Page 6 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

Time stopped at the sight of Caiden Stormweaver, Lord of the Court of Storms, sitting at a small table in the dim room. Golden hair cascaded in waves over his sculpted brow. His square jaw pebbled with stubble. Blue eyes fixed on mine.

My fingers twitched with the memories of summer days spent lying on the grass, exploring each other’s bodies. Memories I wish I could erase. The irony in being one of the last telepaths on the continent—I could erase anyone’s mind but my own.

Regret rotted in my stomach, but somehow, I willed my feet to move.

“Please take a seat.” He motioned to the worn chair in front of him.

Chewing the side of my lip, I wiped my sweating palms on my pants in hesitation.

He held up his hands. “No tricks, I promise.” His voice was as smooth as aged brandy.

I took the seat, noting all the exits. A small window I could easily break through to my left and the door behind me. “I assume you’re here about the oath, Caiden,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He nodded. “Yes, blood oaths are not easily undone. I promised I’d protect you and your sister. So here I am, at the edge of the world, making good on my promise.”

The gold in his hair caught in the flickering candlelight.

My anger did not stop my breath from hitching when I peered into his soft eyes. The same eyes I remember staring back at me all those years ago when our flesh and souls had become one.

Caiden pushed an unruly piece of hair out of his face. “I have located Baylis.”

“Bullshit. Have you come here to taunt me?” Hope flickered in my chest, but I dared not give it air.

Caiden examined the shabby room while a winter wind battered the windows. “Do you think I traveled all this way for a joke?”

“I think you’ve traveled further for less.” I gave him a snarky look.

A flame crackled in the hearth.

He held up his hand. A ring of gold encircled his fourth finger. “I’m not here to win you back, Aelia.”

Thorns grew in my throat. He’d moved on.

Caiden’s eyes would not meet mine, making me squirm in my chair. “It gets worse.”

I ground my teeth together. A pressure building inside me.

“Gideon has her.”

A breath escaped my chest at the name. Gideon Ironheart, King of the Highlands, my husband. “No shit. I’ve suspected that for five years. What proof do you have? I know every inch of his palace. Every place he would hide her. Every secret he keeps. And I haven’t found so much as a whiff of Baylis.”

“My scouts saw her in Gideon’s traveling party, making their way towards the Woodland Realm.” Lucius’s eyes told me I should be worried, but I had become ignorant of the politics of men and magus since I fled Ryft Edge.

“Are you sure it was her? Could have been a body double? Could have been a glamour to lure me out of hiding. Could have been a coincidence.”

“Trust me. My men are very good at what they do.” He leaned back in his chair.

Matching his stance, I bit my lower lip. “I trust you and your men about as far as I can throw them.”

Caiden let out an exasperated sigh. “I knew this was a waste of time. I should have known you’d never believe me. Guess I’ll save Baylis myself.”

My chest tightened. I compressed my insides. He had my goat, and he knew it. “Fine, I’ll bite. What else do you know?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Caiden’s mouth. “We think he’s planning to offer her as a gift to the Alder King.”

“Why would the Alder King want my sister?”

Caiden mulled over his words, rubbing his jaw. “We think Gideon will claim she has your mother’s gift of sight.”

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