Page 95 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

The lords returned to mumbling, but no one challenged Tharan’s word.

The meeting adjourned, and the courts returned to their homelands.

Caiden and the Court of Storms would return to the capital city of Vantris with Tharan’s emissary in the morning. Amolie and I would stay in the Woodland Realm and search for a cure for Baylis.

Caiden and I lay in bed together.

“I’m going to miss you,” I said. Caiden laid his head on my chest. “I didn’t think I’d ever say those words again, but I am.”

“I was stupid to make the bargain with you.” He hugged me tighter.

Pressure built behind my eyes. “We both said things we didn’t mean.”

“I wish I could take it back.”

A lump grew in my throat as I stroked his soft, blond hair. “I know.”

I pulled my sleeve back, wiping away the glamour Amolie had covered my arm with.

Caiden’s eyes widened at the sight of the mark. He pulled back his sleeve, revealing one of his own. “I wanted to keep loving you until I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I too covered it with glamour.” He sat on his knees, pulling me in close. “I’m sorry, Aelia. I’m sorry I did this to us.”

Our time was at an end. No more sweet kisses or stolen glances. No reminiscing about our youth. Only I would carry our memories. Cursed to remain while Caiden moved on.

“We did this to each other.” My words stuck in my throat as tears poured down my face.

The bargain needed to be completed before he left for Vantris tomorrow.

I struggled for air, the futility of our struggle cementing within me. There would be no reversing it. Tomorrow, I would gradually vanish from Caiden’s memory, like sand carried away by the wind.

“I love you,” I said, looking into Caiden’s blue eyes. “I know you won’t remember, but I hope your heart keeps the memory your mind won’t.”

Taking my face in his hands, he thumbed my cheek. “I will find a way back to you.” He kissed me passionately. “I love you, Aelia. I loved you even when I hated you, and I will keep a space in my heart for you until the end of time.” A promise he couldn’t keep.

Laying me down on the bed, tears wetting both our eyes, we indulged in one last night of passion.

Tomorrow, I would be a stranger to him.

We made love until the sun rose; neither wanted to waste our last precious moments together sleeping, hoping our bodies could convey what our words could not. Caiden held me until the morning bells chimed. I committed everything I could about him to memory. His smell, the dimples on his cheeks, the way one piece of his unruly hair fell over his eye. These memories were for me.

A knock woke us from our dream.

We quickly dressed.

“Come in.”

The door creaked open, and a sleepy-eyed Amolie strolled in carrying a comprehensive book and a mug of coffee.

“Sorry to disturb you, but I found something.” She laid the massive tome on the desk.

Pulling my hands through my disheveled hair, I hoped the smell of sex wasn’t too pungent.

“What is it?” Caiden asked.

Amolie motioned to the tome. “This is a book of ancient spells. From a time before the Trinity.”

The book was full of old pages, yet the colors on the paper were still vivid even after thousands of years. I delighted in the smell of old parchment. “You can read this, Amolie?”

“The scholars in the library helped me to translate it.” She pointed to the text. “This is a spell to bind a soul to an object. I’m guessing Erissa used it to bind Baylis’s soul to her amulet.”

---