A coughing fit overtakes Hans, and he falls to the ground, unable to catch his breath. I follow him, shoving my waterskin into his hands. He takes a sip, but the coughing doesn’t stop.
My mother still does not look up from her sigil or stop her mutterings.
Hans narrows his eyes on her and begins to sketch his own sigil. When he slams his hand into it, powering it up, vines explode from the trees around us, wrapping around my mother’s arms and legs, heaving her into the air.
“What the fuck, Hans?” I shout, leaping to my feet. “Put her down!”
“I can’t,” he says between coughs. “She’s cursing me.”
“You foolish boy, I’m protecting you,” she says, but her voice wavers. “It’s just a simple protection charm.”
Flint comes barreling through the woods, howling. He runs underneath my mother and begins to snap and snarl at her feet.
“It was not a protection charm.” More coughing from my brother. “You’re trying to kill me. Why?”
“That’s preposterous. Your father will be so upset when he hears how you’ve treated me.” Her haughty tone doesn’t carry the bite it usually does.
I don’t know who to believe or trust. Something is wrong with Hans, and it started when my mother began to put together that strange sigil. But does that mean she did it?
A vine snakes down her arm and wraps around her throat. It tightens just enough that she begins to wheeze. “Tell the truth,Mother,” Hans snarls, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. “You’re trying to kill me.”
Her eyes narrow at my stepbrother, and a chill runs down my spine.
In my soul, I know that I will not like the words that will leave her mouth.
“It’s not personal, Hans. Gerrit is the better choice to be next in line for Duke.”
My stomach does a flip.
“The only way I can be next in line is if I am his only son,” I say slowly. “Since we are not blood.”
The look my mother gives me could melt glass.
Oh.
“So you decided to kill me?” Hans coughs, blood flying from his mouth. When he looks at me, I see the whites of his eyes have yellowed. “Is this what we forgot?”
Whatever this curse is, it is fast-acting. He is getting weak, and the vines are starting to sag. Even though I don’t think my mother finished the casting, whatever part of the curse latched itself to him may still spell his doom.
“How could you?” I ask her, taking a slow step forward. “How could you do this to my brother? To our father?”
“I said it isn’t personal!” she screeches.
“Those words don’t absolve you of guilt!” I shout, feeling like my chest is cracking in two. My mother did this. My mother tried to kill my brother right in front of me and thinks I’ll be okay with it.
Bile rises in my throat.
She thrashes against her restraints. “This is the only way to protect myself and ensure I am always taken care of!”
“Because if Father dies,”cough, cough, cough,“I become Duke, and you worry I won’t support you.” Hans stumbles and slams onto the fallen tree, barely remaining upright. Flint immediately props my brother’s body up with his furry one. “Greed. That’s all this is. A bigger piece of the pie for you.”
“I don’t want to be the Duke!” I shout. “I love my brother. And you try to take him from me?”
Despite being suspended, her face curves into a wicked grin. “It’s too late. Part of the curse took hold. It’s only a matter of time now.” Her smile is sickly sweet as she stares down at Hans. “All you did by stopping me was take a fast death and make it excruciatingly painful and slow.”
Anger boils my blood, pure animosity running in my veins.
There must be a way to weaken the curse and give me time to save him. I cannot have a life without him.
