Page 42 of Bound By Darkness

My heart tightened as I remembered the exact words spoken from my mother’s lips.

You are cursed, child. You will be our ruin. You will be our demise.

Shoving the dagger back into my boot, I glanced at the sky—at the full moon shining upon me. Its light was eerie, casting dark shadows upon the once bustling square.

I curse you.

Taking a deep breath, I shoved the memories into the pit of my stomach, nausea threatening to brew. I didn’t have time to reflect on her words or the weird silver lighting. The moon was out, the square was empty, and there wasn’t a soul in sight except for the one place I did not want to visit.

“More ale,” a man screamed from inside the tavern. His words slurred as he stumbled into his seat, his mug shaking in his dirtied hand.

Ale splashed onto my boot as I maneuvered through the crowded hall. It reeked of stale sweat and fermented wheat. Disgusting, all of it.

As I continued through the mess hall, I scanned the full booths and dirtied corridors for those dark curls. This was the only place left open.

Even a speck of black would alert me to where he was, but as my eyes raked over patron after patron, that voice in my head intensified. The voice I tried to quell with every fiber of my being.

“Move it!” A woman shoved into me, ale spilling on my shirt as she barged through the mess hall.

Wearing a simple brown dress, it would have been impossible not to notice the swing of her hips as she strolled to the back of the room—to the man floating from table to table.

The large-chested woman offered him the mug as he snatched it in his gloved hand before setting it on an empty counter.

The woman wasted no time as she leaned against him, her hands running along the golden patterns etched into his fighting leathers. Her giggles floated to my ears as I crept closer. Her voice sounded worse than the whining of horses as the fake pitch drowned out the noises around me.

“Drink the ale,” she purred to Ivan, her hands tracing gold. “It’s a gift I hope you’ll repay for later.” Her bottom lip jutted out, the smearing of rouge highlighting her plans for the evening.

My fingers dug into the straps as I stopped a few feet away, my eyes raking over the pair from bottom to top.

“Didn’t know you liked them large,” I muttered as my head flicked to her exposed chest, a few loose threads unraveling as she spoke.

The woman raked her cold gaze across my body before placing a claiming hand upon his chest. “The stables are out back,” she snickered, her finger continuing to trace patterns etched into the cracking leather. “Did you lose your bearings?” She rested her head on his chest.

Heat crept into my cheeks as my fingers gripped the straps tighter. I was afraid because I knew if I let go of them, my fist would collide with her unpolished face, smearing her red lipstick and poorly applied kohl onto the wooden floor. I wasn’t sure why it bothered me so much—my heart squeezing as I willed my fingers to remain where they were.

Ivan pried her manicured fingers from his chest as he shoved her off him. He took a step from the shadows. “I was looking everywhere for you,” he said, his hand smoothing the leather over his chest, completely ignoring the advances thrown at him.

“Right… in a tavern.”

The woman gaped as Ivan walked toward me, his hands combing through his hair.

A satisfied smile crossed my lips as he grabbed his pack, his thumb brushing over a few droplets of splattered ale. The clutching of my heart weakened, the woman’s eyes simmering with heat as Ivan tugged on my arm, dragging me toward the exit.

“Oh, come on. That’s who you go after? I knew you had terrible taste, but to see it in action is another story. One drink and she would have toppled over from the weight sitting there.”

He rolled his eyes. “I was in here asking for information.Shewouldn’t leave me alone.”

“Right, and I’m sure her body had nothingto do with it.”

The tavern doors swung wide as we exited. Soft music billowed from behind as the doors shut, locking the stench and off-key singing away.

“It didn’t. When I told her I wasn’t interested, she brought the ale over. Told me to call off looking for my friend,” he repeated as his eyes swiveled to me. “I thought you ran off while I was at the caravan.”

“I didn’t run off,” I said as his words sunk deep into my heart. He had looked for me this whole time? I knew it was for the deal, but it lightened a little bit of darkness.

Ivan took a step closer, his arms crossing his chest. “If you didn’t run off, where did you go?” he asked, his eyes roaming over my face.

“Imighthave run into a witch.” My hands tugged at the extra fabric of my pants.

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