Spellbound - Cara Lynn Shultz [72]
“So she turned on all the lights,” I said, knowing too well what happened next. Brendan just nodded, grimly.
“Robert didn’t have time to wait for the electrician. It was easier for him to just stick the copper penny where the fuse should have gone. Robert always blamed himself for her death—if he hadn’t been so selfish, so impatient…” Brendan trailed off.
“The curse, as I said, has always been something of a joke in my family. Let’s face it, when bad things happen, well, isn’t that just life? Don’t bad things happen?” My mind flipped through everything that had taken me to this moment and nodded.
“Was Constance wearing the crest?” I asked.
Brendan looked at me, his green eyes mournful. “Yes. She wore it as a brooch.” Just like in my dream. Where I had golden hair….
“I’d imagine it’s not always as glaringly obvious as yours, with the crest practically a big neon sign on your chest,” he continued. “But based on everything Robert told him, my grandfather believes that, yes, the curse is very, very real.”
“So the story of Lord Archer really is true,” I murmured to myself, and Brendan’s hands tightened around mine.
“You know the name?” Brendan inhaled sharply. “How?”
“I did some research of my own,” I admitted. “I always wanted to know what my necklace meant—but I could never find anything out. But then— Do you know Angelique?”
“The witchy chick, right?”
“Right. She’s my friend, and her mom is some big expert in medieval stuff. Angelique recognized my necklace as having some significance. She lent me a few antique books about medieval crests and legends, and I found the story there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Brendan demanded, and my jaw dropped.
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked, incredulous. “What would you have thought of me? Besides, I read about this in a book that also had stories about dragons and curses and witches and unicorns! Like I could just roll up to you in the cafeteria, ‘Hey, Brendan, guess what I think my necklace means?’”
He smiled ruefully at me. “All right, I see your point. But Emma, I don’t know how the crest came to have that meaning. I only know what was passed down from generation to generation—that if someone wore the crest, they were destined for some terrible fate, just by knowing one of us.”
“It’s not every generation, Brendan. At least, not according to what I read,” I said, hesitantly. “The book was pretty fragile. Some of the pages were missing. But I read most of the legend, how this crest came to have that meaning.”
Brendan ran his hands through his ink-black hair and looked at me intensely. “Can you tell me the full story, Emma?” His voice was soft and pleading. I took a deep breath and began the sorrowful tale of Lord Archer, who had doomed himself and his beloved to an eternity of loss. I explained, as best I could, that the crest was to be worn by Archer’s reincarnated love.
I didn’t think I had to spell out for him what I took away from the story, although it was pretty obvious: we were soul mates. We’d spent a thousand years looking for each other. And we were probably cursed.
Chapter 14
Brendan hung his head in his hands, quiet, and I was afraid to move. Finally, I reached out to him and touched his arm. He suddenly grabbed my hand tightly and I jumped.
“I’m sorry,” he said, dropping my hand as if he’d just grabbed a handful of broken glass. “And I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings by ignoring you. I just knew I was so attracted… No, attracted is not the right word. I need a stronger word.” He stopped, and chewed his lip thoughtfully. Suddenly, Brendan exclaimed, “Spellbound! I was spellbound by you, and, to be honest, it took me a little off guard.”
“Your choice of words is interesting,” I said dryly, and he laughed a short, bitter laugh.
“Your first day at school,” Brendan began, “I was so impressed by how you stood up to Kristin. And I hadn’t even seen you yet.
“I turned around to give the new girl a hand, because Kristin was clearly harassing you. And then I saw your face.” Brendan’s voice was no more than a tender whisper,