Page 229 of Cursed Evermore
Slivershade blight.
My gaze found Alaric's. That was the same disease that took our mother from us.
Slivershade blight was an exceedingly rare, slow-wasting disease. It was believed to be the result of exposure to forbidden blood magic or contact with a cursed object or creature.
So much knowledge and power ran throughout the magical realm, but no one had ever found a cure. The only thing you could do was borrow time. Borrowlife.
It began as a fever. At first, you thought you had a cold. Until the darkening of the blight spread beneath your skin. Your veins turned dark purple, then black. Eyes lost color. First dulled irises, then fully grayed over. Skin thinned, becoming parchment-like, sometimes translucent.
Whispers or hallucinations began in later stages. Eventually, if you survived all of that, you'd either become locked in your body until you died or turned into a Hollowborn.
That was what we called the ones who didn't die but didn't survive, either.
Their bodies kept breathing, hearts still beating. But their souls were gone.
They became empty vessels. Voids in human skin. Another type of undead.
What was left behind was a husk that mimicked the living. They spoke in fragments, echoed the dead, and wandered aimlessly killing until their minds rotted entirely. Or evil spirits slipped through, taking residence in the body, wearing the face of the person you once loved. Either way, there was only one mercy left to give them.
Mother never allowed it to get that far. The moment she felt her soul fading, she ended her life. She jumped into the silver fires of Mount Luuienaire, giving what was left of her soul back to her people. But not before giving a rare potion that could have extended her life by another hundred years to my sister.
No one knew Zyrra had the blight, too. She didn't want to worry us. We were all so focused on my mother, we never noticed her symptoms. Until this day, none of us had been able to figure out where they'd contracted the disease.
How strange that I would go to the Luminar festival to be reminded so much of the mother I no longer had, the wish I never got, the family that used to be. And now here I was, being reminded of them again.
I looked back at Marcus and saw the pain beyond the bruises and betrayal. I'd watched the blight consume my mother. I couldn't imagine what it must be like to watch a baby suffer through that pain.
“How old is your child?” The question scraped past my lips.
“Not even a year, my Lord,” Marcus whispered. “I haven't got the means to get her potions. I was promised that if I helped the rebel cause, they would help me. Theyhavebeen helping me and my little girl.”
The ruthless side of me was furious with him. It wanted to kill him for his betrayal and withholding useful information that could have stopped so much pain and loss. But something unexpected happened to me as I stared at Marcus.
I heard her voice in my head—Elariya.
I heard her telling me there are other things that keep your soul alive. Peace, happiness, compassion, love. Marcus was fighting for all four. Not for himself. For his little girl.
If I were in his shoes, I'd have done the same. No matter the cost.
With a wave of my hand, I restored my face to its usual form, saving Death for another day, then I looked at Alaric. “Arrange for the Galdrmester to visit Marcus' home and attend to the baby. Sign off whatever treatment he recommends and tell him I'll pay for whatever it costs.”
Alaric seemed stunned at first, but then he appeared to understand.
“My Lord...” Marcus mumbled, tears streaming down his cheeks. “You would help me?”
“I'm doing it for your baby.” He wouldn't understand my reasons. No one but family, close friends, and the royal healers knew about my mother's condition.
“A million thanks, Your Grace.” That was the third time this week I'd been called by that title.
Each utterance of those words fed the beast within me. Those who honored me with the title saw their king in me, even cursed as I was. Even broken. Their loyalty was a blade I would wield when the time came.
“May the Gods always bless you.” Marcus nodded with conviction. “I offer a thousand pardons for my wrongs, though I care not what you do to me. I broke my oaths for my child.”
I stepped back, composing my mind, the sternness in my expression returning. “Your service in the Guard has been terminated. You are sentenced to work in the salt mines for five years, with immediate effect.”
“The salt mines?” Disbelief flickered across his face. Bastian and Alaric had the same look. They all knew the punishment should be greater. The punishment for these crimes was normally death by execution to set an example.
“Yes.” This was as far as my compassion went. Working in the salt mines would allow him to still see his child.
