Page 14 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

A clammy sweat dampened my brow. While the others rode ahead, I snorted a pinch of dust to keep myself from withdrawal. An instant high buzzed through my head. Only a little dust remained in the bag. I’d need more soon.

We stopped at a small inn on the outskirts of Oakton, a mid-sized city on the border of the Winter Kingdom. The men stayed in one room while Amolie and I bunked together.

“Banshees,” Amolie said, changing into her nightshirt. The raven tattoo on her shoulder glistened in the candlelight. “I should have given you this earlier.” She tossed a pendant of pink salt toward me. Salts had special uses in magic. Pink salt for protection, white salt for pulling a clarifying spell, and black salt for summoning. The magus never used salt for food, only for magic. Choosing to enchant their food for taste.

“Thanks,” I said, putting the pendant on. A light pulse vibrated through my chest—the salt pulling the negative energy from my body.

“How are you feeling?” Amolie asked as we settled in for the night.

My hand quivered as I undid the laces on my boots. “Do I lookwell, Amolie?”

She shrugged, her curls forming a halo around her round face. “No, that’s why I asked.”

I slid into bed. The cool sheets and plush mattress calmed my ravaged body. “I haven’t been well in a very long time.”

“I had to tell them, Aelia. I knew you would want to know about Baylis.”

Staring at the ceiling, I let my anger fade. “I know, Am. You always mean well.” I rubbed my tired eyes. “I’m so foolish. I should have known Gideon would go after her.” A single tear trickled down my cheek.

Had I overlooked the obvious because I’d been too high to realize it or had I been willfully ignorant the entire time? Not wanting to see what was right in front me. A pit opened in my stomach. I knew the answer, but I didn’t have the guts to face it.

“We all thought she was dead,” Amolie said.

“That might have been better than whatever is happening to her now.” My chest tightened at the thought of my time in Ryft’s Edge. How Gideon had charmed me—wormed his way into my heart—into my mind. And now he was doing the same to my sister.

“I know you’re scared, Aelia. But we’ll save her.”

I sobbed silently to myself. “Why is my life like this? What did I do to offend the Trinity in such a way they sought to seek revenge on me like this?”

“I don’t think Ammena meant for any of us to lead an easily life.” She twiddled her short fingers anxiously. “I never dreamed when I crossed the black sea ten years ago to marry the high wizard, that I’d be back here again.”

“I know what you mean.” I messaged my temples.

“I know you do… That’s why we get along so well, you and me. We are cut from the same cloth.”

“Bonded through trauma,” I snickered.

“It’s true, though. I never thought I’d find a friend again—and then slowly, I got to know you. I learned all your weaknesses, your triumphs, your joy… and your sadness. I saw a reflection of my own pain.”

A lump grew in my throat at Amolie’s vulnerability. “You’re too good to me, Am. I don’t deserve a friend like you.”

“You deserve more than you think you do, Aelia.”

5AELIA

Two brown eyespeered into my soul. My mind brought the face into focus.

My heart twisted in my chest.

A devious smile cut the handsome face in two.

I squirmed to escape his glance, but my body wouldn’t move.

White light surrounded us, illuminating the edges of his face. I screamed, but no sound left my lungs.

“Shh…”His lips graced my cheek.“I’ve been looking for you, my love.”

Another silent scream. I grasped at any shred of reality I could.“You’re not real. You’re not real. I am safe. I am protected.”

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