Chapter 185 Calling Home

Chapter 185 Calling Home


Arabella’s POV

I leaned back against the pillows on my bed and stared across the room at my brothers. All three of them were watching me. The curse had started. We all knew it. The pain came and went whenever it felt like it. Sometimes it was nothing more than a dull ache that settled beneath my skin. Other times it felt like somebody had shoved a hot blade into the back of my neck and decided to twist it just for fun. The marks weren’t any better. Every one of us had started developing them somewhere. Some were easier to hide than others, but mine had apparently decided subtlety wasn’t an option. An entire classroom had already seen the black lines spreading across my neck, and I still had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to explain that away.
“They’re getting worse,” Xavier finally said from the foot of the bed, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.
I looked toward him and immediately knew he wasn’t talking about mine specifically. He meant all of them.
“And so is the pain,” he added. 
A sigh escaped me as my eyes shifted toward Dominic and Kieran. Both nodded without hesitation.
The last few days had been awful. Every morning seemed worse than the one before. The pain lasted longer. The marks became darker. The burning sensation spread farther each time it appeared. What should have been impossible was happening right in front of us, and nobody understood why. The curse wasn’t supposed to awaken until our eighteenth birthdays. We still had three months left before that happened. Or at least we were supposed to. Now none of us knew what to think.
I rubbed the side of my neck carefully. The skin still felt tender from the episode in class. Just remembering the looks on everyone’s faces made me groan. “How exactly am I supposed to explain black lines crawling up my neck?”
Dominic shrugged his shoulders from his chair. “Tell everyone you joined a cult.”
I stared at him. His expression remained completely serious. “Why not? That’s a logical explanation. It makes sense,” he explained his reasoning. 
“Because that’s a terrible idea,” a loud groan escaped me. I can’t believe that actually came out of his mouth. 
Kieran shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please don’t tell people you’re joining a cult.” 
Dominic pointed toward him immediately. “See? That’s exactly what somebody in a cult would say.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Even Xavier smirked. The moment didn’t last long, but it was enough to lighten the room for a few seconds. Unfortunately reality wasn’t going anywhere. The curse remained. The pain remained. And none of us had the slightest clue what came next.
I reached toward the nightstand and grabbed my phone. Three sets of eyes immediately followed the movement.
“You calling Mom?” Xavier asked.
I nodded my head. “Unless one of you suddenly became an expert on ancient curses.”
Nobody volunteered. They didn’t even open their mouths to speak. 
I found her contact and pressed call. The phone barely rang before she answered.
“Hello sweetheart. Is something wrong?” The moment I heard her voice, something tightened in my chest. Home suddenly felt very far away. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her until that moment. The palace. The pack. Family dinners. The familiar problems that came with living surrounded by people who loved you.
For several seconds I didn’t answer. Apparently that was enough to make her panic.
“Princess?” Concern immediately entered her voice. “Is something wrong? Oh goddess. Something is wrong, isn’t it?”
I closed my eyes. Mothers were terrifying. “Mom. No. Nothing is wrong.” The lie lasted about half a second.
“Don’t you lie to me, young lady. I know you, Arabella. I know exactly what you sound like when you’re upset,” she called me out on my bullshit fast. 
Dominic immediately started grinning. I shot him a glare that promised he would pay for that. He only looked more entertained.
“Mom,” I said with a sigh. “Can I ask you something?”
Her tone softened instantly. “Of course, sweetheart.”
“The curse. Wasn’t it supposed to start in three months?” I said with another sigh. I sounded defeated I was sure of. 
For a moment she sounded relieved. “Yes, Princess. Three months. When you and your brothers turn eighteen. We’ve gone over this before. You should all be back home by then.”
I swallowed hard. That was exactly the problem. “Mom.” Something in my voice must have reached her because all traces of relief disappeared immediately.
“Arabella,” she said carefully. 
“The curse already started,” I said in a voice right above a whisper. 
Silence hit the line between us. Then absolute chaos. “What do you mean it already started?” she demanded. “It’s not supposed to start until you’re eighteen. That isn’t for another three months,” she screamed so loudly I had to pull the phone further away from my ear. 
“Mom, please calm down,” I said calmly.
“Calm down? Arabella, explain.” The concern in her voice hit harder than the pain ever could.
I rubbed my forehead and took a slow breath. “The pain started several days ago. We thought maybe it was something else at first, but it kept getting worse. Then the marks started appearing.” The room remained completely silent as my brothers listened. “My marks appeared during class today,” I continued quietly. “Everyone saw them.”
For several seconds she didn’t say anything. I expected more panic. More questions. Maybe even yelling. Instead she surprised me. A slow sigh escaped her. The kind of sigh that told me she was already trying to solve the problem. “Alright, Princess. Let me get with the coven and see what I can find out. If this truly started early, then something isn’t right. Give me a little time and I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.”
Relief washed through me. Not because she had answers. Because somebody was looking for them. The feeling of helplessness had been driving me insane.
We spent the next several minutes talking about anything except the curse. Classes, instructors, Kingsveil itself, and the ridiculous size of the academy eventually replaced the heavier conversation. Mom listened to every complaint I had about orientation and laughed when I described some of the students we’d already met.
Eventually I handed the phone to Xavier. Then Dominic. Then Kieran. Each conversation lasted several minutes, and by the time the phone made its way back to me nearly half an hour had passed. Oddly enough, everyone looked a little better afterward. Sometimes hearing your mother’s voice did that.
“I love you, Mom,” I said softly. 
“I love you too, Princess.” The warmth had returned to her voice. “We’ll figure this out.”
We ended the call right after that. I placed the phone back on my nightstand. No longer than I set the phone down, a beep sounded indicating that I had received a message. I picked the phone up and rolled my eyes. Ugh. A damn unknown number.