Page 20 of Secrets & Curses of Cerithia

Leer looked at me, confused. Before leaning forward so he could stare me in the eyes.

“I think it has something to do with your curse.”

“My curse?” I sat up a little more. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think it’s for power. If it was, then your father would be using the shit out of it. Crimson… Cassius wanted you to give that stone to him. I overheard some men at the trials talking about it. No one really knows, but I think it's about the curse and getting your memories back.”

Leer paused for a long moment, watching me with pity in his blue eyes. “At first, I didn’t understand why he didn’t just tell you and ask you to get the stone, but then I realized you didn’t have memories. You didn’t remember him, but he watched you so closely. I remember thinking how odd it was for him to be so cautious about your safety. Cassius Valeska has a reputation for being a heartless monster, cruel even. Why did he care so much for you, and why was it so important that you gavehimthe bloodstone? If it has to do with breaking your curse, then why would he want you to remember?”

“But Cassius killed me, and the bloodstone breaks his curse, not mine.” Was everything that Leer was saying true? If it was, why would Crimson want me to remember? Wouldn’t they want me to never have my memories? Leer was right about the bloodstone. If it had any power to be used, my father would use it instead of using me.

Leer frowned at me.

“What curse?” he frowned at me. “Cassius Valeska isn’t cursed.” Leer looked at me oddly. “Why would you think that?”

“My father said that Cassius was cursed and needed the stone to break it.” I stared blankly at him, wondering why he was so adamant that Cassius wasn’t cursed.

“He’s lying to you,” Leer sighed. “I don’t know why, but if Cassius Valeska was cursed, we would all know of it. Cassius is trying to break your curse.”

“Why would he do that? He hates me.” I frowned.

Leer swallowed hard.

“He didn’t look at you like he hated you. He looked like a man longing for something that he couldn’t have.”

This didn’t make sense. My father had no reason to lie to me. Leer, on the other hand, could be feeding me a lot of lies to get back at me for the trials.

“I don’t understand why my father would lie.”

“I don’t know Thea, but you should be cautious. It seems both of us do not have the full story. I wish I could tell you what you want to know, but I don’t have the facts you need. Your father keeps everyone limited on information.”

I sat back on the chair and stared at him. He didn’t look like he was lying to me. My darkness was not trying to warn me away. Something about Leer’s words made more sense to me than anything my family had told me. But was that because I was desperate to understand why Cassius would do something so malicious to me?

“What did you need the wish for?” I finally asked.

His eyes shifted to his kids, who laughed behind us.

“We live in squalor. I can hardly afford to buy a loaf of bread to feed my children. All of my money goes into taking care of my wife, who is ill. Besides, the king hardly pays us and then demands taxes that take almost everything back. It’s nothing like what you saw at the Crimson Kingdom. When I got back from the trials, I joined the Cerithian Guard hoping that it would change our situation, but it has only gotten worse.”

I glanced at his kids. Both boys looked like him with their blonde hair but had the prettiest amber-colored eyes. No, it wasn’t like the Crimson Kingdom. It was as if no one was happy in Cerithia. Before I could ask my other questions, I heard a soft whimper of pain come from a room behind him. He immediately got up and rushed back through the doorway. The kids had stopped laughing as the pained sobs filled the small space. I stood up cautiously and walked to the doorway to see Leer sitting on the edge of a small bed, wiping sweat from a woman’s forehead. She was too pale and skinny. Was this his wife? Her hair was dark against the white pillow.

She groaned in agonizing pain. I looked at Leer, and he looked completely devastated. He knew he couldn’t help her, and it was destroying him.

“Leer,” she whimpered. “It hurts.”

“I know, sweetheart.” His eyes looked up at me as I walked toward her.

There was an overwhelming sense of sadness as I got near her. She peered at me with dark eyes that held little consciousness. This woman was on the cusp of dying. Something odd pulled me closer, though. Something foreign that I had not felt before. My eyes drifted over her frail body, and with my magic, I could see her sickness coursing through her veins. It was even overtaking her heart, which was nearly covered in a deep, evil blackness. I realized the strange tugging I had felt was death lurking. She was about to die.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Some sort of infection, but nothing can cure it. We’ve tried everything we can afford. My wish was going to be to save my wife.”

Leer didn’t bother hiding his emotions as tears ran freely down his face. His pure devastation was evident, and it affected me to see. I sat on the bed next to her, and she immediatelyreached for my hand, like I was a comfort. Nobody had wanted to reach for my hand in so long, and it touched me in a way that I couldn’t quite describe. I grabbed it and could feel how fragile she truly was. Her hand was too cold, and her skin felt paper-thin. I smiled at her when she focused on me. She did not look scared of me, even though I looked like a monster.

“Are you here for me?” she whispered.

I wasn’t sure what she meant, so I just responded with, “No.”

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