Page 50 of Cursed Shadows

“It’s an omen!” Dravon calls out from where he ties Thoradin’s hands together. Two of his accomplices work on restraining Dragan and the third is tying up Baron.

“Stop with that bullshit!” Anona screams at Dravon as she approaches me. She grabs me by the bindings around my wrists and yanks me up. I scream as the pain from my side ricochets through me.

“What the hell are you whining about?” she spits at me.

“I think my ribs are broken,” I answer, but I can barely speak. Tears start rolling down my face, blending with the freezing cold rain that pours down on us. I shiver and glance at my white dress and cloak, finding it completely see-through and stuck to my skin. I still can’t catch my breath.

“If you’re looking for sympathy, you’ve come to the wrong person,” she spits, then looks up at the sky as the drops turn to hail. They pelt us furiously and I have to drop my face to keep the chunks of ice from slamming into my eyes.

Just as suddenly as the hail started, it stops. Seconds later, a thick fog rolls in and dances around me until I can’t see anything below my waist.

“There’s somethin’ funny goin’ on,” yells Dravon.

Anona doesn’t answer him but walks up to Baron and, grabbing him by the rope that binds his wrists, drags him off the road and into the forest. I don’t know why, and I start to worry for him. I can only hope she doesn’t try to kill him. Due to the fact that she doesn’t know who he is, or was, Baron is expendable to her…

I can’t remain upright, owing to the pain. I drop down to my knees and roll onto my uninjured side. As I watch, the fog obscures Baron completely and continues building, until it reaches Anona’s chest. Thunder and lightning rip through the dark and cloudy sky.

I drop my head back to the ground, trying to ignore the feel of the mud as it coats the side of my face and hair. As I lay there, looking out across an open field of harvested wheat, I realize there’s no fog on this side of the road. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I don’t ponder it for long because I think I see something in the field. It’s a black speck on the horizon. At first, I figure it must be a tree, but as I focus on it, it seems to be moving.

The black speck grows larger and, after another few seconds, I realize it’s a person. And whoever it is, he’s coming closer—and he’s moving incredibly fast. I blink and he’s suddenly in front of me. He stands there, staring down at me with a blank expression. I don’t recognize him but somewhere, deep inside me, I know his face.

He’s tall and well-built with a long, blond beard and even longer hair that looks like spun gold. His large and round eyes seem to reflect every color of the rainbow. But how can that be? I wonder if I’m simply imagining him.

He crouches down on his haunches and faces me with a smile. He’s handsome but as rugged as the forest behind me. And he’s completely naked—something that should strike me as odd, but somehow doesn’t.

He reaches out and shifts my cloak over my shoulder. Then he places his palm flat against my injured ribs and closes his eyes. His hand feels so incredibly warm that I sink into the feeling, wanting nothing more than to feel that warmth radiate through my body and ward off the cold of the elements.

***

SILVANUS

I realize there is little I can do here.

My magic is the type that must exist within the natural order of things. I cannot disrupt the natural flow without causing too large a gap in that delicate balance.

I drop to my knees beside the female, reaching out to touch her. She watches me with eyes that recognize me but do not know how or why.

She is not afraid, merely curious. And she is wounded.

Silvanus,Morrigan calls to me from within the female’s mind.She is in danger.

There is little I can do,I respond.

There is everything you can do,Morrigan replies angrily.You can easily free them all!

If I abscond with the female and her companions, it will cause too many questions that would affect the natural progression of what is still to come.

Questions are preferable to their deaths!

We cannot interfere more than we must. You know this,I reply.

I can feel Morrigan’s anger consuming her.You had no issues interfering when you penetrated her!

Immediately, I recall the feel of the female’s canal as I thrusted inside her. It is a feeling I wish to repeat but, lo, this is not the time.

I healed the female, as was my responsibility. And there was little consequence to my actions, other than the female finding herself outside the wards of her camp. Here, there would be far more serious repercussions.

The female watches me with eyes that admit she does not understand Morrigan’s and my conversation, nor the nature of our association.

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