I peek down at myself. My flesh is better; I hadn’t hallucinated that part. I rotate my shoulders and wrists. There’s only a slight twinge at the joints. “You do good work.”
“Thank you.”
I turn a wry eye on him. “You should’ve been a healer.”
He offers me a half smile. “If only.” This was a fight he had with his father years ago; Valen has a passion for the healing arts, but it’s not what Vincentius envisioned for his son. I’dalways hoped Valen wouldn’t permit his father to crush his dream, but there’s nothing I can do about that. It’s a battle Valen will have to face on his own.
I nod towards his book. “What are you reading?”
His hand slides over the page. “A detailed account of the toxic miasma within the Peradin Swamps.”
I raise my brows. “Oh?”
“It’s quite fascinating. The miasma is extremely poisonous and has no cure. However, the Peradi people learned that if they lick the bullfrogs that inhabit the edges of the swamp, then they can pass through safely.”
“That’s… interesting. I wonder why.” My fingers trail over the pink scarring where the curse ruptured my flesh.
“Because the bullfrogs’ mucus is also toxic, with a similar strain of poison, but there’s a cure to it.” His eyes sharpen. “Once the body is infected with the mucus’ toxins, there’s nothing left for the miasma to corrupt. By poisoning themselves, they can breathe the miasma without further harm.”
My fingers pause on forking tendrils of scarring on my wrist, my eyes flicking up to meet Valen’s penetrative gaze. Silence rings, both of us waiting for the other to reveal their cards first.
Valen’s voice lowers but is somehow loud in the silence. “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Astoria?”
My heart pounds. “I’m not sure what?—”
“No one can be a conduit to curses and live. The curse, like electricity, will go through the two points of the body in the most efficient way possible, and that is always through the heart. The curse cannot resist feeding from the soul and magic within.Thatis what makes a curse a curse.” His eyes trail to where my chemise hides the scar that loops on my left side. “And you forced three curses around all that tasty power and out through you.”
I slip on a cocky smirk. “Are you doubting my capability? I handle curses all day, every day. I’m exceptionally skilled.”
“I’m not saying you lack skill.” His eyes glimmer with threat. “I’m saying that you cannot will curses away from the soul. That is, unless what you have is not worth the trouble. It makes me wonder, what makes your heart so undesirable?”
He doesn’t mean the words as an insult, but I flinch, nonetheless. Valen is too smart to lie to about these things, and he’s had time to research the issue while I was unconscious. He must suspect more than he’s letting on. Maybe he’s seen something at the Archweaver’s estate and is connecting the dots. My hands tighten in the sheets.
He says softly, “I can help you if you tell me.”
My breath catches and I nearly laugh. He can’t help me. No one can. I can only help myself. “It’s nothing. Your suspicions are correct. I’m infected with a minor curse, but it’s nothing too worrisome. It guards my heart, so I can do the work I need to.” The lie slides smoothly off my tongue. “I can end it if I want.”
Valen’s tongue clicks. “You cursed… yourself.”
The stupidity is blatant, but it’s better than the truth. “Yes.”
“And what about the risk of corruption? Curses must only be used for protection, or else the Soul Thread?—”
“Can be corrupted. Don’t quote the first rule of magic to me. I am well aware. And, obviously, I am not corrupted. I worked out a loophole.” When he only stares, I scoff. “Oh,please, Valen. I know you’re not this unimaginative. There are loopholes to that rule. Weavers curse each other all the time; they just use objects as a medium to get away with it. I simply bent the rules as they did. It’s not that difficult when you’re as knowledgeable about the magic as I am.”
“And yet corruption is a rot within the soul. Slow, steady, and undetectable until it’s too late. How are you so sure that you aren’t on the verge of no return?”
His gentle tone stokes the fire of my temper, but a sharp pain within my chest holds my tongue. A cold sweat blooms over me. “I have Jinx. She protects my soul.”
It’s a weak excuse, even I see that, but I have nothing else to offer as an explanation.
Valen’s impassive expression is unreadable. It takes all my strength to hold his stare, to breathe normally, to blink when I’m supposed to. My head tilts and I speak so casually, I surprise myself. “I’m hungry. Can we go down and eat breakfast?”
Valen’s eyes narrow before the book in his hand snaps closed. His expression is lighter, his mouth softened by a slight smile. “It’s lunch, actually. Do you need help dressing?”
Keeping the relief off my face is exhausting. “Oh, no. I can manage. Thank you, though.”
Once alone, I let out a rush of breath, my eyes closing. My past, what I did, the toll on my body, are all rapidly getting uncovered the longer I’m with Valen. I was a fool to think I could hide everything fromhim. We know each other too well, even after seven years apart. He’s going to outmaneuver me if I’m not careful. Like the Order will if I don’t heed Aunt Vi’s dire warning.
