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“Taranus was always a bastard,” she says. “Even when Rafferty came and worked with us.”
“Worked with you?”
“My late husband was king once upon a time,” she says, and I whip my head toward her so quickly it nearly gives me whiplash.
“You were queen?”
“I was.”
“What happened?”
“A man came and—” she shuts her eyes tightly, leading me to believe whatever was done is not something she wants to talk about.
“You don’t need to say anything.”
“The crown was stolen from us,” she says. “My husband cast aside, my daughter lost, my son—he never fully recovered.”
“Do you want it back? The crown.”
“No. Not even a little bit. I want Rafferty to wear it, though I sense he believes the honorable thing to do is pass it off to someone else.”
We fall into companionable silence, and despite being in a place with the word ‘Cursed’ in the name, I’m calmer than I’ve been since arriving in this damned world.
“Do you believe the prophecy is true?” I ask curiously.
She glances at me. “That you are meant to make the next king?”
I nod.
“No, I do not.”
My relief is instantaneous. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am to hear that.”
Heelean smiles at me. “The pressure you must have felt when that was laid on you.”
Chuckling, I nod. Then, pain pummels my gut like a fist. I fall to my knees.
“What is it?” Heelean is there in an instant, touching my arm as the cold overtakes me. My entire body goes rigid, my muscles seizing.
“What happened?” Rafferty is at my side, pulling me into his lap and checking me for injury.
“I’m not sure. She collapsed.”
“So. Cold.” I begin to shake violently, uncontrollably. My limbs go numb, my mind reeling. What the hell is happening to me? Tears burn my eyes.
“I’ll get a fire going,” Fin says, right before he disappears.
Heelean reaches into her satchel and withdraws a small pouch of water. A few muttered words and she’s offering it to me. “It’s warm, lass, open.” The spout presses against my lips, and I open as warmth slides down my throat.
It soothes me just enough to stop the violent tremors, but seconds later, they’re back. “What. Is. Happening. To. Me?” I choke out as I tip my face up to Rafferty.
He doesn’t speak.
But his eyes tell me that he knows exactly what is happening to me.
Why is that more terrifying than the unknown?
