The Curse of a Faeblood by Melissa Lorber

Author:Melissa Lorber [Lorber, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781735971735
Google: 1ebuzgEACAAJ
Publisher: Three Pom Press, LLC
Published: 2022-04-14T13:07:54.863808+00:00

Gavyn closed his chamber door behind them. He engulfed her in his arms before it snicked shut.

Dear gods, what she’d endured.

Unsurprisingly, words of comfort never came. He tightened his hold, any more and he would crush her. Perhaps this was more for his solace than hers. He rested his chin on top of her head and breathed in her scent.

He needed the bastard’s name. Not the Red Guard, those nameless, faceless goons. They were all alike. All deserving of their fate.

He needed the farmer’s name.

And a description.

But it was the last thing he wanted to bring up tonight, after the harrowing trek on the return journey home. After she spilled her story, placing her trust in Xavier. He was proud of her. It couldn’t have been easy divulging the rest of her tale.

But it meant one thing — she feels safe here. Protected.

“Do you miss it?” she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

He stilled. “Miss what?”

“Miss home.”

“Thoughts of home abandoned me long ago. My last trip back, two summers ago, the faces were unfamiliar. Foreign. Few survive the harsh lifestyle of the mines to bear witness to the birth of their children’s children.” He sighed and said, “The men who dined with my father or found pleasure around our table playing cards no longer walk the land.”

“Truly, no one remains? What about others closer to your years?” She asked as if he missed the connection.

He nuzzled the top of her head, and wisps of hair stuck to the stubble on his chin.

“There is a small schoolroom on the edge of the village. Its sole purpose is to corral the errant youths and prevent them from scurrying underfoot. A place to keep us out of the way until our bodies grew strong enough to join our families in the quarries.”

He scoffed.

“My father cared little for an educated son and mocked those who wanted to further their minds. Instead of cultivating friendships, I spent my lessons resenting the confines of that small, dilapidated cottage and picking fights with older lads for entertainment. My mind struggles to recall the names and faces of others who shared those years with me.”

She rubbed circles on the small of his back.

“I—” His voice cracked. “I didn’t learn… I learned my letters many summers after we left home. Xavier discovered my shortcoming late one eve when he asked my thoughts about a missive from the Castle. He handed me the parchment to examine its contents myself. I recognized his name and no more.”

She hugged him tighter, as if he needed reassurance.

He’d never asked Ada for the odds on his downfall.

Short. They had to be. Ember was beautiful and kind and smart. Too intelligent for a dumb oaf like him. And fall he did, as there was no other explanation for revealing his greatest weakness.

“I never went to school,” she said. “We moved every other season when I was younger, and when my gift emerged sooner than mother expected… she thought it was too great a risk to allow me to attend with the other children.

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