Page 36 of Heirs of the Cursed

“You should be ashamed to walk around here,” the young man added. “The goddesses would never allow a dirty whore into their temple!”

Naithea stifled a laugh.

The citizens had built all sorts of temples in honor of the three goddesses, sacred places where they gathered to lay offerings and pray in their names. She’d forgotten that libraries had become part of those sanctuaries as they held the knowledge of their birth and thus the creation of Laivalon.

“An ordinary man should never speak for the divinities,” a voice behind her declared.

Naithea turned her head to meet Commander Ward face to face. The leather suit clung to his muscular body, the faint marks along the fabric telling the tale of a life filled with battle and triumph. She lowered her boreal eyes to his right hand, which gripped the hilt of his sword—patient and menacing.

The men who had just offended her backed away.

“Commander,” one of them stammered before bowing in an uncomfortable curtsy. His companion soon followed his lead.

“May I know the reason why Miss Ausra isn’t allowed to access the library?”

“I-It’s a sa-sacred place, sir,” he stammered.

Ward tilted his head to one side to stare at her. “Under the starlight, one might mistake her for a goddess,” he stated. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is.” Both men nodded in agreement, though they didn’t dare to look at her.

Despite Naithea’s body feeling heavy and her feet stuck to the ground, her skin burned as she watched the commander of the Royal Army hovering around them with the stealth of a predator. He halted behind their backs and offered her a devilish grin before resting his hands on their shoulders.

“Look at her like that again and your sight will become nothing but a memory,” Ward growled, his voice laced with a chilling promise of retribution.

“We are sorry,” one of them said shakily. “We . . .”

“Commander, that’s not necessary,” Naithea interceded.

Because it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Or maybe it was, and that was the first time anyone had done anything about the leering and repulsive comments they threw at her.

His blue eyes darkened as he said, “Better yet. Don’t look at her at all.”

With a not so gentle push, Ward released the men and urged them to leave. They staggered before collapsing to the ground on their bony knees and dirty hands, helping each other back to their feet as they ran away from him.

The commander took a step toward her, his gaze fixed on hers as if he were searching for the disgust she’d been unable to hide from him as well as the confident stand she’d held in his presence in the town square. But Naithea didn’t move, feeling a far more powerful emotion than fear stirring within her: dangerous approval.

Her power sang within her, calling that darkness to come out and play. She’d worked so hard to keep it at bay . . . She couldn’t afford to give in to it for even a second.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

The commander nodded.

Naithea cast him one last glance before pushing open the doors and entering the library, where tall dark structures divided the huge room with hundreds of corridors and where wooden staircases rose from the floor to the ceiling. Light streamed in through the windows and the sun’s rays provided a glimpse of a thin layer of dust floating in the air.

She closed her hand around the glass vial she’d bought, pacing through the endless aisles in search of ancient books that contained information of the Fallen Kingdom. Books that had probably been confiscated and burned a long time ago because of the enmity between the kingdoms.

“What’s that for?”

His warm breath caressed the back of her neck, and Naithea gasped as the vial slipped from her grip.

Ward caught it just mere inches from the floor, pausing to read the name of the tonic and its herbs. She snatched it fromhis hand before he could finish and tucked it back into her bag, where it would be safe. She’d paid more than she could afford for it, so breaking it wasn’t an option.

Naithea’s lips curled into a playful grin. “Are you afraid I might drug one of your soldiers, Commander?”

“If I didn’t doubt you, I wouldn’t be doing my job,” he replied. “Who is it for?”

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