AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sand, hmm?” Mydera tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Never heard of a healing tonic that consisted of simple sand.”
I could see Nicolette trying to remain still as she squirmed internally. But all she said was, “Really? Hmm. That is weird.”
A moment later, Mydera shrugged. “But what do I know? I'm not a potion brewer. I’m just a simple charm caster.”
“A charm caster?” Nicolette asked, seemingly extra interested in such a title, when honestly, I bet she was just happy to latch on to any topic that would change the subject. “What do charm casters do?”
“Oh, we take regular, old objects and enchant them into something else. Kind of like your mate’s everlasting flagon there.”
Throwing her arm around Nicolette’s shoulders, Mydera walked off with her, steering her in the direction of their main caravan. “Let me tell you about some of my finer creations.” As she passed them, she snapped her fingers at her two pages. “Spice! Wicket! Get their things, will you? Set them up with us for the night.”
Then she strolled off with my princess.
Feeling a tug at my hand, I looked down to find the boy, Bewler, panting up at me happily, his tongue lolling. He silently urged me to follow the women with him.
With a reluctant sigh, I gave in and let him lead me along, feeling very uneasy the entire time.
18
Nicolette
“It was my very own ancestor who applied the first mark of Elaina L’Amante,” Mydera explained in her deep, carrying voice. “So the story’s been carried down through the generations until I heard it every night as a lullaby when I was young.”
I nodded, eager to hear more, as I popped a fresh piece of fruit into my mouth.
But, mmm, fruit. After endless days of the tasteless bread-like rations Farrow had been feeding me, I gorged on the meal the mages had provided us with. And now, my stomach was full to capacity, yet I just kept stuffing more in.
Next to me, Farrow sat close on the same log, his thigh pressed against mine the entire time. I knew he wasn’t a fan of this detour we were taking, but he endured because he knew I needed the break. And that made me treasure him even more.
“Elaina L’Amante was the first queen of High Cliff,” Mydera was saying. “She was presented to King Grothier, I believe his name was—Awgust Grothier—as a gift from the kingdom of Tipton for their assistance in a great flood that came over them. Elaina was a striking young beauty, and the king was immediately beguiled by her comely charms. He promised her any kind of riches or gift her heart desired. But Elaina merely wanted to feel love for her husband in return, so the king brought in a curse maker who tattooed the first mark as we know it today into her temple.”
“Curse maker?” I repeated with a stumped blink. My fingers trailed hesitantly to my tattoo. “So these are actually—what—curses?”
Mydera tsked and shook her head. “The true meaning of the curse has lost its value over the years, I’m afraid. The original curses were meant to seek truth and justice. Over time, however, I fear vengeance and punishment has overshadowed their more positive aspects. No one remembers that curses don’t have to bring a blight upon anyone; they can also be used to reveal fact in their purest form. And while the mark on Elaina L’Amante was meant to make her fall in love with King Grothier, it ended up revealing who her true soul mate was instead, which sadly, was not him.”
My lips parted. “Do you know who her true love was?”
“Of course, child. It was a knight in Grothier’s own army, a mere foot soldier by the name of Ender Bjorn.”
“Bjorn!” I gasped, covering my mouth with both hands. Both Allera and Urban were from House Bjorn.
Mydera chuckled, amused by my shock. “You know it. After Elaina received the mark and she realized Bjorn was her true mate, she began to meet with him in secret until the two devised a plan for Bjorn to overthrow Grothier and take the kingdom for himself. Once her true love was seated on the throne, Elaina made the proclamation that all High Clifters must receive her mark upon their temples at birth.”
“Oh my goodness,” I breathed. “I had no idea that was how Urban and Allera’s ancestors claimed the throne of High Cliff.” I glanced toward Farrow, a worried pucker crinkling my brow. “It’s just so deceitful.”
He set his hand on my knee and squeezed sympathetically, while Mydera said, “The claiming of a crown rarely comes from pure, honest work, my dear.”
I guess she had a point. My own brothers had become kings only after their predecessors had been murdered first.
“Well, that’s just depressing,” I mumbled.
When Farrow stroked my knee as if to soothe me, I smiled at him gratefully and placed my hand over his.
Mydera watched us curiously before she said, “So you have a mate who’s resisting his destiny with you, hmm?”
Farrow immediately removed his hand, as if suddenly realizing he’d been touching me.
I frowned at Mydera for causing him to return to his senses, but then I shrugged.
