The Konig Cursebreakers Read online

  Curt shook his head again. It was a completely inappropriate thought, he decided. Erin was a young girl, he reminded himself sternly. Worse, she didn’t have autonomy. If Curt even showed interest in her, Talon and Hunter would take his head. His curse be damned! Curt knew better than to let his control slip that far.

  “Hey. Get to work,” Adam grumbled at him, cuffing Curt on the back of his head for his inattention. With Kord and Lewis busy relocating the Königs and cleaning up the mess left behind by last night’s battle, his twenty-five year old brother was in charge of the day’s training, and Adam was in a foul mood for his lack of sleep.

  Adam had planned on a single night of sleep after a long track. When Lewis rolled them out of bed at midnight, he found himself pushed behind the wheel of a car with his two younger brothers half-asleep in the back and sent off to meet his grandfather and the Königs at the training house that housed the stone room. Lewis was headed to Hunter range to retrieve the stone. Corwyn was dead, which made him the new stone lord, and the stone had called for him to do his duty.

  Bryant, his twenty-two year old brother, grinned. “Got a thing for the princess?” he teased. Bryant liked to insinuate that Curt had inherited Kord’s drive to print.

  Curt darkened despite his attempt to stay neutral on the subject. His need for release had always been more difficult to control than most men found it, he was assured by Kord. Still, if Kord could survive it to a decent age before printing, so could Curt.

  At fifteen, Curt had just started his training, and already release was a problem at times. As if that wasn’t problem enough, his brothers — seven and ten years older than he was — delighted in giving him a good pounding whenever an occasion arose they thought they could hide it with. Adam wasn’t called ‘Conan’ for no reason, and the last thing Curt wanted to do was take another beating from him – for any reason.

  He scowled at Bryant. “She’s a child,” Curt dismissed the idea. “I take release with women.” Luckily for Warriors, they had the size and appearance of full grown human men at fifteen. Otherwise, release would be even more difficult for them.

  “She doesn’t have the body of a child,” Bryant mused with a predatory smile that made Curt want to deck him.

  “Go print or go dunk your head. Talon and Hunter would kill you.”

  Erin ducked under the fence stiffly, and Adam scowled at the weapon’s belt she wore, half buried in the folds of the shirt and the billow of the rolled sleeves she had pushed past her elbows.

  “This is a training ground,” Adam told Erin, dismissing her.

  She met his eyes coldly. “I know. That’s why I’m here. I need to practice.”

  “You’re trained?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Training,” she corrected him.

  “So, get out there. You’re pitted with Curt.”

  Curt’s eyes widened. No way! There was no way Adam could pit him against her. If Curt hurt her, Talon would kill them all. Worse, he would rather die than raise a blade or hand to her. Erin was still a human girl. Pitting Curt against her went against every rule about protecting humans there was.

  “No, I’m not,” Erin answered Adam calmly. “I’m not here for hand-to-hand.”

  “Why not?” Adam’s lip curled into a sneer.

  “Until I heal, I’m not allowed. Ask my father.”

  “Then, what do you intend to do? We’re not wasting time here.”

  “Move,” she ordered as she unsheathed one of her weapons — the right one since her left hand was wrapped in a thick bandage. Erin balanced it on her wrist as if to test it and eyed it critically, marking the slight imperfections that would affect its flight like a pro.

  “What did you say to me?”

  Curt noted the gleam in his brother’s eyes warily. Adam was in a bad mood, and Erin was pushing buttons Curt learned not to push when he was less than ten.

  “I said ‘move.’ Did I stutter?”

  Erin knew she was pushing him. Curt had no doubts about that. Adam was being overbearing, and Erin had a reputation for not accepting that attitude from anyone but her father. Not even other house lords would talk to her the way Adam was.

  “Why should I?” he challenged.

  She sighed. “Your choice. If I have to, I’ll work around you.” It was a dismissal, clear and to the point.

  Adam glared at her, taking in the bandage on her hand and the deep bruising on her face. “I want to know by whose authority you’ve been given weapons so early. It’s against tradition.”

  “The stone’s,” Erin replied patiently, pushing her collar aside with her injured hand to bare her blood mark.

  Curt cleared his throat. This whole thing was getting out of hand. The stone was on her side, and if Corwyn said the stone wanted her trained, there was no higher word. “Adam, this is a bad idea. I think you should back down,” he suggested quietly.

  “I don’t think so,” he snapped. “Even if what she says is true, she’s training under me in my range. It’s not like our young princess has killed a beast before.”

  Okay, trying to talk him down is going to have the opposite effect.

  Erin laughed harshly, and Adam’s jaw tightened. “No, you are right there,” she admitted as if not being blood sealed made not a bit of difference to her.

  “In fact, it looks like you took a pretty beating for your trouble,” Adam continued angrily. “Maybe you should let the real Warriors protect you and give it up.”

  Erin’s eyes hardened. “Not an option.”

  “Why not? That’s what we’re here for.”

  “Tell that to Corwyn Lord Hunter,” she growled.

  “He was an old man — nothing more.”

  “If you believe that, you’re a fool.”

  Curt watched the escalation in shock. Corwyn just an old man? Adam wasn’t thinking, now. Corwyn was the first Warrior to survive Veriel, the first Warrior to best him in battle and drive him to ground. He was an elder hunter six times over. He was stone lord and the youngest house lord in two centuries. To top it off, no one had a better grasp of the hidden secrets the stone wouldn’t tell than Corwyn had. His theories were revolutionary.

  “Then, show me something he taught you. Impress me.”

  Erin regarded him warily and started to turn away, sheathing her blade. Curt let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. It was over. Adam would take his punishment for turning her from her assigned training later, but Erin would be out of his brother’s line of fire until after the chips fell.

  “Good,” Adam taunted her. “I don’t have time for spoiled little girls.”

  Erin moved so fast that even Curt barely tracked it. Her blade flipped back out of her sheath. Her shoulder turned, and the weapon flew. Adam stared at the handle brushing the tops of his thighs just shy of his sac, his breathing harsh in shock.

  She smiled crookedly. “And I don’t have time for self-important fools. Don’t worry, Adam. I rarely miss my mark. Impressed?” When he didn’t respond, she shrugged.

  Curt swallowed a hysterical laugh, too shocked to find the look on Adam’s face truly humorous, but needing the release of the laughter all the same.

  Erin turned to leave. “You can return the blade to my father. I’m sure you have a lot to say to each other. Good day to you, gentlemen,” she added with obvious rancor.

  Adam locked on her retreating back in a full fury. His Blutjagd was the worst Curt had seen on him since his senses kicked in at the onset of the curse. Granted, that had only been three months, but it was still a frightening sight. Erin turned suddenly, as Adam started to move, her eyes wide and her body adopting a fighter’s crouch awkwardly. A bellow of animal rage ripped from Adam’s lips.

  Curt didn’t try to analyze how she knew Adam was coming for her. He didn’t think at all. He reacted. He plowed the larger man off his feet and placed his body between them, prepared to fight Adam if he had to.

  “I don’t need you to protect me,” she whispered, sounding peeved at Cu
rt’s interference in her fight.

  “Relax. It’s no reflection on you. I can’t allow a Maher to attack you in Maher range. It’s my duty. Let me do it.”

  “Can you win?” she breathed, the anger leaving her voice.

  “No,” he admitted. “I’m not even fully trained yet, but I have to do this.”

  Erin groaned. “I’m sorry, Curt.”

  “My honor,” he told her. “Not my pleasure by the time he’s done with me, but my honor.”

  “Thanks.”

  Curt moved forward to give himself space to fight as Adam wiped the dirt from his face.

  Adam pointed a finger at his youngest brother with a dangerous gleam in his eye. “You will pay for that, Curtis,” he promised. “Stand aside.”

  “No. You’re sworn to protect the Königs. You can’t do this.”

  “I’m sworn to obey the Lord and Lady König,” he countered. “Move or pay the price for it. I will take you to trial for ignoring my orders.”

  He shook his head, and Adam closed on him. Curt glanced at Bryant, but the middle brother seemed intent on staying out of Conan’s way. Curt squared his shoulders. This was going to be a hard beating, but if Erin ran for it while Adam was busy with him—

  Erin moved up behind him.

  “Move back,” he grumbled. “I need space. Be ready to run when I take him on.”

  “Follow my lead.” Her voice caressed his ear as she moved away.

  Curt’s heart pounded. He couldn’t let her do this. Adam was beyond caring about his duty to protect and do no harm. If Adam got his hands on Erin, he’d hurt her for the stunt with the blade. Adam’s favorite line was that no Warrior should make a move he couldn’t back up. Curt had to stop her, but he couldn’t stop both of them at the same time.

  “Bryant,” Curt bellowed. He needed help. He needed Bryant to either help him with Adam or take on Adam while he got Erin out of there. He’d damn well carry her if he had to.

  “Not me. I’m staying out of Conan’s way on this one,” Bryant replied evenly.

  “Smart move,” Adam growled.

  Erin dragged herself onto the top fence rail, holding onto the upright to steady herself as she stood on it. Curt sighed in relief. She was out of the way, at least.

  He threw himself to the ground as something flew at his head.

  “Legs,” Erin yelled out as she braced her legs for the blow to Adam’s chest.

  Curt swept Adam’s feet from under him, while his brother stood frozen in shock. Between that and Erin’s blow, Adam landed hard, but it wasn’t enough.

  Adam had her before she was away. As Erin stumbled off of his chest, Adam grabbed her by the arms and flipped her onto her back roughly, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from her as he landed over her.

  “You have to be tougher than that, princess,” he spat, crushing her into the hard-packed earth while she ground her teeth, refusing to cry out again.

  “I’m already injured. You have an unfair advantage,” she reminded him through clenched teeth. “I’m not allowed to fight hand-to-hand yet.”

  Adam ignored her warning. Curt had no doubt that what she said was true, and Talon would have his brother’s hide for this.

  “Sure you’re injured,” Adam chided her. “You’re just a sassy little girl.” He pulled the cap from her head and looked at the remains of her hair in confusion. “It takes more than a boy’s haircut to make a Warrior,” he recovered acidly.

  Curt’s heart twisted as Erin shifted her eyes away and swallowed what looked like a painful lump. “Let her go, Adam,” he pleaded.

  “Not until the princess learns her lesson. She shouldn’t make threats she can’t back up.”

  “She’s learned it. Let her go, and I’ll take her back to the house. You’ve overstepped your bounds.” He made a move to reach down to Erin, but Adam released her long enough to land a punch to Curt’s face, sending him stumbling two steps back with the force.

  Adam clamped down on Erin’s arms again, stopping her move to throw him off. “No, she has. No Warrior should make a move he – she can’t back up, and no Warrior training under me throws a blade at me without proving she’s the better Warrior eventually.”

  “Get off,” a new voice thundered.

  Curt jumped back as Talon unghosted beside him, skidding to a halt from a dead run with his hand on his weapon and lit up brighter than Adam. The Lord König’s face burned in fury and the exertion of coming at a run when he felt Erin’s need of him. That was a gift of the Königs. They felt more than beasts where their children were concerned, as if the stone considered König children too important to risk to any danger.

  Adam startled and pushed off of Erin quickly. Not satisfied with that, Talon grabbed him by the throat and shoved him five yards farther away. Adam stared at the older Warrior in pure terror. Corwyn was an elder hunter, but Talon was an elder killer three times over.

  “She attacked me,” Adam explained weakly. “She attacked me twice.”

  Curt skirted behind Talon and dropped to one knee next to Erin. He reached down to give her a hand as she struggled to her knees. “Can you stand?” he asked gently.

  “Just sore,” she groaned as she made it to her feet.

  Curt stood beside her for lack of any better idea. Better with her than next to either of Talon’s probable targets.

  Her father returned to her and glared at Curt. “Back off,” he growled.

  Curt took a hasty step back.

  Erin reached for his arm, stopping his retreat. “No, Dad. Curt helped me,” she informed him quietly.

  The Lord König surveyed him with a calculated look before he nodded. He turned Curt’s face to view the rising red mark where Adam struck him. “Good. You have my thanks. That means you’re the only young buck who won’t face me — after I secure Kord’s permission, of course.” His smile was cold and his voice gruff.

  Adam paled at that look, and Talon nodded in satisfaction at his response. He took his daughter’s hand and motioned for Curt to join them.

  When they were out of earshot, Curt sighed in relief. “Thank you, Lord König.”

  “For helping my daughter?” he asked in confusion.

  Erin smiled. “That too, I’m sure, but I think he meant for not allowing Adam to beat him to a pulp for protecting me.”

  “He would have,” Curt admitted. “Adam doesn’t like being told he’s wrong. If you wouldn’t have made your request for my presence clear—” He shrugged.

  “That body check you dealt him was pretty sweet,” she noted.

  “He’d’ve run you down like a Mack truck otherwise. I couldn’t allow that. Besides, I’ve wanted to do that for years.”

  Erin laughed, the first honest laugh he’d heard from her this trip. “If he’s always like that, I can believe it.” She ran a hand over her head, and her smile disappeared into some indefinable sadness.

  Her hair— All her beautiful hair was gone. The braids — or curls when it was unbound — that reached to the middle of her back were no more. It still hurt to look at.

  Curt pulled off his cap and settled it on her head. “Here,” he said gently. “I have a hundred of them.”

  She nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Curt.”

  Talon wrapped an arm around her, but she stiffened and scooted away.

  “Dammit,” Curt cursed softly. “Adam really did hurt you.”

  She shook her head. “He just aggravated what was already there.”

  Talon drew her to a stop. “I’m sure my cell is ringing off the hook. Your mother is in town getting some supplies. Let me see it now so I can calm her as soon as I open the connection.”

  Erin nodded and dragged the back of her shirt up to her shoulders. Curt knew he should look away. He was accustomed to evaluating wounds, but it was impossible to be clinical with Erin, he decided. The sight of the deep purple bruises covering her back touched a chord in him, and he couldn’t look away.

  She shouldn’t be training. Erin shouldn’t even be out
of bed. She was human, after all. Her injuries had to be hell. And, Adam ignored her and made it worse.

  Curt turned and started to stalk back to challenge his oldest brother. He might get beaten to a pulp, but he could not in good conscience do less.

  “Curt?” Erin called. “What are you going to do?”

  “Kill him,” he muttered dangerously.

  “Curtis,” Talon ordered. “Stand down. If you want to get even with Adam, I have a better plan. Are you interested?”

  “What plan?”

  Talon smiled that same cold smile he had in the training area. “Let’s go see Hunter,” he invited. “It will be a week before Adam gets his pummeling, but it will be a week of torture for Adam, and he won’t be able to take it out on you in the meantime. You have my word.”

  “How?” he asked suspiciously.

  “I’m going to make your brother a deal that he’ll jump at. You get to fill in some key information he’ll be missing when he accepts that deal.”

  “What information?”

  “The truth about what happened last night.”

  Erin turned a deep crimson and looked at her stained tennis shoes. “Not everything, Dad. Please, not everything,” she whispered.

  Talon nodded in seeming understanding and kissed her forehead. “No, not everything,” he agreed.

  Curt felt a stab of unease. They knew nothing about what happened the night before but that Hunter was now an elder hunter, but the young Warrior had paid dearly for taking on the elder. “I’m in,” he decided.

  Chapter Three

  Curt was reading an early Maher history, when Adam strode into the room. Curt scowled behind the volume. His brother looked far too cocky for his own good. The plan couldn’t have worked. He sighed. Even if it had failed, Curt would make Adam feel like the jerk he was before he was through, beating or no beating in response for it.

  He considered his opening gambit carefully. Curt didn’t even crack a smile as he did it. His fury over Erin’s injuries kept him firmly in a mild form of bloodlust.