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“Can I be the judge of that?” she asked gently.
“I have caused you enough distress already.”
He reached out to a nearby rose bush and picked a perfect red bloom, handing it to Amelie. Mindful of the thorns, she lightly touched the velvety petals. It saddened her to think of these stunning flowers being sequestered in this garden for so long, with no one to appreciate them.
“Do I need to compare you to a rose?” she asked, a slow smile forming on her face. “About how the thorns are part of even the most lovely bloom?”
He scoffed. “But I do not possess the bloom at all. Only the thorns.”
“I do not agree.”
She placed the rose in her lap, the red and green vivid against her pale blue dress.
“Well, then, you see things I do not.” He sighed heavily, then continued. “I spoke to Oskar while we unloaded the cart. I have been ignorant of the extent of the suffering of the villagers. It seems the Dark One stirs trouble in the settlement because she doesn’t have access to the castle.”
“Does she attack them?”
Disconcerted, Amelie recalled the Dark One’s foul imitation of Julie. It had been a simple Glamour spell, she figured. To imitate a child was in poor taste, to say the least, but not actively harmful to the girl. Perhaps the sorceress had been doing worse things in the village.
“No. For better or worse, the only person she wishes to outright attack is me, and now you. But she casts a pall. Villagers have sickened, more and more lately. You know merchants and healers avoid the place. Crops wither more often than they flourish. And it is because I continue to dwell here.”
“The curse is not your fault. And what would you do? You have to exist somewhere, do you not?”
Davron was silent for so long that she became concerned. She could not bear the thought of him considering whether his life was, on balance, worth living.
“Do you mean that you would move away?” she asked in a small voice.
“I dare not leave the castle, because of the enchantments. They suppress the worst of the Dark One’s wrath. If I leave, I can’t imagine the horror she’d unleash on us, but also the world, the land, the people. There’d be nothing to constrain her.”
Amelie stroked the top of his hand. “I know you said you could do nothing about it, but there has to be a way to break the curse.”
Davron watched her fingertips draw patterns on his hand, his face a storm of misery. “The Heartstone was my best hope, I believe. And it failed.”
“The Dark One hinted that she was your mother’s friend,” said Amelie, suddenly recalling.
“Well, she was. My mother studied at Starlight Gardens with Levissina. The High Magus tried to help us because he felt partially responsible for the immense power the Dark One wielded.”
Amelie raised her brows. “She can’t have been all terrible, then, if she had a good friend and a husband she loved.”
“No. While tempestuous, Malakai kept her somewhat grounded. For all her faults, she loved her husband beyond compare and doted on their son. Her fate as the Dark One was not, I believe, inevitable. The waylaying of her potential was a tragedy in itself. My mother’s death was an immeasurable loss too, of course. Her purpose in life was to bring hope and goodness to the world.” Davron gave Amelie a small smile. “You remind me of her in that way.”
“I’m very touched,” she replied quietly. “But I am sure I do not hold a candle to her.”
“You underestimate yourself and your effect on others.” He stroked her chin affectionately. “She would be glad you wield the Sirenstone. It was gifted to her by the sirens, after she aided them in their war against the Dark Tide Clan pirates. She’d be glad the Heartstone is yours, too. If the stone could not break the curse, at least it’s protecting the woman I—” He cleared his throat. “To protect a pure and innocent heart.”
Amelie wondered what he had been going to say. She had a strong inkling, and the thought filled her with euphoria and fear. It was overwhelming to consider, so she pushed the thought firmly aside.
“What is the Heartstone, exactly?” she asked, as if he had not paused.
“I don’t know for sure. I suspect the stone is a distillation of love. My mother wrote notes on the subject, but they said nothing more than that. I doubt she knew what would happen when she sought it. It was an act of desperation, for she knew Levissina would kill her.”
Despondence washed over Amelie. The scope of the damage caused by Malakai’s death and the curse seemed never-ending. Even a magical stone from the Beyond could not undo it.
“The Sirenstone and Heartstone are so precious,” said Amelie. “I can scarcely believe you sent them away with my brothers—two men you’d never met before.”
“It was easy, because I knew they’d find their way to their fated destination. They are not simply rocks—they have living essences and destinies of their own. And besides, I had no use for them.”
Amelie nodded, pondering his words. “What if I didn’t use the Sirenstone for self-defense? What if, just say, I used the Sirenstone to become a bandit? What if I wanted to strike terror into the hearts of men? Would it still work?”
