Page 70 of The Dragon's Gambit
“Yeah, I’m fine. It just hurts sometimes,” Freja said, rubbing her arm.
“What is it, if I may ask?” Reiya watched as Freja lowered her sleeve to show her a glowing red circle with a slash through it.
“It’s a curse from my mother’s old coven. I guess I’m an abomination that needs to be destroyed. This curse will eventually drain my life.” She shrugged. She’d had the mark for about two years now and had come to terms with it.
“That’s it!” Reiya said, punching her fist into her hand.
“What’s it?” Freja smiled at the girl in front of her. She was like no one she’d ever met before. There was a sweetness about her, and Freja couldn’t help but like her.
“The reason for the bubble is because she doesn’t want anyone to intervene, so I can get rid of the curse!” Reiya said with excited eyes.
Freja shook her head and held up a hand. “No, no, no. You can’t. Not this curse. It’s too powerful and has the potential to kill you instead. I’ve tried to remove it. There’s no use.”
Reiya looked confidently at Freja. “I can remove it. It’ll be hard, but I removed a curse similar to this just recently. It was also cast by a powerful witch. I’m not afraid, Freja. This is what I’m supposed to do. I know it.”
“This is your life we’re talking about.” Freja dropped the last of her tough guard. This girl was too sweet. She couldn’t allow her to risk her life for nothing … for someone like her.
“And this is your life we’re talking about, Freja. Don’t you feel it? We’re connected. I’m supposed to do this.”
Freja admitted that it made sense. Otherwise, why would the Moon Goddess put them in a moon bubble? It was so Reiya could concentrate, giving her the highest chance of success. Plus, there was a power emanating from the bubble. This power could help Reiya. Still … it just seemed like so much to ask of a total stranger. She looked into the blue depths of determination in front of her. Why did she feel so protective over this girl?
Freja nodded her head and sighed. “Okay, Reiya, I understand. It’s just … please, be careful.”Why am I being like this? I’m acting like I care more about this girl than myself.She looked at the girl in front of her. She couldn’t help it. Something made her feel attached to her.
Reiya smiled. This girl wasn’t scary. Sure, she was probably an amazing and deadly fighter, but that didn’t make her scary.Brody could be deadly too, and she didn’t fear him. Just another case of people being afraid of what they didn’t know.
“You already understand how curses work, so you know how things will get. Just try to relax, and don’t worry.” Reiya was talking about the excruciating pain that was sure to follow. She watched Freja’s worry-filled eyes and small nod.
With a deep breath, she decided she would go for it. She had to try. She knew everyone else would be livid, especially Lee, but she couldn’t ignore this girl. And she wasn’t supposed to ignore her. This was the reason they were bubbled together. She knew it. If the Moon Goddess believed in her, then she would believe in herself. She already did believe in herself.
Okay, Reiya. Let’s do this.
Chapter 48 Lumi
Reiya placed her hand over the mark on Freja’s shoulder. The moment she touched it, she felt sick. An intense, nauseous feeling hit her, and she had to swallow the urge to gag. She closed her eyes and focused on the source of the mark,feeling herself traveling deeper and deeper inward. Her hand began to burn, and she knew she was close. She saw it. It was like looking at death itself, and that was what it was … a death card for Freja. The deep, putrid stench of decay filled her nostrils as she grasped a rotting skull with seeping, rotten flesh oozing over it.
Excruciating spasms of pain ripped through her arms. The liquid flow of knives traveling into her veins made her grimace in agony. It was bad. It was worse than the first time she did this. She poured her focus onto the skull, imagining it disintegrating and vanishing from the girl’s body. As she concentrated on the curse, she began to feel it. Her legs were being engulfed in a suffocating tar-like substance, thick and heavy as it constricted her movements. Hands of slick oil slithered up her ankles, wrapping around her feet with a sinister grip, pulling her downward into the murky depths below. She struggled against the oily tendrils that wouldn’t release her. This was the rebound effect of the curse—it was now trying to latch onto her.
She couldn’t focus on herself. She still had to remove the curse from Freja. She felt the curse almost mocking her efforts.Bastard.Everyone always mocked her. They thought she was weak.Pfft. She wasn’t weak. She was the damn fairy princess, and this curse was going back to hell where it belonged.
Reiya lifted her eyes to the darkness emanating out of Freja’s body. A bitter chill nipped at her skin, stabbing at her, trying to force her to lose her concentration. It wasn’t going to work. She smirked and lowered her eyes to the highest concentration of darkness. From the depths of her soul, she unleashed a radiant light, casting it upon the shadows and illuminating Freja in its purifying glow. The sparkling spectacle shined brightly and continued until at last, the darkness was gone from Freja. Unfortunately, this took the last of her brilliant energy. She didn’t have anything left to fight the darkness that was pullingher down by her legs. The thick liquid began to creep over her body, devouring the deliciousness of the sweet fairy.
Reiya closed her eyes. She didn’t have any regrets. In the end, she had saved Freja. She felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and worry, knowing they would be devastated in her absence and possibly even blame Freja for her death. She could almost hear Freja’s muffled voice through the black liquid encompassing her. Everything was getting dark. A smile formed on her lips. She wasn’t weak; she had done it. It took more than one powerful witch to put that curse on her, and she was able to remove it by herself.
But the demons ...This thought sounded inside Reiya, and she snapped her eyes open. With her gone, would the dragons still aid them? Plus, her family and friends needed her. She couldn’t let them face that evil alone. Brody … he would be beyond devastated. Maybe never even the same again.Lee …Her thoughts turned to the man she was in love with.
She was exhausted, but she had to dig deeper. It was getting hard to breathe in the sludge cocoon she had been sealed in. Feeling her fighting spirit rise inside of her, she peered into the darkness as the air around her became more humid. She couldn’t give up, not while there was still life inside of her.
A fiery warmth ignited deep within her chest, a fierce longing for life thrumming like a live wire. It surged and expanded, flooding her veins with raw energy, electrifying every inch of her being until she felt unstoppable.
Get off my human, you lifeless void!The growling voice echoed in a crisp, cutting growl. Instantaneously, the darkness combusted.
Reiya stood transfixed before a magnificent wolf that bore an uncanny resemblance to Mira, her mother’s wolf. This creature was grand in both structure and size, with powerful limbs and a noble stance. Yet, unlike Mira’s rich black coat, this wolf wascloaked in pure white fur that shimmered like freshly fallen snow under dappled sunlight. The wolf exuded an aura of elegance and strength, its piercing blue eyes glinting with an intelligence and curiosity that mirrored her own.
“You’re here ... finally!” Reiya smiled and reached out to touch her wolf.
“Not exactly. I’m here inside your mind, but I’m still trapped in the bubble.” The she-wolf lowered her head into Reiya’s hand.
“What’s your name? Why are you trapped?”
