AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good-spirited, Warlord. Surprising seeing as how it was a rough night.”
She didn’t understand what they meant by rough until they entered the cell and she saw the chains bolted into the stone wall, then the man standing with his face craned to capture the scant sunlight creeping through his slit of a window. When he turned, she was struck by his attractiveness, discernible despite the gauntness of his features. She also noticed the raw red wounds on his wrists.
But the thing that struck her most?
The dark threads wrapped around his entire body.
CHAPTER TEN
“Hello.” Lomar offered a bright smile. “And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”
“This is Fionna from Acca,” Kormac stated, resisting an urge to bristle as his friend turned on the charm.
“The witch you requested?” Lomar exclaimed in surprise. “I expected an old crone.”
Fionna cocked her head and offered a smirk. “Even crones start out young. And you don’t look ill, sir.”
“Forget sir. I am Lomar, former general, at your service.” He swept a bow that he must learned in a foreign country since they didn’t indulge in such frivolous nonsense here.
“You are still my second,” Kormac growled. “I won’t replace you.”
“You should. We both know there is no cure to what afflicts me. No offense, lady witch,” Lomar added with an apologetic note.
“None taken. As to a cure, let’s first see what I’m dealing with. Do you mind if I check you over, Lomar?”
“You can touch anything you like,” drawled his friend, and Kormac clenched his fists.
He couldn’t have said why Lomar’s flirting bothered him. It had never been an issue before. They’d often competed to see who could woo a woman into falling into their bed. Lomar’s easy manner won more often than not. Being warlord attracted certain types, but also scared off others.
“Behave, Lomar,” Kormac chided. “Fionna is here to help, and I don’t mean by relieving tension below your belt.”
“What belt? They took that away along with my shoes.” A quip that fell short. Kormac could see the effort Lomar put into appearing cheerful, as if everything were fine.
“If you could stand still.” Fionna paced around Lomar slowly, staring at him intently. She crouched to eye his feet and chafed ankles. She pursed her lips at his wrists and finally stopped to eye the medallion dangling on his chest, glowing a soft purple.
“So?” Kormac couldn’t stand the silence.
“Your friend is most definitely bound by a curse of some sort. The dark threads of it wrap around his entire body.”
“You can see it?” Kormac couldn’t contain his surprise.
“Oh yes. I’ve never seen the like.” She shook her head.
Lomar slumped. “Meaning you don’t know how to remove it.”
“I didn’t say that. Surely you didn’t think this would be a quick process where I walk in, snap my fingers, and poof, you’re cured.”
The corner of Lomar’s lip lifted. “Actually, I did kind of hope it would be that simple.”
“If it helps, I assumed you were either mad because your brain went rotten, or you were drugged. Congrats, you really are cursed.”
Kormac cleared his throat. “Can you remove it?”
“I will try, but like I said, this could take time. I don’t want to rush and make things worse.” She positioned herself directly in front of Lomar and leaned closer to the medallion hanging onhis chest. “This is interesting. It’s old. Very old, and imbued by magic, the purpose of it defined by runes in a mostly forgotten language.”
“You recognize the symbols?” Kormac pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against.
“Yes. It is a combination of three that are meant to emit a warning and provide protection against…” Her brow creased. “I don’t recognize the third marking, but I can have someone at Mystic Keep look into it for me.”
