Page 105 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

She gazed upon her son with soft concern. “I will pray to Illya for your safe return.”

The city sparkled for the Yuletide. Topiaries lined the cobblestone streets decorated with ribbons and small lanterns hung in bundles along the sidewalk.

Caiden’s thoughts drifted to his wife. His heart yearned for her touch.

As a child, he envisioned a life of service to his kingdom, to the sylph. He wanted to be a soldier since the day he could hold a sword, but life had other plans.

Cassandra gave him purpose. He loved being her husband. His thoughts drifted to the sunny days when she worked in the gardens while he whittled toys for their future children. Her golden hair blowing in the summer breeze, her hands covered in dirt. A tear trickled down his cheek as he walked the snowy streets of Vantris.

He chucked a stone into the nearby river. Gideon would pay for what he did to his wife. He would make sure of that, with or without the sanction of the council.

As he returned to his parents’ home, something gnawed at him. Something he couldn’t quite place, like an itch he couldn’t reach. Had he forgotten something?

A pain crept up his arm. He pulled back his sleeve, hoping to find the source, but he found nothing.

39AELIA

Amolie wokeme at dawn’s first light. “Time to go.”

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I let out a yawn. She shoved a mug of coffee into my hand. I sipped it, letting the warm liquid fill the hole in my chest. Utterly exposed, I would have to confront my fears without Caiden and without the numbness of dust.

The candle I lit the day before still burned beside Baylis’s bed. Its little light fighting the fleeting darkness.

Amolie pulled a needle from her thick wool skirt.“Send some calming pictures into her mind.”

Holding Baylis’s hand, I tethered our minds together, trying my best not to trigger whatever I had before. I summoned a field of wildflowers, projecting a memory of us making daisy crowns, pretending to rule over a make-believe kingdom. Simpler times when we could be children. Before the darkness seeped into our home and into the kingdom.

I wanted to hug the little girls playing before me—protect them from the harsh future awaiting them.

Amolie touched my hand, signaling she had gotten enough blood.

I tucked Baylis’s golden hair behind her ear.“I will come back for you,” I whispered as we crept out of the room.

Amolie handed me the vial of Baylis’s blood. “Keep it safe.”

“Thank you, Amolie, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She squeezed my arm lovingly. “That’s what friends are for.”

I headed to my room to gather my things and change into peasant clothes. The Scepter of the Dead lay silent on the desk.

‘You will need me before this is all over,’the Morrigan’s voice hissed in my ear.

Begrudgingly, I packed it away in my sack.

Tharan waited outside with Arion tethered to a plain cart. He handed me a twine ring enchanted by Elrida with the glamour.

“Are you ready?” he asked, buttoning the simple cotton shirt, his toned arms gleaming beneath.

I sighed. “As I’ll ever be, I suppose.”

Tharan slipped on his twine ring. The glamour did little to hide his beauty.

I would not have such luck. Slipping on the ring, my skin became dull, and the shadows under my eyes returned.

Tharan patted the simple wooden seat next to him on the cart. “Got a seat waiting for you here.”

I smiled and climbed in, trying to kill every butterfly dancing around my stomach.

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