Bloody Curse | Book Two of Blood Trilogy

Chapter 31

Caleb 

"You should worry about tending to Jillian's injuries than to your own sorry broken heart."

The witch's voice funneled straight to me. I snapped my head away from the Shadow that was fighting underneath my grasp. I sliced it to pieces with a couple flicks of my wrist. I holstered my sword then marched toward Violet with my eyes burying deep within Anabelle's soul. If she even had one. 

"Where is Jill?" I spat in her face. Violet only glared at me with a face that was as demanding as mine, but she let me have all of it. I then gripped onto her neck as Violet released her and slammed Anabelle against the wall that it trembled under my strength. I surged with a fury that could sound through the night with thunder. 

"Where is she?" I shouted in her face. She remained still and I contemplated on whether I should rip her head off right now, but I needed an answer, whether it be one word or a witty statement, I needed anything. 

"I swear to God I will kill you right now. Tell me!" My nails dug into the queen's skin until another wave of a strong stench hit my nose. I growled and bared my fangs down. "I will rip your face off first, then feed it to you while you suffer inside this body. I will make sure you suffer until beg for your death." I hissed. 

"Perhaps you should her past, just like I had with Asher and his wife. Perhaps you should encounter memories of Jillian's childhood until you find her. It is quite simple." She exclaimed with a devious glare in her eyes. 

Violet reached out to grab onto my arm, but I stepped away. 

"Go tend to Zayden. We're getting out of here." One arm stayed on her neck while the other unholstered my sword and pointed the tip straight at the pulse from the carotid artery. Vile blood deserved to spill. I pressed deeper and deeper until she jolted in my hold. She twitched and turned. I was confused but proceeded to push farther until the first layer of tissue had been sliced through. 

"Go to hell." I exclaimed through gritted teeth. Her scream was enough to stop the Shadows from what they were doing and follow their leader's footsteps as the body thudded to the ground and the Shadows all charged through the wall. 

I did a head count of the guards and nobody was down, but nobody had also been possessed. It had been Anabelle all along. She was the one who controlled everything and she had even broke Jillian and I apart, leaving her in danger, and leaving me to think that all was my fault. 

I stood and stared at the hole that I had dug through her throat. I closed my eyes and silently apologized to the former queen for the destruction of her dead body. 

Asher ran past me and towards Violet, who happened to already be kneeling by their son. His heartbeat was evident and I could hear it thudding loudly, but his eyes were closed. I could not tell whether the curse had lifted from him or not, but all clicks and smells had disappeared. I nodded for the guards to slowly backtrack towards the trapdoor where we all had dropped from. 

The king hoisted his son up in his arms with Violet leading the way. I walked behind the family of three and stared at the back to Zayden's drooped head. His head hung loosely against his father's arm. He was definitely unconscious but it all seemed surreal. This mission seemed almost too easy yet consequences accompanied it. 

The parked cars were exactly the way we had left them, and I gestured for everyone to return home and unwind. All men were ordered to watch the premises in case the Shadows were to revolt any time soon, but I drove away a different way. 

I aimed to find Jill right away and I knew exactly where she was. I'm coming, baby. I'm coming. 

The car screeched to a halt and I hadn't even bothered to kill the engine when one foot was already out the door. I stood to my full height and examined the property. Nothing seemed peculiar but everything inside me screamed danger. 

What if I was too late? What about my wife and daughter? Had they survived? Maybe they were lucky enough to run away and get out of here. But the car she drove in was still parked in front of the house. None of the blinds were open and I walked up a couple of stairs before the wind picked up and wafted blood under my nose. 

I growled because that was my wife's sweet blood. Her sweet sweet nectar was teasing me and she was bleeding. She was somewhere on this property, but the wind continued to pick up her strong captivating scent. I breathed in a deep breath and walked down the steps. 

She was somewhere out here. Conveniently, the hinges on a fence gate squeaked due to the wind and the only way for them to squeak was because it was open. 

I charged across the driveway in five long strides and slammed the gate to the side so hard that they could've fallen off the hinges and fallen onto Jill's figure. I hurried to her side and absorbed what had happened to her. 

Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly purple, but her faint heart beat was like music to my ears. I then got her body away from the wall and carefully laid her head atop my lap. My hands shook and my heart trembled because I have never hurt this much. Seeing my wife unconscious and in pain just numbed my entire body and I spaced out, but I began breathing again as soon as I laid eyes on my daughter. 

Hazel. Somewhere in my mind, it whispered the name, Hazel and I fell absolutely in love with it. 

"I'm here, sweetheart. I'm here to take you home. You're going to be okay. Please, you'll be okay." I murmured repeatedly more to myself than to her but I received the faintest of singled from her. My heart leapt and I scooped her up in my arms with my daughter rested on her abdomen. 

"You're going to be okay. We'll be okay. We're going to be a beautiful family. I can't wait until I meet our baby Hazelnut." I placed a kiss on her forehead and hugged her body close to mine while I walked us back to the car in a few strides. 

Deep inside, I was slowly breaking apart, but I stayed strong and willed my strength and energy to my wife and daughter so they healed and stayed with me.