Page 11 of The Bones of the Cursed

THE SOLDIER

Just hours ago, I had a beautiful female next to me. Not that I plan on a repeat. After everything I’ve been through, I don’t ever plan on opening up my heart to anyone. It’s safer to not know them for longer than a night. I’m not interested in anything beyond that. Once feelings get involved, everything turns to shit.

Now here I am, following behind Captain Thelos as we ride to the Outskirts, the small refugee camps the king and queen built, just outside the city of Percius. Anxiety has been coursing through my blood since the moment he informed me of the missing soldiers last night. Each time we are forced to deliver news like this to a family, a piece of me withers and dies. From what I’m told, Elion Bowman only has one sister, so hopefully this won’t be too painful.

The captain stops in front of a small stone cottage, the door painted a cheery shade of sunshine yellow. The front yard is in need of tending, the grass tall but full of beautiful wildflowers of various colors decorating the yard like paint splotches. I squint against the fading sun and take in the two women across the road who have turned to face us. One is blonde while the otherhas dark brown hair, the color rich like chocolate.

Recognition jolts through my body, stunning me into silence.

It’s her.

The woman from the ship almost a year ago.

I’d recognize those blue eyes anywhere.

The air seems to leave my body as I watch in slow motion while she approaches the captain, who now stands knocking on her cheerful colored door. I pray that Elion is not her brother, but I remember a man with her that day. At the time, I thought he was maybe a husband.

The fear in her eyes alone tells me I was wrong.

- ALANIS -

Maryanna let me go home early today, claiming I was too tired and my brain was useless mush. Since I got back, I have been helping Hannah with her garden, my eyes heavy from lack of sleep. But I enjoy the act of planting seeds, of gently coaxing carrots out of the ground, of ensuring each earthworm has a good home.

Hannah squeals, jumping up from the dirt and flicking a giant worm off her arm.

Giggling, I reach for the poor worm where it landed near our basket of green beans and show it to her.

“It’s just a harmless worm, Hannah. Look how cute it is.”

Her face blanches. “Ihateworms. They freak me out. They just wriggle about and are slimy.”

Shaking my head, I laugh and set the worm into a new home far away from Hannah.

The sound of hooves beating into the ground draws my attention. A plume of dust forms as the horses trot towards us, the roads here made of dirt unlike the cobblestone streets in thecity.

Simultaneously, we turn towards the noise. Soldiers of the crown ride in our direction, their horses slowing in front of my home across the way. My stomach tightens painfully, my chest constricting with a gnawing worry as one soldier dismounts, heading towards my door, and without needing them to say a word, I know why they’re here.

Eli.

I slowly approach, my sights set on the dark-haired male now knocking on my door, only for my gaze to be drawn to the male with cropped blond hair standing beside him. Gods, he is handsome, with dark emerald eyes that stand out against his pale skin. The gold buttons on his deep blue jacket glint in the sun. His gray trousers are covered in a layer of dirt, yet his black boots are polished to perfection. A gold badge is pinned to both breast pockets, making me wonder his station in the King’s Guard.

It’s him. The soldier from the day we arrived. He had the same surly expression on his face, his eyes sharp as they stared at me for longer than was normal, but I didn’t mind. He was the first person I saw when I entered the realm, and what a sight he was.

“Miss,” says the blond soldier, “might you be Alanis Bowman?”

I hear the words, but their meaning remains murky and muffled. Hannah, who has followed me over to my home, nudges me in the ribs, and I shake my head to break through the fog that had overtaken me.

“Yes, yes I am.”

The soldier gives me a pitying smile. “I apologize that I am the one to bring this news, but your brother Elion has gone missing during one of his scouting missions for the kingdom.”

Maybe I am delusional or just naive, but I immediately exhalein relief and chuckle. “Oh, thank the Gods, he isn’t dead.” The soldiers and Hannah look at me like I’m insane, and maybe I am. But if he is only missing, then there is a chance he might still be out there. “When was the last time he was seen? Where was he? What are you doing to find him?”

The soldier clears his throat, glancing to the male beside him, who doesn’t look eager to speak. “Your brother was last seen two nights ago while patrolling the northern border of the Sinwood Mountains. We have a small group of guards searching for his patrol.”

“How many men went missing?”

He rubs the back of his neck, almost like he isn’t sure whether or not to tell me more details. In the end, he sighs and says, “Half of your brother’s patrol, which makes six in total. I can assure you that we’re doing everything we can to find them.”

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