Page 76 of The Bones of the Cursed

“Oh fuck.”

“What? Malakai, what’s wrong?” Alanis’s worried question lets me know that I did in fact voice my thoughts unintentionally.

I look at the group. “I know where we are.”

They all stare at me, waiting expectantly. Alanis, impatient as hell, snaps, “Malakai, I could really do without the drawn-out theatrics.”

Unable to help myself, I smirk at the fire inside her. That fire is what first drew me to her. The pushback she gave Kailu, the fight she puts up with everyone.

“Oh firecracker, careful there with that sass.”

She puts her hand on her hip. “Or what, my dear prince?”

I grab her by the back of the neck, yanking her to me. “Or I might just have to take you over my knee to teach you some manners,” I whisper in her ear before giving it a nip. Goosebumps break out across her skin, making my smile turn devious.

Kailu groans, clearly enjoying our little tiff, and Alanis practically melts in my arms.

Oh yeah, once we get out of this mess we are going to have some fun.

I lock eyes with Elion, who looks wholly uncomfortable.

“We’re on the Isle of Rimoldi,” I say.

“Shit,” Kailu says, taking my place to peer out the gap.

Elion looks confused. “All right?”

Alanis speaks first. “We will fill you in about the history of this cursed place later, Elion. I don’t get what the big deal is, though. We already discussed we had to come here. We should try to find the throne!”

Kailu mumbles, “Doesn’t mean I wanted to come here.”

Alanis pokes him in the stomach. “Don’t be a baby.”

Elion has a perplexed expression plastered on his face. “What curse?”

I shrug in a nonchalant way. “First off, we can’t risk being captured to find the throne. We need backup for that. The curse is a different story. The only ones who know the truth are dead now, save for Iclas himself. Basically, everyone who was cursed was trapped here and eventually died shortly after the curse was laid upon them. From the history texts, the Gods unleashed the Nuckelavee onto the land as part of the curse.”

Alanis squeezes my hand. “The what?”

“The best way I can describe the Nuckelavee is…evil incarnate. A demon that spreads disease. Its breath alone passes infection to animals and plants, which cut off their food source. It dwells in the sea, so the Isle of Rimoldi was alwayscautious about this demon, but he never bothered them—not until the Gods themselves dragged him from the abyss for their reckoning.”

“Would he come back here?” Elion asks in a quiet voice, as if scared the Nuckelavee himself might hear. “If things get bad again, would the Gods send him back?”

“I’m not sure. You will know immediately who he is if you ever see him, though. He’s a type of water horse, the rider a part of him, as if sewn on. Both are skeletal in nature, with sharp teeth and hollowed out eyes. The rider carries a long, jagged sword. Shipping merchants call him ‘the devil of the sea.’”

Alanis shudders. “Well, let’s hope we never have a run-in with that creature. But to conclude, the island has remained abandoned, or at least presumed abandoned. Obviously Iclas and his growing army have been living here.”

“Makes sense, but what doesn’t is how he survived the Nuckelavee when no one else did,” Elion murmurs. He reminds me so much of Alanis. They may not be blood relatives, but their bond is one that can’t be broken.

“Iclas ran with whoever remained in his family before the Gods ever got there. No one knows where he went, but everyone thought him dead, even the Gods. From what I hear, his family is all dead. Now that I know more, I would say he used his own family as sacrifices.

“He waited and when it was safe, he summoned the Hell Gods. There is a record of him being seen with them. Best guess, he sold his soul in exchange to live. The Hell Gods love to wreak havoc. They also tie their bargains into tattoos. That would explain his heavily tattooed face. I would guess his entire body has markings from his deals with them. It also makes sense that he’s the reason no one has returned from this Isle.”

“What kind of deals do you think he made? Besides surviving the curse,” Alanis asks.

It’s Kailu who answers. “He survived the curse, but the Hell Gods couldn’t remove it fully. You said he was still trapped here, unable to leave for long periods of time. I would think he made sacrifices and deals for power, strengthening what he already possessed as Fae. It helped him control creatures and humans alike to make his army, things like that. Unless the Nuckelavee’s infections wore off the land, there would be no food here, so he leaves for food and things.” He pauses. “Or I suppose the Hell Gods could have made him into something immortal.”

“Immortal?” Alanis says in a shaky voice.

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