Page 8 of The Irresistible Warrior
She waited, expecting more. When he offered nothing, she prompted, “And by cursed, you mean…?”
“Any woman who comes too close to me, drops to the ground like her legs no longer work.” His mouth twitched with something that wasn’t quite humor. “Some have fainted. Others have simply crumpled. I’ve had to keep my distance from everyone. Even my own kin grew weary of the spectacle.”
Aura’s brow knitted as she studied him. “And this just… started? Without warning?”
His jaw grew tight, thinking about how long his suffering had been. “It began over a year ago now.”
“And you’ve no idea how or why?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as though trying to make sense of it.
Declan hesitated.
Aura didn’t miss it. “I see you are not being honest with me. What have you failed to tell me?”
He let out a slow breath, then ran a hand through his dark hair. He hadn’t breathed a word of the truth to anyone, and he was finding it difficult to do so now. But it would do him no good to lie to her if he wanted her help.
“It wasn’t a curse at first—” He hesitated again. “It was a wish.”
She lifted her brow, completely confused. “A wish?”
He nodded. “I said I never wanted to search for a woman again. I wanted women to fall at my feet.” He gave a dry laugh. “A jest. A foolish moment shared around a campfire. But someone must have heard it… someone capable of granting such a thing.”
Aura narrowed her eyes. “You have lived with the results for over a year, yet only now you seek help?”
“I’ve tried. I’ve spoken to endless healers and some who knew a touch of magic, but nothing worked. And then… youdidn’t fall.” He looked at her with something akin to wonder. “You stood, as if whatever binds me has no hold on you.”
Aura was silent for a moment, thoughtful.
“You’ve told me more,” she said, “but still not everything. And if you want my help, truly want it, then you’ll need to give me all of it. No omissions. No pride.”
Declan studied her. Most women simpered or stammered under his gaze. Not her. She showed no interest at all in him, not even a touch that she found him appealing.
He met her gaze squarely. “I’ve told you the truth. It was a wish. A foolish one, and now I live with its curse.”
Aura didn’t flinch under the weight of his stare. “You leave something out.”
Frustration fell across his face. “What more do you want? I made a careless wish, and it came true in the worst possible way. I cannot go near women without them collapsing like puppets with no hands to guide them. I’ve been mocked, feared, and sent away. And now—now you don’t fall, and I have no idea why.”
Aura remained calm. “You told me what happened. But not why. Why did you make the wish? What were you running from? Who were you trying to impress? Curse or not, wishes are born of desire. There’s always a reason behind them.”
Declan went still.
She let the silence stretch, then said softly, “And until I understand that reason, I can’t help you.”
He looked away, jaw clenched, and something unspoken tightened his shoulders. He turned away from her and took a few steps toward the trees, hands clenched.
“I had no reason,” he said finally. “None that I can name.”
Aura stayed silent, giving him time.
“It was after a battle,” he continued, voice lower now, more thoughtful than defensive. “We were bloodied, but victorious. Spirits were high. Ale was plentiful. I threw out the questionwithout thinking. ‘If you could have one wish, what would it be?’” He shook his head. “I said I wished I’d never have to search for a woman again… that they’d simply fall at my feet, the bonniest ones, not that it mattered since all women young and old alike fall when they get too close.” He let out a bitter breath. “We all laughed at our wishes, never thinking…”
He turned back to face her, shaking his head. “I never meant it. I wasn’t angry, or heartbroken, or desperate. It was a jest, nothing more. I don’t even know why that came to mind.”
Aura’s brow furrowed, but she said nothing.
Declan’s gaze drifted to the distance. “But I’ve thought about it since. Why that wish? Of all the things I could have asked for… wealth, peace, glory. Why that?” He looked at her again, eyes sharper now. “Maybe I was tired of pretending to care when I didn’t. Maybe I was too used to women wanting me only for my looks or my name. Maybe I didn’t want to keep searching for something I wasn’t sure even existed.”
Aura studied him closely, the layers behind his words beginning to show.
