AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now, look at this,” Calâr said on a sigh. “She still won’t tell you. Well, I guess that leaves me to explain her deceit to you. Mind you, I’ve taken this straight from her thoughts. When she attacked me just now, trying to break into my mind, her little spell backfired and allowed me to see inside her head. So much in there she hasn’t told you, so much guilt and shame…”
Calâr shook his head. “You see, twenty-six years ago, she was cursed to die a slow and painful death, and the seizures she’s been having are the symptoms of that curse progressing. She’s stalled it with magic for a while, but death has been catching up with her. And you—” His smile was sharp like a blade. “—you’re her only hope to break the curse. For that, she needs to kill you.”
No, Isa wanted to scream, it’s not true. Not anymore. The bastard was twisting the truth, and yet her heart raced so fast, her breath came so uneven, she found herself incapable of uttering a single word.
Basil stood as still as if turned to stone, his widened eyes fixed on Calâr.
The nefarious fae weasel continued, his expression displaying more confidence than mere moments ago, apparently buoyed by the obvious impact of his revelations. “You’re probably wondering why she would need to kill you to break her curse. Know what else happened twenty-six years ago?” He made a dramatic pause. “When your mother ran from the royal court to save you, she was brought back…by a bounty hunter.”
Basil jerked, and the bow almost slipped from his grasp. His eyes flicked to Isa.
“Yes,” Calâr whispered. “It was Isa. Your mother pleaded with her, begged her to spare her and her unborn child. And what did your beloved do? She dragged your pregnant mother back to Faerie anyway, to collect her reward.”
Isa couldn’t see through her tears, but even so, she felt Basil’s look spear her like a physical weapon.
“Your mother,” Calâr went on, “realized the bounty hunter didn’t have a shred of compassion or decency, so she cursed her.”
A gasp broke from Isa’s throat. Air. Where was the air? Her lungs tried to haul in breath.
“When your lovely Isa later learned that the only way to break the curse was to kill the one who cast it, or end her bloodline, she despaired. Roana died in childbirth, and her babe as well, from what she heard. Now, imagine her joy when she found out Roana’s child was alive all along—she only needed to find him, kill him, and her curse would shatter.
“And guess how she found out about it? She was there the night your father slaughtered the royal court. She was present in the throne room, hiding in stone when the massacre began. She heard the fae tell your father about you.” Calâr lowered his voice to a vicious snarl. “She knew your father was alive all this time. She knew, and she kept it from you, even though she understands how much it would mean to you.”
Her chest constricted at the look on Basil’s face. At the pain etched into his features. “Isa,” he rasped. “Is this true?”
Shaking, she was shaking so hard she barely got the word out. “Yes.”
Something broke in his eyes, and her heart splintered along with it. “You saw my father? You knew he’s looking for me?”
“Yes.” Her voice, it was a hoarse whisper.
“And you were the one who brought my mother back to Faerie?”
“Yes.” Her heart, it could not hurt more than this.
“She cursed you to die?”
“Yes.” Her soul, it could not be any more stained.
His voice was barely more than a croak. “You want to kill me?”
“No.” She shook her head, frantically, and took a step toward him. “No, I don’t.”
He frowned. “But you just said—”
“I wanted to kill you.” The words tumbled out on a sob. “To break the curse. It’s the only way, but I don’t want to anymore. I can’t take your life. I just can’t. And I won’t, I swear to you.”
“But all this time,” Basil ground out, “you’ve been lying to me.” He exhaled roughly. “That’s why you were so mad when I saved your life. Because owing me a life debt meant you couldn’t kill me, right? There I was, falling in love with you, while you were biding your time until you could turn around and kill me.”
He shouted the last part, and she flinched.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please understand… I’ve been suffering from this curse for more than two decades…when I met you, all I cared about was survival. I didn’t know you. To me, you were the one thing left between me and an end to my curse, my suffering. But the more I got to know you, the more I—” She tried to draw in breath, and her lungs stung. “Basil, I could already have killed you, right after I paid my debt. I didn’t. I can’t.”
Sniffing, she wiped at her eyes. Her chest burned from the pressure of suppressed sobs. “You won me over, you stole my heart, you changed everything. I love you. More than my own life, which is why I changed my mind. I’ll rather die than take your life.”
“And yet,” Calâr chimed in, his voice insidiously smooth, “she never told you the truth until now. She would have kept all this from you, would have gone to her death, leaving you to mourn her, without ever warning you that you were going to lose her. A fine lover you have there.” He clucked his tongue again. “Betraying you until the very end.”
* * *
