Spell Bound (Wild Magic Book 1) by Heather Guerre

Author:Heather Guerre [Guerre, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-15T18:30:00+00:00

“Viera, you’re Frythan, right?” Ailis sat at the table, absently picking stones from a basket of dried beans while part of her mind was focused on the curse, and yet another part was focused on Mirni’s mocking repetition of the Frythan word Ronan often called her by.

Viera smiled indulgently. “I am.”

“Can you tell me was ’safisa’ means?”

The old woman’s expression dropped into a severe frown. “Who called you that?” she demanded.

“Nobody,” she lied. “I… heard it at the bathhouse.”

Viera regarded her skeptically, “It’s a vulgar word.”

Well, that was not what she expected, but also not a surprise.

“For a—” Viera hesitated. “For a woman of… low morals.”

It was obvious Viera was trying to be diplomatic, which made Ailis think it must be more than just merely vulgar—it was probably a wildly offensive word. She sat with that information for a moment, feeling an odd mixture of sadness, shock, numbness, and juvenile amusement. She wasn’t going to let herself jump to the conclusion that Ronan secretly loathed her. He said such filthy things to her in bed all the time, he probably didn’t mean it as an insult. She liked the filthy things he said to her. She could probably come around to liking an obscene pet name. She just had to remember not to flinch the next time she heard him say it.

“Anyone who calls you that word does not respect you,” Viera said flatly, maternal outrage in her eyes.

There was a tap at the door. Viera looked up, and the anger was immediately replaced by a fond smile. “Ah, Niliya,” she said happily. “Come sit. Have some tea.”

Nilime came in, a basket of freshly picked herbs over her arm. She sat next to Viera, casting a brief, guarded glance at Ailis.

“Hello, Ailis,” she said flatly, turning her gaze down to her basket. “Didn’t realize you’d be here.”

“I was just asking Viera about the time before you all settled in this village. When you were still in Frythe and the war was still going on.”

Nilime shot a startled gaze at Viera. “Why?”

“I’m just gathering what knowledge I can. Anything that’ll help me figure out this curse.”

Nilime took that in. Her startled expression smoothed back to the flat, guarded one with which she’d greeted Ailis. She returned her attention to her basket and began sorting the gathered herbs.

After a few moments of silence, Nilime said with studied casualness, “I heard you’ve taken up with the Drakkir.”

Ailis dropped the stone she’d just picked out of the beans. “Oh. Um. I…” She didn’t think Ronan had wanted to keep her a secret. But there also seemed no sense in announcing their relationship when everyone would forget in a few days. The next new moon was only a week away.

“He’s never married, just so you know,” Nilime said, almost defensively. “He’s never even taken a consort from the thema. So, don’t get too attached. He’s not the settling type.”

Ailis blinked, at a lost for what to say. The younger woman stared at her, spots of color high on her cheeks.

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