Chapter 2

Kaelen’S POV

My silver wings cut through the dusty air as I glided down from the rusting catwalk to the warehouse’s ground level. The whole place stank of abandoned magic old spells gone sour, the kind that clung to the walls like mildew. One glance around confirmed what my gut had already told me: we were too late. Again.

A door burst open to my left. Lysander barreled out, shoving the cracked frame aside with a snarl. “Nothing here,” he muttered, irritation rolling off him in waves.

A sharp ripple disturbed the air on my other side just before Xavier appeared, shadows peeling away to reveal his form. His expression said everything. Another empty lead. And this had been the last location we hadn’t checked.

Ten years. Ten fucking years chasing the ghost of the enchantress who doomed us. Calling her a witch didn’t do justice to whatever she truly was, something older, darker, smarter. We never learned where she came from or why she had singled us out.

We only knew this: the curse wouldn’t break until she was dead.

Sometimes whispers reached us rumors about a silver-haired sorceress wielding a rose-quartz wand. Fitting, considering she’d wrapped our fates in love magic. Or, more accurately, love tied to death. Our deadline drew closer every day: find our true mates… or find her.

Xavier exhaled. “Eventually a lead won’t be cold. We keep going.”

I grunted and looked away. He always tried to sound hopeful. It never worked on me.

Lysander opened his mouth. “We should get back to the mansion before ”

Pain detonated through all three of us at once. My stomach twisted as though barbed wire tightened inside me, and I bent over, jaw clenched. The reminder was brutal but effective, stay away from the mansion too long, and the curse punished us.

The agony ebbed, leaving cold sweat on my spine.

“We’re cutting it close,” I muttered. “See you there.”

Xavier vanished in a flash of shadow. Lysander dropped to all fours, bones snapping as he shifted, and sprinted out of the warehouse. I murmured a veil of Fae glamor over myself to avoid unwanted human eyes, stepped into the open night, and launched upward. The wind rushed past as I sliced across the miles between Seattle and Long Lake.

I touched down on the mansion’s eastern balcony and slipped inside. Xavier already lounged in his usual black leather throne. I took the chair across from him and waited. We never said anything until all three of us were present.

Lysander arrived with heavy, angry steps and slammed the door shut. Our attention shifted to the round table between us.

The hourglass waited there like a warning carved into time. Two glass hearts joined at the center, one dripping red liquid into the other. The top heart held barely an inch now. The bottom swelled with what looked disturbingly like thickened blood.

The enchantress’s parting words slithered through my mind: When the last drop falls, your souls are mine unless love saves you first.

A soft knock broke the silence.

Lysander growled, “What now?”

Jace eased the door open, his butler’s poise strained tonight. “Forgive the intrusion, sirs. The household is… anxious. Did the search yield anything?”

“No,” Lysander snapped before I could speak. His frustration hit me in the chest like static, stirring my own.

Xavier answered more calmly. “Another false trail. Tell the others.”

Jace bowed slightly, grim and loyal as always. “Very well. Good night.” He closed the door behind him.

I dragged my hands down my face and leaned forward. The weight of the curse pressed on all of us, but I felt it in my bones.

“Next time might go differently,” Xavier offered.

I shot him a flat look. His eyes were almost fully black soul-deep darkness. “Stop pretending. You know as well as I do this is hopeless.”

Across the room, Lysander kicked a metal bin so hard it crumpled. “How are we supposed to find our fated matches when we can’t even stay outside the damn property for more than a day? What are they supposed to magically appear on our doorstep?”

In the early years, we’d tried. Parties, invitations, romance-seeking events women swarmed us when cash and luxury dangled in front of them. They always left with full pockets and empty hearts. I never expected anything different.

“We were never meant to succeed,” I said quietly. “She cursed us to pay for what we did. Love isn’t part of our story. Just punishment.”

Lysander stalked toward the table. “Maybe we should just smash the hourglass and let the whole thing end already.”

“No.” Xavier blurred across the room, materializing in front of him. His eyes flashed silver; Lysander’s glowed gold in response. Power collided between them, two forces pushing so hard the air tightened around my ribs. I felt Lysander give in moments before he actually did.

With a frustrated exhale, Lysander turned away and stormed onto the balcony, letting the night wind swallow his anger.

“One day he’ll do something reckless enough to destroy us all,” Xavier murmured.

I didn’t answer. My attention stayed on the wolf’s silhouette outside. He still clung to the idea of a destined mate, even now. Xavier too was dangerously attractive for someone dead inside. They both had a chance.

I… did not.

Women flinched when they saw my cursed face. Not one of us could complete the curse alone. It was all or nothing three loves found, or eternal torment for every soul under this roof.

And because of me, they were running out of time.