Scarred

Chapter 42

Eva's POV
"So we're gonna go check out Sebastian's room now, right?" Cas asks as we walk to Lucky's room.
"Yep, just have to get Lucky and then we'll head off. We gotta be sneaky, but I doubt too much will be happening in the palace so late into the evening," I reply, my pace quickening as I walk.
"Can you stop being so nervous for just one second?" He laughs. "I thought that was my job."
"Can you blame me though?"
"Well... not exactly."

Once we grab Lucky, exit the building and begin to walk through the palace gardens to the actual palace itself. Cas turns into his dragon form and settles in my arms to help protect himself from the cold breeze. It's such a large yet empty space. Something about it seems wrong, and somehow this is the thing that sends shivers down my spine, instead of the bite of winter.

Sneaking through the palace is easier said than done. For the most part the corridors seem pretty empty, but even so, it feels like eyes are on us at all times. And whilst I know dad wouldn't do anything about it, it wouldn't be good if people had suspicions about us.

"It should be right around... here..." I breathe when Sebastian's room comes into view.
"How do we even know if there's more research in there? Only one of the journals was pink," Cas mutters, somewhat twitchy.
"That doesn't mean the others aren't important in some way. And plus, we may have missed one, I was in such a state that I just rushed in and out without a second thought," I reply as we get closer to the door. I hesitate when it comes to opening it, and in the end, Lucky opens it for me.

The room is exactly how it was when Cas and I last entered it, in fact, apart from the shelf of notebooks, the room is relatively bare. The first thing to catch my eye is an open journal on his desk, one that has a pink cover, much like the one I took from here several weeks ago. I skim through the pages, briefly reading over certain pages in order to check if this one is about half bloods too. And it is. I flip back to the most recent page, the final one written before he died, and am shocked to see how messy it is. I pick it up and read through the writing, having to take a moment to read through certain words that seem more illegible than my own handwriting.

I'm an idiot for thinking fire was her specialty. Why would it be? Because she's warm? Well god clearly I was an idiot. I should've figured it out by that point but no, Eva's specialty is so much more terrifying than flames. Her father's the prince, but more importantly her grandmother is the queen. The queen who is renowned for cursing anyone who disobeys her. The royal family has always been good with curses, so the same must be true for Eva.

It all adds up too. I overheard her tell that dragon that she can see her soul, something I've tried and failed to do. She cursed herself in the past when she was only a child, not even seven years old. It's crazy enough to think someone has managed to curse themself, but a child? This really can only mean one thing.

Eva Kim's specialty is curses. Whether she likes it or not.

And I know she won't.

Staring with wide eyes, I drop both of the journals on the floor, stammering backwards as both Lucky and Cas glance my way. Curses... of course. Of course it had to be curses! The things that have plagued my life for years, the things that have led to the deaths of those who have experienced them. The reason why Ryder Quinn and Tyran Crimson are now both dead!

Of all things, why did it have to be this? He mentioned something about my family, is that it? Is that why I'm supposedly talented in something so cruel?

Without thinking to explain the situation to the other two, I pick up the two journals, skimming through to try and find out more. I stop on a page, right before the one about me, that's titled: The System