Page 134 of Cursed Dreams
“You keep talking like that,” Marand was teasing, “and I might start believing you’re charming.”
Cellen pressed a hand to his heart. “Ah, the wound, Marand. Straight through.”
Aric chuckled. “They always like this?” he asked Thalia with amusement.
“Unfortunately,” she smiled half-heartedly, her thoughts were still stuck in the previous night, her guilt at now involving Aric gnawing at her.
She glanced sideways at him, hesitating. “Aric… what did you mean last night? When you said you’d heard of Vaelith?”
Aric’s expression sobered. He focused on the road ahead, his mouth tightening.
“Please,” she said softly, “if there’s something you know… I need to hear it.”
He sighed. “It’s just stories, really. Stories passed around taverns, from merchants, old soldiers.”
Thalia leaned in slightly. “I’ve heard stories too. I just need to know which ones are true.”
Aric was quiet for a moment, then spoke, his voice low. “I heard of Lord Vaelith’s role in the rebellion. That much I know is true. The way he fought. What he did.”
“You mean the rebellion where the humans wanted the fae to leave their lands?” she asked, trying to sound neutral.
Aric made a noncommittal sound, not quite a yes. “That’s one version.”
She turned toward him, heart beginning to race. “What do you mean… one version?”
He glanced at her, brow furrowed. “You won’t believe me.”
“Try me,” she said, more firmly now. “I’ve known Vaelith for months. And I’ve seen enough to know nothing would surprise me anymore.”
Aric exhaled slowly, then nodded. “Alright. The version I heard… wasn’t about humans wanting to expel the fae. It was about humans and fae, together, trying to break the curse of the High Fae. They believed the High Fae never died in the war. That theywere cursed instead. Forced into sleep by dragon fire, sealed away.”
Thalia stared at him, stunned.
“They believed,” Aric continued, “that if they could break the dragon curse, the High Fae would return. And with them, a balance would be restored. Power, freedom… maybe even magic in its purest form again. The rebellion wasn’t against the fae. It was for the High Fae. To bring them back.”
Thalia’s breath caught in her throat. Her pulse pounded in her ears. There was a rebellion, people knew about the lie!
Aric shrugged, trying to play it off. “Just tavern stories. Probably nothing to it. But the people who believed it? They believed it with everything they had. Some still do.”
“Anyways, that’s all speculation. What is true, is that when Lord Vaelith walked onto that battlefield, Hundreds died.” “The male is lethal! He kills without thought or mercy. Some say he is soulless”
Silence followed. Thalia played the word over in her mind ... Hundreds.
Quietly so only she could hear Aric warned her “I say this as your friend Miss Thalia, if he’s taken an interest in you… tread carefully. He doesn’t toy. He destroys. And once you’re on his radar, there’s no such thing as safe.”
Thalia nodded numbly.
The rest of the journey passed in a blur of quiet reflection. The wagon rocked gently over the dirt road, but Thalia barely noticed. It wasn’t just what Aric had told her; it was what it meant. There had been a rebellion. Others had known the truth.They had risen up and risked everything to challenge the version of history everyone else had been taught.
She couldn’t stop wondering how they had discovered it. How many had stood against it. Where any of them were still alive? And if they were would they be willing to help her now?
Vaelith had killed hundreds. Her stomach twisted. She had known he was dangerous, but not to this scale. Not with the power to bury entire truths and erase those who dared to speak to them.
She glanced at her friends, a fresh wave of guilt washing over her. If Vaelith came for them, it would be because of her. And if he had crushed a rebellion without mercy, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill the 5 of them. There would be no safety left for any of them now. She pulled her cloak tighter, trying to quiet the fear clawing at her chest.
It was late afternoon by the time the temple finally came into view, rising from the dense forest like a beacon. It was smaller than the one in Vertrose but no less elegant, its pale stone catching the sunlight in soft, golden hues. Carved symbols of Amara, the goddess of love and light, adorned its gates. Vines wrapped lovingly around the edges, as if nature herself protected it.
Aric slowed the wagon and pulled the reins gently, bringing them to a halt just outside the main path.
