

Before Tannin and the others made it to the door at the other end of the room, a wall of shimmering blue light appeared, blocking their exit.

I looked to my right and found Varna aiming a stolen gauntlet at the door from her sideways position on the floor. A bloody gash marked her cheek, but she was the one now holding a dagger in her free hand.

As frail as she looked, she would not go down without a fight, it seemed.

Grinning, I kept pushing my way toward Tannin. Legacy's blue eyes blazed with an inner fire as she headed in that direction, too.

"Getting tired, Tannin?" I called out. "Your soldiers are dropping like flies. Just surrender, and it’ll all be over."

His response was a guttural growl, his desperation etching deeper into his features as his plans unraveled thread by thread. It was almost pitiable. Almost.

"Collie!" Legacy's shout pierced the cacophony, pulling my attention to a soldier who had slipped past my guard.

The world slowed, adrenaline sharpening every detail—the glint of his blade, the sweat on his brow, the inevitability of pain.

I’d been here before. Too often.

But the pain never came. Legacy was there in half a heartbeat, her body a shield, her magic a barrier that deflected the strike. Our eyes locked, and something passed between us—a silent vow that this wouldn't be our end.

"Let's try to keep you whole, okay?" she asked.

"Good plan," I breathed out.

Tannin's soldiers fell away like autumn leaves, their numbers dwindling. But we’d been too slow. Tannin or one of the advisors must’ve blocked Varna’s shimmering wall, and they had already scuttled out.

I wasn’t too worried about them, though. Ehuna had ensured there was only one entrance and exit from this fortress.

Finally, the last of the soldiers lay defeated, the echo of battle still ringing within the stone walls. The metallic taste of magic coated my tongue as I surveyed the aftermath of our battle.

"Collie!" Legacy gasped, her breath coming in ragged pants as she collapsed against the wall, her fiery hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. “You all right?”

“I’m fine.” I rushed toward her and dropped beside her, relief flooding through me as I took in the sight of her—alive and victorious.

Our grins mirrored each other's, a moment of shared triumph.

"Don’t be so worried about me," I said, my voice hoarse with exhaustion and exhilaration, though my heart warmed that she cared so deeply about what might happen to me. “If a whole crumbling fortress can’t kill me, nothing can.”

"Better not tempt fate," she replied, a chuckle escaping her lips as she leaned her head against the stone wall. “I can’t lose you again.”

I wanted to reply with something witty, something that would show how nonchalant I was about the whole nearly-getting-killed thing, but instead, I found myself reaching out, brushing a stray lock of red from her eyes, a simple touch that held all the confessions of my heart.

“I want a kiss,” I said.

Legacy grinned, a rare sight that I could wish upon if I weren't so damn captivated by its fleeting beauty. “That can be arranged.”

I leaned in and touched my lips to hers hesitantly, once, then twice. Her warm, supple lips molded to mine, as real as the electric air sparking with so many promises between us. I pulled back, my chest heaving, my mind spiraling around this single moment forever. Legacy searched my eyes, her enchanting grin locked in place.

"Hey, look at this!" Varna shouted. “Oh no, I didn’t mean to interrupt you two. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, Varna.” I pulled away and stood, offering my hand to help Legacy stand.

She took it, and both our fingers sought out the other’s pulse, as though both of us still needed reassurance that this was real. When we realized what we were doing, we both laughed.

“Well, I found something on the table.” Varna’s dark eyes widened with urgency as she waved a bundle of parchments. "Evidence of dirty deeds these traitors have committed with signatures."

"Good. Let's get out of here before more trouble finds us," I said.

Other than my magic still rattling and banging around the rest of the fortress, the journey back to the front gates went by pretty quietly. We were battered, bruised, and barely standing, but there was no room for weakness—not when the end of the war seemed within reach.

"Almost there," Legacy murmured.

"Can't wait to see the look on Ehuna's face when she sees we survived our little reckless adventure," I said with a wry grin. “And brought Legacy back to life.”

We finally burst through the gates, and there, surrounded by a contingent of loyal Caputo soldiers, stood General Ehuna, the white sigils on her skin glowing in the moonlight. Her dark eyes found mine, and when she saw Legacy, she smiled—a rare sight that made the corners of my mouth twitch in response.

Come to think of it, had she ever smiled before?

"Looks like you've had quite the evening," Ehuna said.

"You could say that." I shrugged nonchalantly despite the exhaustion that dragged at my bones.

"Where's Tannin?" Legacy asked, her voice tight.

"Captured," Ehuna said with a note of satisfaction in her tone. "He was trying to flee like the coward he is."

She gestured to her right. There stood Tannin and the other advisors with multiple soldiers’ swords aimed at their throats and their gauntlets gone.

"Is it over?" Varna breathed out.

"Or is it just the beginning?" Smiling, Legacy dropped her head to my shoulder.

I chuckled and took her hand. "Take your pick."