Page 25 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

I felt rather than heard her stop in her tracks. “What? No. Yes, but no, not when you say it like that.”

I knew I was right. Even with my power at an extreme low since that spear, I still felt the air circulate as he formed behind our bedroom door. I wanted to turn back, curious about what he so desperately needed to tell her when I was away, but the healers and their persistence were unmatched. I also figured Dianna would tell me later.

“Mm-hmm, how else would you prefer I say it?” I asked, trying to keep that part of me that was so damn possessive of her at bay. “You two have been very secretive lately. The small conversations that cease when I am around. I don’t like it.”

“Careful, big guy.” She snickered. “You sound jealous.”

“I am not jealous. That would assume Roccurem is better than me, which he isn’t.”

She barked a small laugh. “There’s that cocky god we all adore.”

I rolled my shoulders. “I’m mildly annoyed at best.”

“Okay.” She snorted. “Whatever you say.”

My lips tilted as she squealed, a rush of water dousing her from the nearby spring. I rolled my shoulders, relaxing once more and focusing. The sun beat against my skin, easing the ache of my muscles. I breathed in, then out, absorbing the energy of the heat. I could feel my power beneath my skin, only a fraction of it remaining, but there nonetheless. It swirled and danced across my skin, sparking at my nerve endings. All of it coursed toward the wound in my abdomen, and a chill ran up my spine. My body kept trying to heal itself, yet something was blocking its ability.

Another twinge of pain had me gritting my teeth, but I subdued the hiss that wanted to leave my lips. Between the teas, medications, and myself, it was a process, a slow one, but a process nonetheless. The barely closed wound stretched from just below my abs on my right side and slashed across my abdomen to end just below my left pectoral. The edges were less of the grayish burnt color that had been so alarming and now were just a fraction paler than my complexion. But it was the small purple veins that had started to spread from it that concerned me. I prayed that the change and the continued pain didn’t mean it was infected. The weeks we had been here were stacking up, and my family had been stuck with Nismera for nearly a month. I had to heal so we could get them back.

My control slipped, and I opened my eyes, breaking my trance. The world came rushing back, the sounds of animals moving about and the wind dancing between the trees. I watched Dianna wring droplets of water from her hair.

“He’s harmless. You know this. Only arrogant gods make me hot,” she says, walking toward me.

“They better,” I joked, letting the humor hide the emotions that threatened to drown me all over again. Until Dianna, I hadn’t known jealousy, but I was jealous as I had been before with that damned vampire. I wanted all of Dianna’s time, her smiles, her laughs, and above all, her secrets. There was something she was not sharing with me, but I didn’t want to pry it out of her. I wished for her to trust me, to love me enough to tell me everything, to share her thoughts and dreams with me. I was just so damned scared to ask for it. If it wasn’t freely given, was it truly love?

“Regardless, there is a bond between you two,” I answered honestly. “Fate does not listen to just anyone.”

Worry creased Dianna’s brows, and that wasn’t what I wanted. She sat across from me and leaned forward, just brushing her lips across mine before pulling back. “Not a bond like that gorgeous mind is probably concocting, but he is my friend.”

That prickle of jealousy eased when she said that word. My Dianna had lost so many friends, both through death and betrayal. I wanted her to have people she could trust and lean on. She deserved that and so much more.

“I know,” I said. “I apologize. I suppose I am irrational, especially when it comes to you. It’s just the mark has not formed. There is no binding letting everyone know you are truly mine.”

“I thought I left plenty of those.” She smirked wickedly.

I squeezed her knee playfully. “I’m not talking about your little love bites.”

She did leave an array of those on me. Small little nips that made my body flush in heat. Usually on my neck, arms, or chest, any place she could reach. Certain kisses seemed to drive Dianna wild, and she would leave a trail of nips and bruises along my neck while my hand worked between her legs. I had missed them when we could not fully be together. No matter how much I enjoyed that, I still ached for the one that should have burned into my flesh, the one that would never heal, never disappear.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek and leaned back, glancing at my bare finger. “You know which one I’m talking about.”

She leaned back, her eyes scanning mine. “Do we need a mark for that?”

I looked at her. “No, but does it not bother you it has not shown?”

Dianna’s gaze dropped to my scar as it often did. “I don’t need a mark for that, and besides, maybe we did the ritual wrong? We kind of did everything backward, and I was evil for a while.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Never evil.”

She shrugged. “Many would disagree. Listen, let’s worry about healing you first, the mark second, okay?”

I glanced down, absently touching the edges. Those didn’t hurt. It was the center that still felt fresh at times, even if the skin there was closed. “All right.”

“Do you think their tea is helping?”

“Yes.” I dropped my hands, resting them back on my knees. “It’s an effective pain reliever for sure. My theory is the blade was meant to kill me, and even though it didn’t, the price may be that I’m stuck this way.”

A haunted look crossed her face. My chest ached, knowing that even the mention of losing me stirred memories in her that would break anyone. Yet here she was, trying to help me, refusing to give in to her fear and all she went through.

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