Did she do that?
Thornbearer warned half breeds should never use their magic. Let alone spill their blood. It could curse anyone who touched it.
“Songbird?” Rune called from the front door as he came in. “Are you all right? I smell blood.”
“I’m fine.” Alora quickly tossed a rag over the strange flowers and stepped on them. She pinched her skirts to stanch the bleeding.
He came into the kitchen, his brow furrowing at the bloodied knife. “What?—”
“Why must you leave me every day?” she snapped, both out of frustration and nerves. “Have you taken another bride beyond these woods?”
Rune chuckled. “Oh, my fretful little bird.”
He took a seat at their table and drew her onto his lap. Her unease melted away as he gently ran his fingers through her golden-brown hair.
“I am working to unravel the Sleeping Curse, of course. Besides hunting, most of my day is spent among the streets of Argyle, searching for clues on the sleeping dead. It is a tricky spell and I admit, far more advanced than I expected. But I’m close to breaking it.”
Guilt settled in her stomach for doubting him.
“Oh, the night of the Blood Moon, it will end,” he pressed a kiss to her cheek.
Alora’s heart swelled with relief. It would be the perfect gift for her birthday.
The total lunar eclipse was coming soon. Then she could come out of hiding, for her people would be free and Calveron’s hold would slip.
“Can it really be broken?” she asked.
“If you could make this rotten thing in my chest beat again,” Rune murmured against her neck. Her body warmed as he slid a hand up her thigh. “Anything can be possible.”
Sleep came for her deeply that night.
Alora dreamed of walking through the forest, singing beneath the moonlight. Moss glimmered faintly on silver bark, soft wind gently rustling the leaves.
But then silence abruptly fell.
The trees stilled.
The wind no longer stirred. Even the clouds were frozen above her, blotting out the moon. And suddenly, she was no longer alone.
“There you are.”
Alora jumped, her heart jolting.
“Hello?” she called, though her voice muffled, swallowed before it reached the trees.
“I have been waiting for you.”
She froze. The voice did not come from behind her. It came from within the forest itself. From the roots. From the dark beneath the soil.
Trembling, she forced herself to turn around slowly. But nothing was there. No man. No beast. Only shadow gathered between the trees, deeper than the night around it.
Her pulse thundered. “Who are you?”
The shadows shifted, drawing closer.
“You know who I am”,the voice murmured. “You have always known… daughter.”
Her throat tightened. “That’s not possible. I have a father.”
