Page 114 of The Silent Mountain
“Your Highness,” Erin’s voice reaches my ears as I feel myself drifting off more and more. “Allow me to attend to your brother and the queen. I won’t let any harm come to them. I know what I am doing. You need to go with Cassie to break the curse.”
“Cassie?” Favian asks. “Wouldn’t that be a task for you?”
“No, my powers are more of a defensive nature, but Cassie’s witch coven handled curses and dark spells. She knows a lot, she just lacks confidence. I can’t break the curse. She can.”
*FAVIAN*
I try not to think of the state my brother and Alana are in. We barely made it in time. Elio’s life is hanging on by a single thread, it seems, while Alana is in a terrible state. She has scratches and injuries all over her body, and her arm is damaged. What happened down there to the two people I love the most?
Theodor joins us, his eyes cloud with worry, when he sees Elio. He instantly takes over attending to his injuries, giving me the chance to check on Alana. “My love, your arm, let me look at it,” I say softly. “It needs to be treated.”
Alana has clutched it to her chest, but now let’s go. My lips part in shock when I see the state her arm is in; her hand has been severed. Erin and I exchange a gaze, but don’t say anything. I gently take her arm. “Erin will treat it. We’ll make sure that the injury heals properly.”
“It was that… or the curse killing me,” she mutters.
“You cut it off yourself!?” Erin exclaims.
Alana parts her lips to say something, but no sound leaves them. She just nods. “It’s ugly, isn’t it?” she whispers tiredly. “I am ugly now, aren’t I?”
“You have nerves of steel!” Theodor proclaims.
“You are not ugly!” I say with emphasis. “Nothing could ever make you ugly!” I hope that she can feel my sincerity through our bond, because I doubt words will truly reach her right now. I can’t believe she did what she did.
We were so close to the curse that it was spreading within minutes. The prophylaxis didn’t help anymore,I can hear Ros’ voice in my mind.We couldn’t let it take us away from you and the clan.
With Ros’s explanation, I put two and two together. What an incredibly tough decision to make! To imagine I could have truly lost her today. “What you did was unbelievably brave! I am not sure if I could have done it,” I say quietly.
“Me neither,” Theodor blurts out.
Thank you for not leaving me, Alana,I link her.Thank you for fighting to stay with me and the clan. Nothing could ever make you ugly in my eyes. You are the most stunning and brave person to me.
She doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her nerves calming down.
“She is completely exhausted,” Erin says. “Your Highness, I have it covered here.”
“Theodor, stay with them,” I command, before standing up, reaching out for Favia. She doesn’t disappoint me, and instantly appears.Leave it to me,she says.I will make sure our bond to Elio remains strong and that he gets strength through it.
My worry for Alana and Elio distracted me from my anger, but now I feel my wrath returning in full force. I will kill every one of these cultists for harming my family! “I have a spell to destroy and an island to burn down!”
Most of my warriors have by now seized the building, with some of them guarding the island itself. I seek out Stefan and Cassie. “Follow me,” I say.
“Did…did Alana truly cut off her hand so that the curse wouldn’t spread?” Cassie whispers her question.
“Yes,” I say.
“You have to be joking! That woman has nerves of steel,” Stefan states, impressed.
“And Elio?” Cassie asks.
I cast a glance back at my brother, seeing how Theodor is attending to him. My heart breaks at the sight. I should be there now, but Alana is right, if we don’t stop the curse, then we won’t be safe, ever. “I am clinging to the hope that he will be alright.”
“Erin is good,” Cassie tells me. “I think Barbara would have died much sooner if it weren’t for her. And she made that potion for everyone so quickly.”
“What do you want us to do now?” Stefan asks while I lead them into the building. True to Alana’s promise, my warriors have found a staircase that leads further down into a whole underground area.
“We are going to stop the spell,” I say.
My warriors have dealt with the cultists by now. If there isn’t an escape route somewhere, I doubt anyone got away. “They suddenly stopped fighting,” one of my warriors tells me.
