Page 17 of A Baron of Bonds
“Don’t call me that. I’m not a pipsqueak anymore, if you haven’t noticed.”
He sat up and squinted down at me. His eyes were a piercing ice blue and my cheeks reddened at his gaze. He looked me up and down and grinned. “You know, I think you might be right. When did that happen?”
I threw grass at him like we did as children and he laughed, grabbing my hand before I could throw more. His smile lit his face, producing the one dimple on his left cheek that had my heart skipping a beat. He paused and tilted his head slightly as he looked at me, and I wanted to sink into the ground and live there forever and ever.
He cleared his throat. “Come on. Let’s race the lumens and go explore.It’s a beautiful day and we cannot waste it.”
I smiled and took his hand to stand up, brushing the dirt from my backside before reaching up to run my hand through his curls to remove the grass.
He shook his head like a lumen, bits flying around us, and I laughed, ignoring my name being called on the summer wind.
Chapter 15
Karus
“My heart had always belongedto Felgren. Even as a young child, I would ride bareback on a lumen through the trees and it was like they called to me.”
The Blightress continued her rocking and spoke her story. I listened with rapt attention, yet counted down the minutes in the back of my mind.
“I was as much a daughter of the forest as I was to my own mother and father. It took care of me better than they ever could. It took some time before my people realized what I could do. Never before had they seen one who could channel magic and use it to heal wounds, call to animals, grow fruit, or dig up stones.”
“You had all the magic of each kind of conduit?” I asked, placing the bowl of soup on the floor and folding my hands in my lap.
“Have. I have all the magic of each conduit. And more.” She tilted her head again in that unsettling way, her iridescent eyes glinting in the firelight. “Have you not discovered this about yourself, Little Sprout?”
I clamped my mouth shut, determined not to interrupt her again. I’d dwell on that question later.
When I didn’t respond, she sighed and continued. “After I had grown into womanhood, I became more of a leader to my people. We were only just discovering the uses of my power, and I was sought out for them. I acted as healer, speaker, grower, and finder of all things with glimmer on the isle, and I loved every moment of it. Using my gift to help others was everything I wanted in life except for one thing.”
She stared at me, daring me to speak.
“And what was that?” I didn’t have time to play her game.
“A family, Karus. I wanted to settle down with the man I had loved since childhood, and grow babies, and pour all of my love into what we could make together.” Her gaze moved to the fire as it hardened. “That, however, was not what happened.
“You see, when you give some of yourself to another, you are no longer whole. Instead, a piece of you is gone and the more often you do this, the more parts of you that go missing. I am still missing those parts of me.” She turned her gaze back to mine, fury in her eyes. “And I want them back.”
“What does this have to do with me? I don’t have these pieces you seek.”
“You do, Karus, but I am not asking you to return the power I gave to you.” She shook her head and a slow smile crossed her lips. “I am taking back the power of the Baron of Felgren.”
I scoffed, laughing in disbelief. “You gave me nothing, and you will take nothing from Revich.”
“Would you like to hear of your mother? Of how she and your father led one of the many expeditions into my realm, funded by your Queen?”
I shook my head in refusal. Too many answers to questions I had never asked were just spoken and in such a casual manner. I didn’t believe a word of it. “You still speak in riddles and lies. Your time is almost up, so get on with your tale.”
Her magic shuddered around her fingers as she gripped the arms of her chair. I smirked, playing with fire and ignoring any threat of the burn.
She leaned forward, her brows narrow, her red lips open wide to speak her next words slowly, “I discovered you in your mother’s womb long before she knew you existed, but not before I tore out your father’s heart in front of her.”
I stood, knocking the bowl over, its contents spilling onto the white stone floor.
“Parvus, Rauca, we’re leaving.” I whistled through my teeth and moved to the door.
“Stop.” Dark trails of her magic encased the door. I gripped its handle, pulling hard without success. “I still have a few minutes yet, Karus. If you will not sit and listen, you will stand and listen.”
Her power gripped my arms taut to my side and her magic covered my mouth, silencing the retort I was about to speak.
