Page 19 of Secrets & Curses of Cerithia

They all stared in terror.

“I didn’t fucking think so.”

The sun beat heavily on me as I stepped from the cafe. I looked around the town square and saw everyone gawking at me. Disgust painted their faces.

But I was the one who was disgusted because this kingdom was not kind to me. Something about this place was not right. An intense ache formed in my chest for a place I didn’t have, a home.

Everyone on my side of the street crossed it when I started walking. They acted as if they would die if I got too close to them. They didn’t hide their hatred for me here. This wasn’t the Crimson Kingdom, where they at least pretended to be nice and not see what I really was—a hideous monster that could kill everyone if I wanted to. Here, though, everyone showed their hate and disdain openly, showering it upon me with abandon. These fae didn’t care that I had been gone for years. They didn’t care that I had chosen to fight for them.

Unwanted, Cassius’ words of betrayal entered my mind and weighed heavily on me.How could anyone love a monstrosity like you?

Chapter 6

Istarted to head back to the castle but then stopped when I knew no one was watching me. My darkness could feel Leer’s magic clinging to the air and wanted me to find him. Why was he fighting for Cerithia when he was scared for his own family's safety if they found out he was in the trials? It didn’t make sense.

I followed my darkness to the outskirts of town. His home was one of the shambled buildings I passed by earlier. It needed serious maintenance and looked too small for more than one fae to be living in it. Leer was just getting home with a loaf of bread. He looked over his shoulder like he could feel he was being watched, but he didn’t see me as he went inside.

I waited for a while to make sure I wouldn’t be noticed by anyone. The dirt crunching under my feet was the only noise heard as I snuck up to his home and peered in the window. He was sitting at a tiny table with two young kids, eating a loaf of bread. I knocked on the door, and when he opened it, he triedto close it in my face. I stopped him easily and pushed my way inside.

“I will kill you if you try to harm them for my mistakes,” he sneered as he moved between me and his kids.

“I’m not here to hurt them. I need to ask you questions, and I could tell you were worried about talking with me. I’m sorry to intrude, but it’s important.”

His eyes looked at me and then at his kids. He sighed in defeat as he gestured to the small couch. I watched him as he encouraged his kids to keep eating, and then he closed the blinds in every window and locked the door. His house was too small for the three of them. I looked at the small loaf of bread they were sharing; did they have more food than that?

Leer came and sat across from me. He looked terrified of me, but for some reason, my darkness did not like his fear.

“I know I treated you horribly in the trials, but my kids need me. So, if you kill me, you’ll be killing them too.” Leer ran his fingers through his long hair. "Besides, I was told to be mean to you. Nev said you were our biggest competition, and I needed to win that wish. He paid me a large sum to cause you issues, and I needed the money.”

Leer looked tired. His eyes were dull and sagged with dark circles. It was a stark contrast to who he was at the trials. He was much thinner, too. Was he ill?

“I forgive you for the trials, Leer,” I assured him, even though I never thought I would say these words in my life. “I want to know why you are scared for your family's safety if Cerithia finds out you joined the trials.”

“It’s forbidden.” He leaned back in his chair. “No one from Cerithia may join because Crimson forbade it. Cassius did his best to keep Cerithia out, and I watched him rip another Cerithia fae’s heart from his chest when he tried to sneak in. That was before you arrived at the trials this year. But like I said, Ineeded that wish, so I was willing to die to try and get it. Your father usually handpicks five guards for the trials each year, but this year was different. He sent only two—the man who Cassius beheaded that first trial day in the hallway and the one he killed before you arrived.”

“But Nev…”

“Not Cerithian. He’s from Kizar. My guess is that your father thought teaming up with Jesper would get more men into the trials, and he was right. I believe your father sent two Cerithian guards so that it didn’t look suspicious to Cassius. He sacrificed them so that the Kizar guards were not looked at too closely.”

His arms crossed over his chest, like he was nervous in my presence. I wasn’t trying to worry him, but he had more information than I did.

“Hadn’t you heard of me before the trials? You must have known why the trials even happened.”

“I’m not from Cerithia; my wife is. I am from Akecia. I knew of the king’s bastard daughter and of her disappearance. I’ve also heard some of the prophet’s telling. Until the trials, I didn’t know they were made for you, to help you.”

“To help me.” I cocked my head to the side as if it would help me understand what that meant.

“Crimson needed you to believe there was a reason to get the bloodstone. A wish granted if you gave it to them.” He leaned back and sighed heavily. “If you left Exile and happened to find yourself in Crimson, would you have been willing to go and retrieve a bloodstone if asked? I mean, if the trials never existed.”

I pondered his words for a moment. Leer made a good point; I wouldn’t have done something simply because someone asked me to. I was more likely to do the opposite.

“Of course not.” I picked the hem of my uniform. “Cassius wanted it to break his curse.”

Leer frowned at me like he truly felt bad for the situation I was in.

“I don’t know the specifics, but I know that bloodstone is important. Crimson wants it.”

“For power,” I muttered.

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