Page 65 of Magic Cursed

He nods. “My uncle’s lands are only a half day’s ride from here.”

I want to ask him more about his uncle’s place, about what it was like living there, but the Regent calls out, “Halt! We camp here tonight.”

Daimis and I exchange curious glances before he trots his horse off.

Why would the Regent want to camp so close to fae territory? With the bridge access, we could be ambushed in our sleep. While the fae are not known to initiate confrontations, especially not on Thaaryn soil, I won’t sleep easy knowing we’re so close to their territory. I spot the Regent leading his horse to Tuuk, he hands the mare off, then approaches the edge to look out across the bridge.What is he thinking? Where is he taking us? What is he planning?

* * *

After everyone sets up camp and the horses are tended to, I sneak off to talk to Elsie. She’s sitting on a tree stump peeling potatoes for the night’s meal, looking utterly miserable in her task. It shouldn’t be strange for anyone to see us chatting. Aside from the head cook, whose grumpy attitude and strong arm with a steel ladle scares even the toughest guards, we’re the only females here. Men don’t tend to question when we flock to one another.

As I approach, she glances up. “It’s going to snow tonight.”

I look up with her at the low gray clouds and pull my cloak a little tighter around me. I know better than to question a pixie’s ability to predict the weather, they’re never wrong.

I lean on a trunk close to her and rub my hands to keep them warm. “Did you know fae territory is on the other side of that bridge?”

She pauses her peeling and raises her brows at me. “Gee, what gave it away? The towering fae statues?”

I smile and shake my head. “You’re such a smart ass.”

“Thank you.” She matches my smile and continues her peeling. “At least something of the real me has remained. I feel a part of me drain away every day I’m like,” she motions to herself with the peeler. “this.” she says the last word with a hiss.

“You can leave any time, you know.” And I hope she does because I want the two of them far away from here, the Regent, and his guards.

She just gives me an exasperated look from under her long lashes.

“How’s Tuuk holding up?” I ask. I haven’t had any opportunities to talk to him lately.

“Oh, you know Tuuk, he’ll keep complaining and threatening to kill, but he won’t actually do anything. More than anything, he’s determined to see this through.” She looks at me thoughtfully before continuing. “You never told us about your past, which we respect. But Des alluded to you being caught up in something here that has to do with your history before Hydenglen. Now I know not to push you on anything you don’t wish to discuss, but Des was quite worried, which has us worried too. So, I’m going to ask you something that I hope you will consider carefully. Are you letting past emotions cloud your judgment?”

I look across the camp to where Daimis and Kellan are having a conversation near the bridge. I imagine Daimis is asking Kellan why we’re camping here of all places. I consider Elsie’s question. Am I letting my history with Daimis cloud my judgment? Am I letting my new feelings for him do the same? Could my emotions be ruling my decisions?

“You don’t have to answer,” Elsie says pulling my attention back to her. “Just think about it, be smart, and be careful.”

A loud, high-pitched whistle has the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. It’s the Steel Guard’s, they use it to alert the others that they need reinforcements. Something happened—or is happening right now. Without a moment’s hesitation, going completely on instinct, I leave Elsie on the log and run into the forest toward the sound of the whistle.

Chapter19

Ogres

Iweave in and out of trees, jumping over fallen trunks and swatting pine needles from my face. It’s not long before the sound of fighting reaches my ears. Metal ringing on metal mixes with male grunts of exertion.

The forest opens up to four Steel Guards fighting three seven-foot-tall ogres. The ogres are almost as thick as they are tall and wield axes that ring out against the Steel Guards’ swords. Behind the fighting is a mellow waterfall with a statue of a female ogre, round with child, carved into the rocks so that the water cascades around the statue. Moss covers part of the statue, making it apparent that it’s been there for a very long time. Next to the waterfall stands a shrine: an archway of woven pine tree branches, under the arch, is an altar with personal baby items—a pair of booties, a bonnet, a wood-carved toy, a blanket, and more—all torn, broken, and scattered. Sword marks are cut into the wooden altar and an unconscious Steel Guard lays on the ground next to it, and I think I’ve put together what happened here.

I know enough about ogre customs to recognize that the shrine is to the Ogre Mother-Goddess of Fertility and Protector of Infants, Tetra. The ogres believe that they must offer an item of their baby’s during the first year of the child’s life so that Tetra will protect their child throughout infancy. The damned foolish guards must have come across it and destroyed the shrine, and the ogres reacted by attacking.

Luckily, I was closer to the forest and got here faster than anyone else, but it won’t be long before reinforcements arrive. If I don’t disarm the ogres quickly, they’ll be slaughtered. And all because they feel they’re defending their infant’s well-being.

Ogres are big and their magic is their unnatural strength, but they’re also slow and clumsy. The trick to defeating them is getting them off balance. My heart is pumping double time, I go against my instincts and help the guard who’s had his sword knocked from his hands. I run and jump, throwing a kick to the back of the ogre’s knee, he falls forward, dropping his ax in the process. I throw the butt of my sword into the soft spot in the back of his head, right where I was taught in Hydenglen, knocking the giant unconscious.

I quickly move to the next one, who just swung his ax at a guard. The man blocked it, but the force of the ogre’s hit was too strong and the man flies through the air before slamming into a boulder, his eyes roll back, and his body goes limp. I hope he’s not dead.

The ogre yells and swings his ax toward my head, I easily evade it and use the ogre’s moment of instability to my advantage, ramming my shoulder into his bulk. He falls to the ground, and I follow up with a hit from the hilt of my sword, knocking him unconscious. The shuffle of footfalls lets me know reinforcements have arrived. I glance back to see them lining up behind me, nocking their arrows. I’m running out of time. I have to do something if I’m going to keep these ogres from being massacred.

I turn toward the third ogre who is fighting two Steel Guards. I pull a dagger from my belt and throw the blade, it turns end over end until it meets its mark, thudding with perfect accuracy, hilt-end, into the back of the ogre’s head, instantly knocking him unconscious as well. The ogre falls to the ground with a thud, ending the fighting instantly.

“Put ash-steel manacles on them before they wake,” Kellan orders the guards. “Carry the wounded. Let’s get everyone back to camp.” They scramble to follow his orders. Once everyone is preoccupied, Kellan turns to me. “What are you doing?” he asks, frustration lacing his words.

---