Cursed Blood

I didn't hesitate to drag the boys to their horses, my hand wrapped tightly around Travis' wrist. He snickered at me as I pulled him to the mount, forcing him on it before swinging myself up.

"Let's go!" I urged. "We have a lead to Terrance!"

Travis sighed, hand going to my shoulder to stop my excited trembling. "Cloud, we can't go. We need to go back to the castle."

My smile dropped, my shoulders slumping. "Why?" I wondered, watching the other boys slowly mount up, shuffling so that we formed a tight group.

Andrew's eyes flicked from where I pouted to the Prince. Shade followed suit, and eventually Travis looked up at the Crown Prince, waiting for him to address my words.

"Elijah?"

He huffed, glaring at his warriors. "Cloud, you need to be safe. We need to investigate the Darkbloods and you more before we put all our power into finding your brother."

I paused, scowling. His words sounded recited, like he'd said them before. Like he and someone else had made the decision long ago, prior to this day or even yesterday.

Why have I been hanging around the castle while the Queen tells me about her guards' reports?

Why did I never ask to see these guards? Or go with them?

My mouth hung open in shock as my eyes softened, tears brimming in the corners.

"Elijah," I spat, "why am I training now? We were supposed to make Terrance the priority."

Silence.

Almost as loud as the thundering of my heart, felt even in my fingertips. I was upset, mad at myself and at the deal that wasn't helping me one bit. What is wrong with me? My mind demanded. Why didn't I just ago after him?

He could be dead, I realized. It had been days since the attack, and somehow I thought that the Darkbloods keeping Terrance would just wait for me to start searching? What naivety had taken over me? The thought sent me over the edge, and I practically leapt from the horse, my blood already dropping in temperature. Voices called my name in one giant shout, causing my ears to ring as I ran from them. The hooves pounded the streets, their horses easily keeping up until I threw myself into the thickest crowds, seeking out a path through the alleyways.

I want Kai, I thought, I need Kai!

With the only way to reach him being my telepathy, I had to get to a safe enough place to create the equivalent of a thought-bomb to reach him. I ran, my lungs working overtime as my footsteps echoed through the alley, easily trackable. As I sprinted through the alleys, searching for somewhere to hide, I began to notice pipes on each building, most likely for water or some other system. On the next building, I predicted the appearance of a pipe, and pounced for it. The thick metal was able to hold to the building as my shoulders were jarred, my body jerking before stopping entirely. I began to shimmy up, extra agility pouring from some power source within me. I cleared the edge of the roof, sprawling out on the flat surface as the boys began shouting below, unaware that I had made it above them.

Now I need to create a thought-bomb that will alert everyone to my presence. Even Elijah.

I can only do this once.

Exhaling, I clenched my fists as I focused on the cold in my soul. On the telepathy that had become second nature, especially with the kind-hearted, one-winged beast. Pressure built up in my head, causing me to wince in pain, but I continued to call on my power, reining it in with my shabby amount of control before it became too much.

A stab of pain traveling through my temple caused me to release the thought. Kai's name was a scream in my mind as pain caused me to tuck my knees up to my chest and hide my head in them. I counted the seconds going by, waiting for the pain to fade, anticipating a response.

Please.

Please, hear me.

Then, there was flicker of worry. I lifted my head, expecting for the boys to have surrounded me, but there was no one in sight. Only the feeling of someone being in my mind.

Kai?

Another flicker of emotion. Recognition.

...Where...

The thought in response was hazy, and I was only able to catch a part of it as Kai's voice croaked in my head. I sent back another powerful thought, showing him my location. My hands shook as the communication went silent, and I began to worry if it had been Elijah recieving my thoughts and not Kai. I ducked behind a chimney on top of the building, watching the pipe I'd used to climb upward.

I'll fight them if I have to. I will find Terrance.

But thankfully, it wasn't them who appeared.

No.

It was a one-winged beast leaping over the rooftops to come to my rescue.

~○•○~

Hi everyone, it's the author (Jaymee)!

I just wanted to say that I'm hoping everyone is liking the book so far, and to thank anyone who is supporting Cursed Blood, I want to give you a chance to have your own character in the book.

I am thinking of taking two readers' characters and giving them a big role in Cloud's journey. Others may also be chosen for smaller features.

There are two ways that you can give me these characters you've designed. One can be in the commenta section of this chapter, and the other can be through twitter. I have an account that I mostly use to interact or support people that I am a fan of, but I will be using that account to talk about my own writing here on FindNovel.net. You can find me at jaymee_rogers .

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter :)