Bound by Darkness (Bound By Series)

14. Dark Rumors

Chapter 14

Dark Rumors

THALIA

My heart thudded against my chest, my chipped nails digging into the chair’s wooden arms.

“The Fae gods are indeed molding you, twisting the bonds of your fate in their favor. You were bred for a higher purpose. One tying you to Cethales.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but my lips pursed together as a song floated out of her open mouth, a lullaby and nightmare weaved into one as she sang:

When two sisters, born in winter

Should claim the power from Mother Nature

Born of Light, and born of Dark,

Twist together to unwind Cethales’ heart.

Turmoil and troubles through

Only then can love come true

To unlock Mother’s hold on all those who fold

To higher beings, cruel and old.

Her body slumped as the song finished its verse, her hands clutching the edges of her withered chair. She did not stir for minutes.

I would have been concerned if not for the constant rise and fall of her chest. Her mouth was parted slightly, revealing long canines… canines that could easily rip flesh from bone?—

Her eyes snapped open, a gasp leaving her lips as white stared at me. Her cracked lips curled into a harrowing snarl. “What are you doing here?”

My hand quickly covered the blood stone as she turned her head to the side. “You invited me here. You were telling me my fate.”

I removed my hand, taking advantage of her disoriented state as I pocketed the tiny gem. The weight was heavy as it settled against the fabric.

The witch cocked her head to the side, her canines gleaming with saliva. “Hm, I would have remembered,” she muttered, her gaze trailing over my flesh. “But even so, it’s unusual for a ravishing morsel like you to walk into my tent.”

I stood, my movement sluggish as if I were wading through Valixina’s swamps.

My heart thundered with each step against the brown fabric—the fabric I now realized was not brown by design, but brown from the stains of death.

She licked her lips, her nails chipping the wood underneath. “And I’m so hungry,” she hummed, her nostrils flaring. “Your blood smells ancient, along with the sturdy bones of your body.”

Taking another step back, my fingers fumbled for the entrance behind me as I kept my eyes on the silent predator. “Apologies. Seems I must be headed out.”

The witch smiled, the tent enveloping in a thick blanket of darkness. “I can’t let such willing prey leave. At least not until I’ve licked your bones clean.”

My heart fluttered as I blankly stared ahead, my eyes refusing to adjust to the darkness. Turning around, I fumbled with the drapes, but the opening did not appear no matter how much I yanked on the thick fabric. The pounding in my ears grew deafening as I listened for any sounds or movement indicating her position from where I stood.

Stand and listen.

Listen and stand as night poured into the still tent.

Reaching inside my boot, I pulled out a dagger. It had been my favorite among the collection of weapons sitting in the glass case at the cabin. Etched in the silver metal were whorls of gold that caught the faelight if angled correctly. It was Gwen’s final parting gift. Not even Ivan knew I had it, and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Gripping it tightly, I waved it back and forth, hoping it hit her flesh before she hit mine. I’d never been more thankful for a gift than this one as I stumbled through night itself.

Her laughter floated around the tent, the sound omnipotent as it lingered by my ears. It took everything to resist covering them as my hand shook with the outstretched dagger.

“I smell your fear. Let it consume you,” she purred. “It has such a wonderful taste.”

I swung, but the blade sliced through the air.

Nothing.

Curses flowed in my head. Death would find me if I didn’t find her first.

“Goodbye, you beautiful little thing,” she purred as the lights flashed.

Her mouth widened as she lunged, her teeth dripping with saliva as she angled them at my neck .

She was too fast, and I was too late.

A screech erupted in the room as she flew back, the table crumpling underneath her weight.

“Cursed wards!” she bellowed, stumbling among the jagged pieces of wood and tattered fabric.

The witch launched herself off the broken splinters, her mouth opening and snapping shut as she reached for any part of my exposed flesh.

Her body did not meet mine.

It slammed into the floor, a hiss escaping her blood-red lips as a glimmer of silver dissipated into the thick air.

“You,” she spewed, droplets of black sinking into the carpet. “This is not over.”

Light filtered into the room, a gentle breeze billowing in from the opened drapes.

Black blood dripped from her fingertips. “I will find you again when those wards fail you,” she hissed. “I will not hesitate to rip the skin from your bones and collect what is mine.” Her shaky hand raised in the air as an icy chill consumed the tent. Hollow laughter echoed from her mouth. “You are cursed. You will be our ruin as the gods dictate it so.” A smile curled across her lips. “I curse you, caster.”

My lips parted, but a flood of black slammed toward me, the impact heavy as it collided with the ripple of silver. Air refused to fill my lungs as I scrambled against the paved streets?—

The tent was gone and with it, the witch.

I didn’t wait if she’d return or change her mind. I bolted through the empty streets as her declarations rattled in my head.

You are cursed. You will be our ruin.

My heart tightened as I remembered the exact words spoken from my mother’s lips .

You are cursed, child. You will be our ruin. You will be our demise.

Shoving the dagger back into my boot, I glanced at the sky—at the full moon shining upon me. Its light was eerie, casting dark shadows upon the once bustling square.

I curse you.

Taking a deep breath, I shoved the memories into the pit of my stomach, nausea threatening to brew. I didn’t have time to reflect on her words or the weird silver lighting. The moon was out, the square was empty, and there wasn’t a soul in sight except for the one place I did not want to visit.

“More ale,” a man screamed from inside the tavern. His words slurred as he stumbled into his seat, his mug shaking in his dirtied hand.

Ale splashed onto my boot as I maneuvered through the crowded hall. It reeked of stale sweat and fermented wheat. Disgusting, all of it.

As I continued through the mess hall, I scanned the full booths and dirtied corridors for those dark curls. This was the only place left open.

Even a speck of black would alert me to where he was, but as my eyes raked over patron after patron, that voice in my head intensified. The voice I tried to quell with every fiber of my being.

“Move it!” A woman shoved into me, ale spilling on my shirt as she barged through the mess hall.

Wearing a simple brown dress, it would have been impossible not to notice the swing of her hips as she strolled to the back of the room—to the man floating from table to table .

The large-chested woman offered him the mug as he snatched it in his gloved hand before setting it on an empty counter.

The woman wasted no time as she leaned against him, her hands running along the golden patterns etched into his fighting leathers. Her giggles floated to my ears as I crept closer. Her voice sounded worse than the whining of horses as the fake pitch drowned out the noises around me.

“Drink the ale,” she purred to Ivan, her hands tracing gold. “It’s a gift I hope you’ll repay for later.” Her bottom lip jutted out, the smearing of rouge highlighting her plans for the evening.

My fingers dug into the straps as I stopped a few feet away, my eyes raking over the pair from bottom to top.

“Didn’t know you liked them large,” I muttered as my head flicked to her exposed chest, a few loose threads unraveling as she spoke.

The woman raked her cold gaze across my body before placing a claiming hand upon his chest. “The stables are out back,” she snickered, her finger continuing to trace patterns etched into the cracking leather. “Did you lose your bearings?” She rested her head on his chest.

Heat crept into my cheeks as my fingers gripped the straps tighter. I was afraid because I knew if I let go of them, my fist would collide with her unpolished face, smearing her red lipstick and poorly applied kohl onto the wooden floor. I wasn’t sure why it bothered me so much—my heart squeezing as I willed my fingers to remain where they were.

Ivan pried her manicured fingers from his chest as he shoved her off him. He took a step from the shadows. “I was looking everywhere for you,” he said, his hand smoothing the leather over his chest, completely ignoring the advances thrown at him.

“Right… in a tavern. ”

The woman gaped as Ivan walked toward me, his hands combing through his hair.

A satisfied smile crossed my lips as he grabbed his pack, his thumb brushing over a few droplets of splattered ale. The clutching of my heart weakened, the woman’s eyes simmering with heat as Ivan tugged on my arm, dragging me toward the exit.

“Oh, come on. That’s who you go after? I knew you had terrible taste, but to see it in action is another story. One drink and she would have toppled over from the weight sitting there.”

He rolled his eyes. “I was in here asking for information. She wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“Right, and I’m sure her body had nothing to do with it.”

The tavern doors swung wide as we exited. Soft music billowed from behind as the doors shut, locking the stench and off-key singing away.

“It didn’t. When I told her I wasn’t interested, she brought the ale over. Told me to call off looking for my friend,” he repeated as his eyes swiveled to me. “I thought you ran off while I was at the caravan.”

“I didn’t run off,” I said as his words sunk deep into my heart. He had looked for me this whole time? I knew it was for the deal, but it lightened a little bit of darkness.

Ivan took a step closer, his arms crossing his chest. “If you didn’t run off, where did you go?” he asked, his eyes roaming over my face.

“I might have run into a witch.” My hands tugged at the extra fabric of my pants.

“What do you mean you might have?” he repeated, his eyes wide as he glanced around the empty town square, searching for the creature of night as if she’d reappear. “There hasn’t been a witch spotted in centuries.”

“You heard me,” I stated, a little louder than I had liked. I placed a few fingers across the bridge of my nose. “I know what I dealt with.”

“Did she touch you?” he asked, his eyes scanning over me.

Memories of earlier this morning floated in my mind as I retraced my steps.

“Did she touch you?” There was nothing but utter urgency in his tone.

“No—wait, yes. Yes, she did. Here.” I touched the narrow part of my wrist. Coldness still seeped from the area.

He grabbed my arm and turned it over in his hand. His fingertips floated over my wrist as his thumb brushed the sensitive area.

“That tickles,” I said as I tugged on my arm, tendrils of lightning sparking where he touched.

He held fast.

“She didn’t leave any markings,” he muttered before letting go. “You’re lucky she didn’t.”

My hand brushed over where his fingers hand been, muddying the feeling. “Must have been this.” My finger pointed to the etched pattern across my straps as the vivid image of her slamming into the brown fabric crept into my mind.

“Did she say anything else?”

“No.” He didn’t need to know I was cursed. Well, more cursed than before. “And stop asking me. I’m fine.”

“What did she want with you anyway?” His eyes shone with a brightness I hadn’t seen before. “Did you take anything?”

“No, I didn’t take anything,” I lied. “And hells, I don’t know what a witch is thinking,” I lied again. A few white lies were appropriate, especially to withhold information if I ever needed leverage.

“You can tell me.” Ivan glanced to the side. “I mean, you can trust me. If we’re going to be working together we might as well get acquainted.”

“Look, Ivan,” I said as I drawled out his name. “She took me into the tent and tried to eat me.”

I knew he didn’t believe me from the scowl etched on his face, but it was all he was going to get. All he deserved.

“Fine. As long as she didn’t recognize you, we’re okay.”

“What do you mean if she didn’t recognize me?”

He turned, slowly. “If King Hywell figured out his weapon was here, what do you think would happen to these people? To you or me?”

“But she was a witch?—”

“It doesn’t matter! He is evil, Thalia, and probably deals with creatures bound by laws far greater than the Mother herself. He has spies everywhere, even banished creatures searching for you .”

The same pressure the witch hit me with seemed to slam into me once more. “What do you mean he’s searching for me?”

Ivan grabbed my arm tightly as we weaved into the far corner of an abandoned alleyway.

My back pressed against the slightly damp wall as he leaned close. My breathing heightened at the intoxicating smell of rosewood, his hands dangerously close to grazing my skin as he pinned me against wet stone.

“You are a caster who has abilities without killing a god or being born into nobility. It is impossible for you to have casting and yet, here you are with the power to wield darkness. Why do you think the King wouldn’t be searching for such an anomaly like you?”

My voice came out slightly hoarse. “You knew? And you’re telling me this now? When we are on our way to Laias? When I have no training, no combat abilities except for casting I can’t even control?” I shoved him back slightly, ignoring the lingering wisps of his scent. “Do you intend for me to die?”

His gaze hardened. “No.”

“Then tell me this. You speak of trust yet you have told me nothing. Not even why we are riding into Laias.”

“It’s too risky for you to kn?—”

“I don’t care!” I spat, my willpower nearly breaking to keep my voice low. “You toy with my life like it is nothing. I need to know if he is after me because I refuse to go back… to become this experiment you think he will make of me. I am not a pawn, and it’s high time I start having a say.”

His lips pursed together. “I’ll tell you, but not here.” He jerked his head toward the square, his voice deadly quiet. “We will discuss this later after rest.”

“No, Ivan. I’m tired of being in the dark. Explain it to me now.”

“We’ll discuss it later.”

I opened my mouth, but he was already out of the alley, leaving me alone with rotting food and hanging webs. Jogging toward him, my body was hot with malice. “Our conversation wasn’t over.”

“It’ll have to be. We’re going to visit an acquaintance.”