Page 33 of The Curse of Ophelia

“Over my damned spirit,” he roared.

“This was a task presented to me by the First Warrior.” Though that was not the real reason I rejected him. My Cursed wrist twinged in warning.

“But not once in his speech did he say that you must be the only one to journey to the mountains, did he?” I blinked at Tol, but he was right, and he knew it. He stepped closer to me, looking directly into my eyes. Our chests were nearly touching as he spoke, his voice harsh and slow. “I am coming with you.”

“I am a daughter of the Alabath bloodline. You do not command me, Tolek Vincienzo.” I rose onto my toes to match his force, though he still towered over me. “I go alone.”

“That you may be, but you are not our Second yet. You cannot wield authority that is not yet yours.” In that moment, he could have been a fully ascended warrior, power spilling from his body and permeating the air around us.

Our gazes locked, a silent battle of two rock-hard wills. Tolek was infuriating, but I couldn’t tell them the true reason I must go alone. If the Curse progressed, I couldn’t have them near me.

“Tolek is right,” Cypherion interrupted. “We’re coming with you.”

Reluctantly, I broke my eyes from Tol’s and turned on Cyph. “I did not tell you all of this so that you would come with me. I told you so that you may create a distraction here. Hide it from my family.” Keep the letters I’d written for each of them, because if I was likely to die in the process, I had to say goodbye.

“It doesn’t matter why you shared it.” Tol’s voice had lost a bit of its heat. “We won’t let you do this alone.”

My broken heart stuttered at the sentiment.

“Well.” I looked around us. “Rina, you will certainly need to stay and work the tavern.”

Her face dimmed with resignation. “Ophelia, the tavern has been crumbling for two years. Closing it will make no difference.”

That truth saddened me, but I saw it devastated her. It was not one I chose to push.

Refusals perched on my lips as I fought the urge to massage my wrist. Should the Curse claim me before I was able to complete the mission, I could have no one near me. The things I would be capable of…the destruction and bloodlust that would ensue.

I could not bear the thought of my friends being so near the threat. So near me.

But if the Curse claimed me, no one would be there to complete my task. Perhaps, if something were to happen to me, it would be best to have someone to carry on the mission. Or three someones. For whatever reason, Damien made it clear that this task existed solely for me, but he said nothing about what happened if I failed. Surely, it couldn’t hurt to arrange a backup plan, even if his prophecy didn’t transfer entirely.

“Fine,” I conceded, the decision weighing heavily on my soul. Should anything happen to them, I was to blame.

Visions of the dangers that could befall them flashed through my mind, but in my heart, I swore that I would not allow my friends to meet such fates. I would protect them with every ounce of strength in my body. I was Ophelia Tavania Alabath, daughter of one of the most powerful Mystique bloodlines, future Second of our clan, and no one harmed those I loved without having to answer to me.

“We leave at dawn. We’ll need horses, weapons, and food. Wear your training leathers. Rina, I have spares and can sneak extra weapons”—she flinched, not being properly trained, but remained silent—“but we will need another horse for you.”

“My sister doesn’t ride often anymore. She won’t miss Calista for a few weeks,” Tolek offered. Though his older sister had fought in the war, she, like many, had abandoned Mystique traditions two years ago. Training, riding, fighting—it was all tainted for them.

I nodded my thanks to him as the building creaked again. But this hollow sound was not the wind battering the walls. It was not the building, but the floorboards. In the stairwell.

“And I know where to get food,” Jezebel announced from the doorway. Of course, she had been listening. I was remiss to expect otherwise.

“Jezebel, I swear to the fucking Angels, if you think you’re coming with us—”

“If you think otherwise, you’re a fool.” She crossed her arms, the same stubbornness I used against my friends flowing from her. If Jezebel thought this journey would help me move on from my past pain, she would not concede. “We don’t have time to argue. Dawn breaks in four hours.”

Chapter Fourteen

Five mares stood in a line at the edge of Palerman, watching dawn break through the draping branches of the cypher trees that marked the western edge of the city. The air was still but for the muttering of the forest creatures. I felt their eyes and ears around us, monitoring the actions of the warriors in their presence and assessing any threat.

The land we would travel over was theirs as much as it was ours. We may guard the Mystique Mountain Range, the source of the magic in this world and all others, but those creatures pulsed with it, gifted to them by Gerrenth, the God of Nature, and Lynxenon, the God of Mythical Beings. They belonged to the power that ran in rivulets beneath the ground as much as we did. It was responsible for the bountiful growth in the plains, the temperate climate of our territory, and the steady hum in the air now. It controlled the balance of life and death, good and evil, strength and weakness.

We warriors were sworn to it. The earth and creatures worked in tandem with it.

Rolling green hills stretched out beyond the leaves, the grass shining with drops of rain from the previous night. You could smell it on the air; that scent of promise after a storm. Like anything could happen under the clear blue skies.

Sapphire shifted beneath me, her ears twitching impatiently. It had been so long since she had truly stretched her legs, using those powerful muscles we had honed over years of training. Since any of us had.

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