Page 47 of Of Shadows and Blood

“A curse?” Cedric asks, shifting his weight back and forth.

“Not one that I have seen in a very, very long time.”

“Break it.”

“I can’t. Not now at least,” Avonde rasps, head lowering.

“Why?” His fists tighten at his sides and I sink into the cushions. I am not here.

“It is ancient. Far more ancient than the existence of your kind, Your Majesty.”

“What does this mean for me?”

Everyone looks back to me as if just realizing my presence.

“We do not know, but we can break it,” a female cess, a younger tall blonde with murky blue eyes says from the back of the room. “With time.”

Cedric looks back to her. “Do not promise something that is not feasible. The last thing we need is to be let down. To be strung down an avenue that has no end. If there is no cure – no, no I can’t let myself even entertain the thought.”

“We are dealing with no mere amnesia case but rather a whole new persona, a trauma response that created—”

“Me,” I finish for her. “Liv. Because Liv doesn’t exist. Elivienne created her.”

The energy shifts slightly and Avonde continues, bringing my attention back to her. “Essentially. But Serene is correct, we can break it. Anything done can be undone. It is the way of our magic. But Liv, you need to keep feeding.”

“I can’t stomach that.” I rise from the couch. “I want it, but I can’t do it. I keep trying and failing to get past a few drops.”

“You will,” Cedric replies before looking back to the healers. “How long will this take?”

“It could be days or years,” Yully offers. Grenn looks up briefly but continues recording.

“It’s already been two. Her health is deteriorating and her magic is snuffed. You say she was cursed. A curse is a serious affliction, one I do not have to explain to you. How did we miss this? Almost all have been outlawed by the conventions of war on the continent. The High Council should have been alerted to a use of energy like that when it happened, but nothing crossed my desk.”

“You know better than anyone that our enemy has been scaling his ire against us and anyone who stands with us for some time. While we can’t point our fingers south, we can remember that while this continent is big, allegiances run bigger. Believe me, Your Highness, we have been exhausting our options and will not cease in doing so. But we must remain firm in our duties. Every member in this room worked on Liv during those two years. We had no indication this was the root. Have faith. It will take some time. Be patient, Your Highness.”

“You cannot force it? I have seen the extent of all your powers,” he responds quickly, looking at all of them.

“We could… but we cannot without more knowledge of this curse. It is dangerous, Your Majesty,” Percy speaks up.

Cedric was already exiting the cottage by the time Percy finished his response. I could have sworn a tendril of black smoke followed him out. My hands shake before me as daylight filters in from the lace curtains. Someone is speaking about plans but a rush of sound, of emotion, fills my ears.

Someone did this to me.

It was no accident.

It was deliberate.

Chapter 13

Some things beckon and some things crawl. It all derives from a need so innate, so primal, that to ignore it is a tragedy the Gods would punish for.

Avonde, Yully and the rest of the cess left hours ago following the heated revelations. Their plan for my health involves physical, mental and magical training. They will try to find magic, counter-magic, to fix me but they want to avoid being invasive until they have the right spell. The consensus being that I will not get better unless the curse can be broken. Whatever was cast was done so with a dark intention.

A ray of warmth centers me from the sun setting in the west. Some of the golden rays poke through the windows in the kitchen. I put my hand to them, letting them grace my skin just as I did at home in the farmhouse.

I shouldn’t call it home any more. When I first awoke, I was certain this wasn’t real. Lux. That perhaps this was a dream or some terrible confusion.

But after seeing Sawyer, after feeling that magic thrum through my hand and into the cottage door, and after relishing in human blood…