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“She was quite distraught when Holden perished.”
“Wow.” I shook my head in dry disbelief. But seriously, that Locasta woman was definitely a piece of work. And she sure had picked a winner to become obsessed with, too.
“She wailed to the world that Holden had been her one true love, and she couldn’t go on without him. So Corandra came up with her own curse. To discover if there was any truth to such a claim, she put a mark on Locasta’s temple to reveal whether he was honestly her true love or not. She instructed Locasta to kiss Holden’s fresh corpse. If she was truly his soulmate, she’d be able to bring him back to life. Except she wasn’t able to, and she had to live the rest of her days knowing Holden had never craved her the way she’d craved him.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I waved my hands. “Back up a minute. Are you saying Corandra Graykey created the first love mark? This mark right here?” I tapped the tattoo on my own temple. “But that’s impossible. I heard the first love mark was given to Elaina, the first Queen of High Cliff.”
“Locasta’s mark was Corandra’s prototype. But yes, for some reason she also gifted Elaina L’Amante with the same mark later on when Elaina became the queen. And from there, Elaina proclaimed a law that all her subjects should get the same mark.”
I frowned, not sure if I could believe this particular story.
Or any of them really.
Nicolette had come across a woman named Mydera only a few moon cycles ago, who’d told her the legend about how Queen Elaina had been the first person to receive the love mark. It didn’t completely jive with Melaina’s story now. Except I hadn’t told Melaina which house Elaina had come from either—yet she already knew—so maybe her version was more accurate. But the mage Mydera had also claimed to be a descendant of the first person to apply the love mark, which would mean she’d have to be a descendant of Corandra Graykey.
She’d have to be a Graykey herself.
“Son of a bitch,” I murmured, wiping at my face. This was all getting too complicated for me. And I wasn’t sure how it had anything to do with what was happening now. Or even if it did have anything to do with finding lost amulets.
Probably not.
I shook my head and dropped my hands. “This Corandra Graykey sounds like quite the altruistic heroine in every story you tell,” I said, wondering what truly lay behind all her kinder deeds.
“That’s probably because all the stories I’ve told you originated from her journal,” Melaina answered before glancing at my book I’d set on the ground between us. “And she probably wrote them on scrolls like all Outer Realms writings are meant to be written on.”
Ignoring her bashing of my beloved book, I shook my head. “She wrote a journal? Well, where is that? Maybe it says something in it about how to break the curse.”
Then Quilla wouldn’t have to leave at all, and she could stay here in the Outer Realms with me.
Melaina laughed. “Oh, darling. That was hundreds of years ago. Her journal’s long gone by now. Or maybe she still has it with her. Who knows.”
“Hmm.” Well, that was a depressing dead end.
“The only thing that matters now is escaping this godforsaken world. Isn’t that right, Quilla dear?”
Quilla?
She was back?
I whirled around to find her approaching through the trees from the direction of the stream. I’d been so involved in her aunt’s story that I hadn’t even noticed the tingling in my mark, telling me she was coming nearer again.
The cauldron she’d stalked off with was full of water now, but her hair was wet and pulled back, as well, whereas it’s been flowing down free around her shoulders when she’d left.
“You bathed,” I realized dumbly. “In the stream.”
The setting sun glinted a golden shimmer off her light hair, and damp spots on the tunic she wore told me she’d put her clothes back on before fully drying. I couldn't help but notice she wasn’t wearing a corset or even a chemise underneath, either.
Which made me think about all the naked flesh hiding under only one layer of clothing.
And suddenly, I was remembering how she’d looked yesterday, bathing and coming out of the water like the goddess of the brook.
Or an empress.
Yes. The empress of the brook.
My body instantly grew tense as I forgot all about whatever it was I’d been discussing with her aunt. I could only think about one thing.
As my cock hardened in my trousers, I surged to my feet. “You know. A dip in the stream sounds lovely right about now. I think I’ll do the same.”
