Page 73 of Oath of Betrayal
‘Tell me what’s going on. Don’t keep me in the dark when I know you’re struggling.’ Alaric pulled away, looking at me with a strange sadness before he reached up and unbuttoned his kaftan collar.
I’d never seen him undressed. All his shirts and kaftans were always tied up to his neck. Only on rare occasions had I seen a hint of his chest, and the view was unexpected. The skin was smooth, with a silk sheen covered with strange silver markings. I didn’t recognise the symbols, but I still remembered the strange glow I’d seen the other night.
That must have been what was glowing, I thought, reaching towards them before I stopped, my hand hovering over his skin.
Magic tingled on my fingertips, awakened by my proximity to the symbols, but something felt wrong with the beautiful script. I let my fingers travel along the marks, noticing their otherworldly metallic feel, so contrasting with the warmth of his skin. ‘They’re causing me the pain you witnessed,’ he explained in a low, husky voice.
‘What are they? I know little about the dark fae. Is it some kind of family custom?’ I asked, moving my hand higher and laying it on his collarbone. ‘No, they are not, and I wish it were possible to get rid of them. If it would make any difference, I’d burn them from my skin with a red-hot poker,’ Alaric said so vehemently that I gasped.
He placed his hand over mine, and I realised I’d been staring at the marks. His statement piqued my curiosity, and I took a better look. They were strange; with his torso fully exposed, I saw how unnatural they looked. It was almost as if someone had used molten silver as ink, the edges scarred and damaged. ‘You can touch them again, Ani,’ he whispered. ‘I can see how curious you are.’
‘But you told me they were painful.’
‘Yes, but I’m a man who likes pain, remember?’ I could see the tension written all over his body. My breath hitched when I looked at his golden eyes, crimson creeping in at the edges. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I let my fingers trail over the thin silver lines.
‘Is it a spell?’
Ari closed his eyes, and a small moan escaped his lips.
‘Yes, a spell of sorts. This is the reason you heard me that night and found me like this today. This is my curse, a link that my mother’s power forged with the Lich King’s magic.’ He was so bitter that I removed my hand instead of sliding it lower, where the longest line slid down his stomach.
‘Curse? Your mother cursed you?’ I asked, struggling to comprehend how she could do that.
‘I did it to myself, but the will behind each letter of this curse was my mother’s. They are the symbol of the promise I made when her spirit possessed my body and a testament to the love she had for her misbegotten son,’ he snarled.
Alaric tensed again when I scraped my nail over the silver symbols. It didn’t feel like skin at all, but at the sudden intake of breath, I knew he could feel every touch. ‘I need more than cryptic explanations.’ I said, rolling my eyes.
Alaric grasped my hand and pressed it harder to the mark. The swirling crimson that had ghosted his pupils now threatened to overwhelm them. ‘Don’t stop. I told you they cause me pain, but not when you touch them … they are silent when you are around me. You have brought me relief after centuries of agony. So please, please don’t stop.’
‘I won’t, but we have to tell Orm. Knowing the Lich King can reach you … it’s dangerous, and not only for you. Is there a way to remove the curse?’ I questioned, placing both palms on his chest. Orm’s remark some time ago that Alaric seemed happier in my company finally made sense.
‘We?’ he asked, and when I looked up, I saw the first smile ghost his lips since my arrival at his workshop.
‘What? You didn’t think I’d leave you to face this alone, did you? Orm knows people in the capital. I know university mages are a bunch of arrogant pricks—well, most of them—but theyknow their craft, and if he can’t force them to cooperate, I will. So, tell me, my beautiful fae, how can I help?’
‘I’ve tried, Annika. I’ve spent hundreds of years searching for a solution. It is an unbreakable oath carved in blood and necromancy. It will only vanish when its conditions are fulfilled. When I find my sister Rowena … And she’s with the Lich King.’
‘So that’s why you wanted to go to the Barren Lands … but Orm is right. It’s a suicide mission, even if the Barrier would let you pass.’
‘It will. If it’s faded enough to let an olgoi worm pass, it will let me through, too. I know it is dangerous, but I may be forced to try it, anyway.’
‘No, I refuse to accept that. I’m not losing you. There must be another way. Hell, I’ll go to the capital myself if I have to, but we’ll find a way to remove it. Also, you should have told me earlier that my touch helps you. I just remembered Arno saying something about conduits disrupting the flow of the aether.’
He looked at me with such disbelief that I had to chuckle.
‘What are you trying to say?’ Alaric asked cautiously.
‘That you can touch me? When things get too much, even for a sucker for pain like yourself, just come to me, and I will hold you, touch your marks, no questions asked,’ I said, and he took my hand, placing a long, soft kiss on my palm. ‘You’ll be the death of me.’
‘Well, I hope not. I don’t want to grieve for someone else with my old grief coming back around for a second time—which reminds me: I have a request. Speed up your reversal spell. I’m tired of waiting. And if I have to help you with this curse as well as the Lich King, I’ll be needing more than just one Anchor.’
‘It’s dangerous, sweetheart,’ he said, but I placed my finger on his lips.
‘Just do it, I can handle it.’ I just hoped I wouldn’t live to regret the words.
One week later
Dragon fire surrounded me, the flames dancing before my eyes as Tal and Arno looked on in silent accusation, their bodies obscured by an impenetrable fog. I knew I loved them, had been willing to sacrifice myself to keep them safe, but something was missing, and I couldn’t help but search for whatever that was.
