AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am being rude!” he said dramatically. “You need more rum.”
I looked over my forgotten mug, realizing it was still half full, and drained it. Once more, I was immersed in a lovely, warm feeling, though it did fade rapidly.
“Thank you,” I said simply, barely even looking up as I held out my cup.
Aodin filled it without spilling a drop, which was pretty impressive considering how sloshed he appeared. Maybe I should get some water in him, but he was a grown man having fun in the safety of the palace. I didn’t think I needed to coddle a fae diplomat.
“So, whatcha lookin’ at now?”
Funny, I’d never heard the man talk so lax, and I was hearing an accent come through. It didn’t surprise me Aodin put on a Camdarian accent for his position, but it was nice to see beneath the pristine veneer.
“You ever heard of something called the Five Blessed Bloodlines?” I said, not really expecting anything, but my brain was enjoying a break from reading lines and lines of text.
“The Five Blessed Bloodlines?” he said blearily, and I was sure it was going to be the end of the conversation, but to my surprise, he let out a whoop and clapped his hands. “I know! I know!”
I wasn’t quite convinced this was a drunken fake out, but what harm was there in listening? “What is it?”
“Okay so, according to legend on the islands… and weloveour legends, ya know? Love our legends as much as our fruits for making tasty wine.”
He was drifting. “Yes, you make good drinks. But about the Five Blessed Bloodlines?”
“Yeah, that’s what I was talking about. The… the… Fiver blooder… blessed…” He shook his head. “That thing. Our legend is many, many millennia ago, when the world was little more than primordial soup and unfettered chaos—” Wait, he couldn’t pronounce Five Blessed Bloodlines, but he could effortlessly lay down “unfettered”? Drunk logic didn’t actually make much sense.
“The gods who ruled over it craved something, an idea with no word, and an energy which didn’t exist yet. They searched through the nothingness, the absence of life, and realized what they were looking for wasworship.”
I blinked. I wasn’t religious, but I did believe in higher powers. What else could some of the schools of magic come from? They were too alien and far too specific to justbe,quite unlike witch magic, which revolved around manipulating the energy of the earth itself.
“So, they crea…crea…they madelife.Small things at first, but then more and more, until the first cryptids and the first humans were made.
“Life flourished. Despite bloodshed, hunting, war, you know all those nasty things we tend to get up to, we spread across the world, and we did indeedworship.”
The man was clearly drunk, yet there was something so deliberately sinful about the way his lips wrapped around that particular word. It spoke of things one didn’t say in polite society and reminded me of the one time I’d knelt between Kai’s legsto try something new. It made me want to get in position again so I’d overstimulate my mate, like he’d done with me, to see how many times I could bring him to the edge before he was a sweating, panting mess.
“Ya listening?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, I am.”
“Right, well you see, some of these worshippers were more favored than others. The most powerful gods of the time picked five good-hearted and holy magic users to carry the blessings of their deities in their bloodlines. It taught them many things. Power. Good luck. Charisma.” The more Aodin spoke, the more coherent he became, and I wondered if fae could process alcohol faster as well. Goodness knew, Darla was now dancing again entirely by herself, locked in her own personal celebration.
“They brought peace to the world during an especially tumultuous time, but as time went on and their descendants’ times passed, and then their descendants’ descendants were laid to rest, the blessing became diluted.”
Most magic users couldn’t asexually reproduce, but I still wondered why I’d never heard such a legend. I wasn’t the most educated of people, but such an important legend seemed like it’d be rather pertinent to my training.
“Those bloodlines are basically gone completely, and totally forgotten. Occasionally, a many times removed grandchild will have slightly stronger magic than usual, but that’s about it.” A cat-like smile crossed his fair features. “You know,I’msupposedly descended from the one chosen fae. She was a sorceress of great renown in her time.”
I was fascinated, but I wasn’t exactly sure if it could help me find my mother or help me with the curse. I could chase the rabbit down the hole, but something told me I needed to focus on something more concretely useful.
“Thanks, Aodin. I never would have figured this out without you.”
He gave the messiest salute I’d ever seen, probably because he wasn’t military. “Glad to be of service. Cheers!”
He clinked his mug to mine and drank it down. I, however, just took a couple of warming sips.
“Usually, when I’m of service, it’s under different circumstances.” He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned in with interest. I sighed, not exactly shocked by his flirtation, but I just wasn’t in the mood.
“I know you’re tipsy, but please remember I’m taken, Aodin.”
“Of course,” he said jubilantly. “You’re incredible. It would be insane for you not to be.” He hiccupped and leaned in even more, though it seemed more conspiratorial rather than seductive. “Fae are flirtatious by nature. Don’t tell anyone, though. It’d ruin our reputation.”
