Ace's curiosity piqued. He knew as a curse master, Lola likely possessed her own innate curse tool and curse art, but this? This was something else. He was curious as to what her innate curse tool and curse art were capable of.
"Ace—" Lola started, her voice tinged with excitement as she finally got the chance to talk to her crush.
But before she could say anything more, Sonia tackled her from the side, sending both of them tumbling down the steps in a chaotic blur of limbs and angry cries. Ace instinctively took a step forward, ready to follow, but a firm voice from the top of the stairs stopped him.
"Leave them be," Mrs. Martin called out, her tone making it clear there was no room for argument. Ace hesitated, then nodded and hurried after her to the villa main door.
At the entrance, however, they were met with a barricade in the form of Delores, who stood with arms crossed, blocking their path. Her sharp gaze flickered over Ace before landing on Mrs. Martin.
"What business do you have here, Matthews?" she asked coolly, her brow furrowing slightly.
Matthews, however, didn't even bother meeting her gaze as she ordered Delores, "Go fetch Aurelian Eyes. I have business with her." Her voice was dismissive, treating Delores like nothing more than a servant.
Ace, caught off guard to meet Delores here, gave a small, awkward wave, "Uh… hi."
Delores ignored him and her expression darkened listening to Matthews's order her around like she was just another maid, "Young Miss is busy crafting. Come back later."
Matthews finally locked eyes with her, his tone dropping to a dangerous low. "I'm here instead of keeping a promise to my daughter. So I'll ask you one last time—fetch Aurelian Eyes."
A muscle in Delores' jaw tightened. For a moment, she stood her ground, but then, with a clipped nod, she stepped aside.
"Come in," she said tersely. "But you'll have to wait. You know how she hates being interrupted."
"I can wait," Matthews replied, stepping inside without another word.
As they followed Delores through the villa, Matthews's usual indifference remained, but deep down, she knew—she could ignore the likes of Evil Eyes and Sky Slayer, but Aurelian Eyes? She was different. And right now, she needed her help.
As Ace and Matthews took their seats, Delores couldn't help but shoot Ace a sharp look. "What are you doing with the likes of her?" she asked, her tone laced with thinly veiled disapproval.
No matter how indifferent she usually was toward Ace, her loyalty to Mandy wouldn't let her just sit back and watch her friend's nephew entangle himself in something dangerous.
Ace noticed the way Delores spoke as if Mrs. Martin and the C.I.B. were the lowest of the low. It confused him—especially since the McSuile family was deeply intertwined with the C.I.B. Weren't they supposed to be on the same side? Watching the tension simmer between Delores and Matthews, Ace started to second-guess everything Dame Wasp had told him about the McSuile family's ties to the C.I.B. Considering Dame Wasp's main source of information was the curse web, maybe this—what he was seeing now—was closer to the truth than all the rumors and propaganda floating around.
"I was unlucky enough to run into a witch who took a fancy to my skin," Ace said casually, as if recounting an inconvenient shopping trip. "Luckily, Mrs. Martin saved me and brought me here to lift the curse the witch put on me."
Delores blinked, visibly thrown by his nonchalant tone. Her brows knit together as she repeated, "Witch? Mrs. Martin?"
"He means a curse master," Matthews clarified smoothly. "And Martin is my husband's family name." She glanced at Ace before adding, "He's my daughter's classmate." That last part, though said offhandedly was to explain why Ace knew her family name that wasn't widely known in the 'World of Curses.'
Delores, still skeptical, exhaled sharply before shifting her attention to Ace. "What about the curse? I don't sense anything from you."
She moved closer, taking his left wrist with cool fingers as she tried to trace the supposed curse within his body. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, searching.
Matthews, watching her attempt, simply said, "It's a very high-level dormant curse." Her voice was calm, almost amused. "If I couldn't detect it, I didn't expect you to."
Delores tensed at that, her grip tightening slightly before she let go of Ace's wrist. She didn't like being underestimated—but more than that, she didn't like the implications of a curse even Matthews couldn't sense.
"Then how is he still alive?" Delores asked, her brows furrowing in disbelief.
It was common knowledge that the stronger the curse, the stronger the vessel needed to contain it. A mortal-tier curse was the absolute limit for an ordinary human. Anything beyond that should have torn Ace apart.
Matthews exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes. "That's why I'm here."
There were too many unanswered questions surrounding the boy, and Matthews had none of the answers. She could only hope that Aurelian Eyes would.
"Do Mandy and your parents know about this?" Delores asked, her tone edged with concern.
She had met Ace's folks before—they were good people. The last thing she wanted was for them to get entangled in the 'World of Curses.'
"No. They think I'm staying over at a friend's," Ace admitted.
As if on cue, his phone buzzed in his pocket. The sudden ring made his stomach drop. When he glanced at the screen, his entire body tensed.
Ace froze, fingers hovering over the decline button. He considered ignoring it, but knowing his mother, that would only make things worse. She'd squeeze the truth out of Danny and send his father straight to the Martin family ranch to drag him home.
With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate and answered the call. He planned to get over this as fast as possible so he could focus his mind on the matter at hand.