Cursed Magic: Harper Shadow Academy (Book Two) Read online

  Cursed Magic

  Harper Shadow Academy: Book Two

  Luna Pierce

  Copyright © 2020 by Luna Pierce

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Book Cover Design by https://miblart.com

  Editing by https://studioenp.com

  First Edition 2020

  ISBN 978-1-7332322-4-1 (paperback)

  ASIN B08BPKJY8J (ebook)

  To anyone struggling, don’t give up.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  *BONUS* Wicked Magic

  Exclusive for ebooks only!

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  If someone would have told me a few short months ago that I’d discover I was a witch, a powerful and cursed one, I’d still never be prepared for the insanity that this new life brings.

  And now, having this knowledge, I have no idea where to start to make sense of it all.

  I need to talk to my mom, tell her I’ve broken the curse—the first one, at least. And find out whatever information she’s capable of giving me about our magical bloodline.

  I need to explore the library with Abigail and dive deep into the old texts she’s been kind enough to help me locate.

  I need to give my friends their stolen memories and what little explanation I can to piece together the last few weeks. I miss Remi, Kyra, and Lillian something fierce.

  I need to continue making amends with the guys, reiterating how damn sorry I am for abandoning them the way I did. It was unfair, cruel, and brutal for all of us.

  I honestly need to breathe, too. Everything that’s happened is a whirlwind of chaos in my head, and it’s becoming difficult to ground myself. Not to mention there’s a shadow realm in need of repair and some nagging homework that must be completed.

  Simply trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m a witch is a lot to handle.

  And there’s the whole werewolf, vampire, and demon thing.

  It’s going to take some time to figure out who I am and how I fit into this world.

  “You okay, Willow?” Sydney asks.

  I blink away my thoughts. “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “You’ve been staring at the wall blankly for a while. Your coffee is getting cold.” He nods toward the cup in my hand.

  “Oh, right.” I shake my head and take a swig of the sort-of-warm latte. Hazelnut today, thanks to barista Sydney.

  “No one is rushing you. We can go see your mom another day.” His words are kind and delicate, like I’m a fragile being in need of extra care.

  “No, it’s okay. I’m good. Today is great.” I lie with a smile.

  A demon invaded our school and tried to kill Cameron and the rest of us—there is no time to wait for the next threat to appear. If I can’t protect them, then I need to stay on top of whatever the hell is coming next.

  “I can’t believe you’re leaving us,” Cameron calls from down the hall.

  My heart warms and breaks at the same moment. “I’ll be right back.”

  Deghan trails beside Cam, and Silas follows behind, keeping a Silas kind of distance.

  Having them all in the same vicinity, the energy changes and pulses through me. It’s heaven on earth.

  But with the realization that I hurt them, and that I could do it again, whether or not I mean to, kills the mood immediately.

  Silas leans against the far wall, studying me while I study him. A black leather jacket, matching black tee hugging his torso, his arms crossed in front of him. Dark-gray eyes with a hint of purple, chiseled jawline, and always serious expression. He’s fucking seductive.

  “Gimme a hug.” Deghan pulls me in without letting me protest. He smells of honey and cedar. “Be safe. And that’s an order, not a request.”

  I smile into him, hugging him in return. “Okay.”

  “We won’t be long,” Sydney confirms. “Walker is only allowing an hour.”

  Something I’m grateful for but also disappointed about.

  Now that a demon broke into the school through the hole I somehow created in the shadow realm, he’s pretty much got Harper Academy on lockdown for supernaturals. He enforced extra wards to protect from any other unwanted visitors, but that means the supernatural students can’t go to and from whenever they please. He sanctions who comes in and out, and I’m honestly surprised he’s letting us go on this adventure today.

  But, not allowing him the time to change his mind, Sydney volunteered to drive me, and here we are, ready to leave. With a final glance around the room, we head out.

  It’s a short drive to my house, and this time, Sydney makes all the turns without me telling him.

  “If I’m not mistaken, your mom should probably have her magic back, right?” Sydney looks from the road to me, and then back.

  I shrug, “In theory. Who’s to say that whatever the next curse is, hasn’t already suppressed her magic, though?”

  “True.”

  “I’ll wait in the car again; I don’t want to overstep any boundaries or impose.”

  “Thanks, Sydney. Maybe when we get some more time, you can meet her.”

  The car comes to a stop in the drive, and I’m let down by the sight of Danny’s vehicle. I was hoping on the off chance he would be away from the house so I could talk to Mom more privately.

  I make my way into the house and find her cleaning the living room.

  She’s dancing, her body swaying side to side delicately, and I desperately wish I’d snuck in quieter so as to not disturb her. She seems… happy. Her eyes lock onto mine, and she beams.

  “Willow, you’re home!”

  “Hi, Mom.”

  She embraces me tightly, and a new energy fizzles between us. Magic.

  I lead her into the kitchen.

  “Willow, your hair,” Mom says suddenly, brows raising in response.

  I coil the strange dark lock around my finger. “Right? It just… happened.”

  “What did you do? How is this possible?” Her gaze scans my body, like she’s looking frantically for something else out of place.

  “I didn’t dye it, Mom. It literally appeared.”

  “Yes.” She swallows and nods. “It’s… honey… it’s a sign of dark magic.”

  “Dark magic?” I mumble, sitting on the chair at the kitchen table.

  “Yes, it’s a sporadic trait passed through the Oliver witches. Those with silver hair, they’re known to be more powerful than the rest, and if they dabble in the darkness, it marks them by turnin
g their hair.” She twirls the strand. “This exact way.”

  “Mom, I… had no idea.” The realization settles over me. “It must have been when I took on the demon. I didn’t know what I was doing. I felt a rage so fierce. I summoned every ounce of my strength and apparently shattered the shadow realm in the process. Sydney told me he’d never seen that kind of magic.”

  “Okay, hold on. What are you talking about? Let’s rewind a little, tell me exactly what happened.”

  I take a deep breath and then explain to her, to the best of my ability, what went down at the school. The shadow realm, the supernatural students, the demon who lured Cameron in and used him for bait. It takes up more time than I anticipated, but when I finally finish, a silence falls on the room.

  “You… you broke the curse?” she stutters.

  “The moment I killed Silas, or at least I thought I did, it must have broken it.”

  Tears well in her eyes. “Willow, do you realize what this means?” Her voice is merely a whisper.

  I shake my head, unsure how to read the implication of her words and her emotions flooding into the space.

  “Your father,” she breathes. “We can finally get your father back.”

  My heart thuds loudly. My father? A man I had no idea whether or not he even existed.

  “We have to find him.” She grabs on to my arm, squeezing it with almost too much force. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Willow. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. I should have known you’d rid us of this curse.”

  Little does she know, it’s not only one curse, it’s many more, and there is no solid information on how many, and what kind, and how to break them. I ultimately have to deal with them one at a time and use my resources to save us from whatever they have in store. Whoever they may be. But for now, I have to learn more on how to find this mystery father of mine.

  “Mom, please tell me what knowledge you have of the curse?”

  She inhales deeply. “Tea? We should have tea. Yeah, I’ll make some.” She stands from her chair and fills a kettle. “So, a long time ago, many generations back, there was some kind of conflict between two covens. Ours and another. The details are sparse, but from what I remember, the Oliver witches were cursed, their magic suppressed and taken, harvested, and used by the other coven. We operate so heavily on love, that in order to take our powers, they stole our love. The heartbreak alone wrecks us so intensely that it binds our magic and makes it easy to steal.

  “I was naïve to think it wouldn’t happen to me. I fell madly in love with your father, and all too soon, the curse ensued. It drove him mad. It wasn’t long after I found out I was pregnant that he left, not because he wanted to, but because he had to. It tore me apart. I had you to worry about, though, honey, so I let him go. I let my magic go with him, and I focused on us. But losing them both, I lost pieces of me that I can’t really explain. It’s like part of my consciousness was taken. I did my best to put it all behind us, up until that day in the garden. Oh, sweet Willow, you held out your hand, and a flower glowed in your palm. I knew at that moment that your magic had come in and the curse would all start again. I tried to warn you, but it came out in a jumble, it always did, and I wasn’t sure if that was part of the curse or not.”

  I allow the words to sink in and do my best to process them.

  “This has to be a lot to take in right now, but you did something incredible, Willow.” She holds her hand forward, and an orange glow radiates. “I wasn’t sure. I thought something was playing another trick on my mind. It’s come in little bursts, but I could feel it pushing its way in. You gave me my magic back.” Tears fill her eyes. “And if what you’re saying is true, you might have given me my love back, too.”

  “You never talked about him,” I whisper.

  “It hurt too much. I’m so sorry I never explained what happened.”

  “But we can find him?” The words come out in a rush.

  “I hope so.”

  “Me, too.”

  One thing following the next, I’m assaulted by new information. I’m not sure which is the most startling of all. I’m a witch, and while that’s mind-blowing, I have a father out there somewhere. There are so many problems that keep bubbling up to the surface, and I have no idea how to fix any of them.

  A knock permeates through the front room, my gaze meeting the rickety old screen door. Sydney waves and taps his wrist to indicate the time.

  Shit.

  “Mom, I have to go for now. I’ll be back soon, okay? Tell Danny I said hi, wherever he is.”

  “He’s still in bed. He sleeps in late on his days off.”

  I pull her in for another hug. “Mom, please be careful. We aren’t sure what we’re up against.” I don’t want to burden her with the next words that come out of my mouth, but it’s not right to withhold information that could put her in danger. “That curse wasn’t the last of them, there are more put into place. I need you to be safe but I’m going to be working every day to figure this out. I promise.”

  She hugs me tighter, and her magic thrums delicately against me. “I believe in you. You be safe, too.” She motions toward the door, toward Sydney.

  Once outside, he says, “Sorry, I didn’t want to rush you, but we’re getting close on time. How did it go?”

  I settle into the passenger seat and blow out a huge breath, laying my head back. “I have a dad, and I need to find him.”

  Chapter Two

  We arrive at the school to find Headmaster Walker and Abigail waiting near the entrance.

  She waves her arm and flips her wrist, mumbling an incantation, allowing us entry to the grounds.

  “What can I do to help?” Sydney parks the car.

  I sigh. “I’m not sure. I have no information on him. No name. No idea what color his hair is, his eyes, or his appearance at all.”

  “We’ll figure it out, okay?” He places his hand on top of mine, his attempt to comfort me only working minimally.

  “Yeah.”

  I desperately want to find my dad, to reunite my mom and him, and finally get the chance to meet him, but then there’s this curse threatening to harm everyone I love that I need to focus on. I can’t be selfish with so many lives at risk. I have to convince myself to stay on task. Concentrate on the problem with the biggest danger.

  The Oliver curse.

  “What’s next?” Sydney asks.

  “The girls, and then the library. I can’t think straight having stolen their memories.” And maybe I am being greedy now, but they never deserved what I did to them. At least this way, they can make their own decisions about me without my interference.

  His cool green eyes meet mine, and I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

  Thick brown hair falling sideways onto his forehead. His energy still thrums from his hand into mine. Sweetness with a hint of something else, something chilling.

  We exit the car and head into the school. Once we’re inside, I lock my sights on to the girls in the dining hall, and I recognize this is my chance to make amends. Quickly, I go straight to the south wing stairs, passing the lush garden and leaving Sydney behind. I jog up the stairs and hesitate in front of my old dorm. Hand in my pocket, I scan the hallway and then click myself invisible.

  I knock on the door lightly, and when no one answers, I slip inside unnoticed. I breathe in the scent of the room. Kyra’s floral perfume mixed with Remi’s potent hairspray and a dash of Lillian’s vanilla bodywash. My gaze settles on the lone empty bed in the corner. The sight surprises me, given the bed I chose was prime real estate. I sort of assumed one of them would have relocated upon my disappearance.

  In a hurry, I say the incantation I memorized by each of their beds. One by one, I relinquish their memories and make my way to my bed, taking the folded sheet of paper from my back pocket and laying it on the pathetic mattress.

  The official documentation of my transfer to the north wing dorm. My excuse for leaving them, for the change in my schedule. The onl
y thing I have no explanation for is making no effort to see them once I moved, and that will hurt them the most. But, if that’s the price I have to pay, I’m willing to do what it takes to have them remember me and the moments we shared, even if it was a short time. Those girls meant, and still mean, so much to me.

  I hope they can forgive me, but it’s not something I expect. Maybe with time I can make it up to them and help them realize how important they are.

  I do one last glance around the room and then leave, making sure to creep out as unseen as my arrival. Needing to grab a few things from my room, I go straight there and do exactly that.

  I’m stuffing a notebook into my backpack when a knock infiltrates my space. It’s loud and urgent, and I can only assume it’s one of my guys verifying I’m okay.

  Deghan is probably ready for a nap, but he’s going to learn how to ration them, considering how many problems I have that need fixing. Despite desperately loving the moments with Deghan, I don’t have time for random siestas anymore.

  I open the door and am nearly assaulted.

  Remi barrels in, pulling me in for a massive hug. “What the hell, Willow?”

  Kyra follows her in, and Lillian closes the door behind her.

  “You’re telling me they gave you this room?” Kyra puts her hands on her hips in a purely Kyra style. “Do you have your own bathroom?” Her eyes go wide.

  Remi jerks her head toward the corner. “Totally unfair.”

  Lillian appears the most hurt of all, not really saying or doing anything.