A Curse of Flame and Ash by Kaitlyn L. Hill

Author:Kaitlyn L. Hill [Hill, Kaitlyn L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tainted Fate Publishing House
Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

My heart frantically pounded against my rib cage as sweat beaded along my hairline and dribbled down my skin, skirting along my neck. The air felt thin as my lungs heaved, avidly attempting to soak it in. My body’s reaction matched the frenzied state of my mind. All week I scoured my shared apartment with Aramis and the archives for the clues we lost, afraid to fully admit they were stolen. Yet with each passing day, my panic and distress rose, knowing someone watched me. But who?

I didn’t care about the thief’s motives. My sole focus revolved around finding and securing it before them, because losing the Book meant losing any hope of saving Cara.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

A jab landed on the side of my ribs and I keeled over into the dirt, raising dust on either side of me.

“No! Elowyn, where in the Veil are you today?” Molvys shouted from the sidelines as Conláed grinned at the blow he threw. I didn’t bother to hurry off of the ground, laying down and attempting to huff away my worries instead. But they refused to abandon me.

On top of racing some mysterious thief for the Book, I’d endured seven days of gruelling morning training. My muscles ached as Molvys, instead of easing up, intensified my workouts with extra laps, added weight exercises, and forced me to stay thirty minutes longer compared to our initial sessions.

He wanted to kill me. I remained certain of it.

The lack of sleep didn’t help, either, worsening my battle with the relentless demon haunting my dreams. To thwart his intrusions, I resorted to brief naps, never truly sleeping to prevent Seth from fully entering my unconscious mind.

Conláed offered a hand and I reluctantly took it, rising from the dry dirt and back to my feet.

“You should’ve seen that one coming, Elowyn. We’ve been practising it all week,” Conláed agreed with Molvys and, instead of taking the criticism, I balled my hand into a fist and struck his jaw. His head shot to the side and a wide grin appeared as I lowered my fist, glaring at him.

“There’s our feisty girl!” he exclaimed, and even Molvys let down his guard and cracked a miniscule smirk. “Now, where has she been all week?”

“Preoccupied,” I mumbled, walking over to grab the waterskin I strategically placed in a shady spot.

“Hey, are you okay?” Conláed followed me. He quickly became a friend, regardless of its unexpected nature and my determination to fight it. He was kind, encouraging, and funny.

“I’m fine.” I sighed and forced a smile.

Conláed smirked at my weak attempt to lie, something I rarely failed at, and draping his arm over my shoulders, he suggested, “Let’s do something fun today.”

“Like?” Training and research occupied my days at the Fae Court.

“We’ll go into town. I’ll show the market, we’ll stop at the river for the best fried fish you’ll ever taste, and—”

“No,” Molvys’ baritone voice startled us both.

“Come on—”

“No.” Molvys refused to relent, folding his arms over his chest to stand his ground.

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