With April's eyes scanning him like an airport security X-ray, Kairo slipped into the kitchen, stood by the corner, cloth in hand, and pretended to polish the gold bar cabinet. In truth, his ears were still stuck to every conversation in the other room.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his ribs and behind his eyes, followed by a violent nosebleed. It was the curse.
He became dazed but gripped the cooker for balance as blood dripped onto the polished floor, staining it like sin.
One of the maids, Elizabeth, passing with a tray of herbs, gasped. “You again,” she muttered, dropping to her knees beside him.
“This isn’t just stress,” she noted. “There is something dark around you and I can feel it.”
He wiped his nose and eyes with a rag. “Can it be broken?”
Elizabeth studied his pale f
