The Broken and Sinned (Everlasting Curse #1) - G. Bailey Page 0,1

of his classic sweater vests, and his greying brown hair is swept to the side. He smiles at me and pushes his glasses back up his nose.

“Where is your brother? Has he not come over with his gift yet?” Mum asks, well, demands to know.

Being the overprotective sister I am, I lie. “Of course he has. Austin just had to get to class.”

Total lie.

“Well, I’m glad he is looking after you there. I do worry about you,” Mum says with her usual overly worried tone. “Did our gift get to yours yet? It’s not much, but we never know what to get you.”

“No, but I will check my post in a bit,” I reply, drifting my gaze to my dad. “How are you, dad?”

“Happy to see my little girl,” he replies with soft eyes. Mum is the tough one, and my dad is as laid back as it comes. Together, they really do make the best parents. “I struggle to understand how you are twenty-two. It feels like yesterday that you were just a baby who slept in my arms, sucking her thumb.”

My cheeks light up.

“We will let you go and try calling Austin again. Honestly, that boy never answers his phone,” she huffs. Yeah, that’s because he is a dick and likely hungover once again. I don’t say that though, not wanting my parents to know the truth, and I just smile before saying my goodbyes. Deciding to find my twin brother and give him his gift is the best idea this morning, as I’m totally skipping class since it’s my birthday, so I head out of my room after grabbing my hoodie and bag. I pull my hoodie on and swing my bag over my shoulder, running down the stairs to the post boxes. Finding my key in my bag, buried deep under all the very important shit I keep in there, I open up the letterbox and find three letters. I open them on my way to my brother’s dorm room, not surprised to see a birthday card from my parents with three hundred pounds inside. Awesome. I push that letter into my bag and open the second one, which is another birthday card with a red rose on the front. Inside, I quickly read the long paragraph.

“My sweet niece, Riona,

Ri-Ri, it’s been a long time since I’ve written to you, but as always, I ask for you to follow my advice. Do not leave your dorm tonight, it is not safe at Aberdeen University on this particular night. They are out hunting, and they will not be able to resist your blood.

Trust me for once, and have a good birthday.

I will come when it is safe to do so. It is time we spoke.

As always,

Your uncle

Another card from my father’s particularly insane brother, who I’ve not seen since I was eight. I only remember overhearing a conversation my parents had with him, something about blood and sacrifices. Either way, I overheard enough to know he had lost his goddamn mind. I push the letter back in and find the third one isn’t addressed to me at all, it’s for Austin. Finally I get to the guys’ dorm and head around the back, knowing I can’t just walk in, thanks to their stupid rules. No girls allowed…even if there are, no doubt, quite a few girls in this place with their boyfriends. Two trees climb the side of the building, and I climb the left one, pushing myself onto a branch. Bracing myself, I jump to the next tree and keep climbing up until I’m near the top of the tree and the single branch that is close to the ledges of the windows. Ignoring the fear of falling, because damn that would hurt, I carefully crawl across the large branch and onto the ledge of the window. The cold winter wind whips around my body, and I’m thankful there is no ice on the ledge as I push the window up and climb inside, knocking off a pile of books.

“Nice to see you as always, Ria.”

I pause and turn my gaze to the half-naked guy in his bed, sheets pooled around his waist, the flickering sunlight from behind me kissing the skin of his chest. Arlo O’Dargan. Aka my brother’s best friend and my long-time frenemy since first school. His deep voice is annoyingly perfect, much like the rest of him. Sun-kissed blond hair, bright topaz-green eyes, and a jawline any model would be jealous of,