The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(107)

Eyes still on the door, she dressed as quickly and quietly as she could before creeping into the next room. The entry hall was dark aside from a faint flicker of lamplight shining beneath the door from the hall sconces. She paused in the doorway, giving her eyes a moment to adjust, and then scanned the room. A dark shape was barely visible by the far wall.

“I didn’t expect you to wake so early.” Seth’s voice was barely a whisper in the darkness and she almost jumped at the sound of it. She had never actually seen him sleep and until he spoke she had thought the dark form was simply something he had discarded by the wall.

“I thought you had your own rooms to sleep in. Why are you in here?” Zoelyn mumbled as she moved closer to where he rested.

He inhaled deeply as he sat up and stretched and she paused once more. Every time she had seen Seth he was wearing his black armor and feathered cloak. She had never caught him resting before, though, and he was bare to the waist. With a yawn, Seth rose from his pallet and shrugged at her.

“Even when you aren’t here, I don’t sleep in that room, so don’t feel bad about it,” he said in the same low voice and rubbed his face. “I didn’t mean to wake you, Seth. You can go back to sleep,” Zoelyn began hesitantly but Seth cut her off with a dismissive wave.

“I don’t like sleep any more than I like that room, so don’t worry about that either,” he explained with a grin. “To sleep is to dream and it’s been quite some time since I had a dream that was worth remembering.” His eyes lingered on her for a moment and he shook his head as if clearing an unpleasant thought. “Breakfast or training? How would you prefer to start the day?” he asked in a more cheerful voice.

“Training, I suppose, though I still don’t like the fact that I woke you up,” Zoelyn replied softly. It was hard not to wonder what had crossed his mind while he watched her, but she knew Seth well enough to not ask. He would answer her of course, but it would likely be an answer that only held partial truth. He tended to be vague on topics that he didn’t choose himself.

“In that case, if we make progress this morning, I have a surprise for you this afternoon,” Seth agreed with a smile and moved to the small table beside the door. “Fresh mage stones,” he informed her as he tossed her the bag. “A surprise?” Zoelyn asked slowly and raised an eyebrow.

“Which will stay a surprise for now,” he replied with a smile and waved a hand at the bag she held. “Impress me, Zoey,” he added as he stretched once more and picked his leather tunic up from the floor.

She watched him in silence as he pulled the armor on. His back and sides were lined with faint white scars and she had been silently trying to count them. The tally had reached thirty before he picked up the armor, then thirty-five as he pulled the shirt on, and there had been countless more that she had missed.

All warriors had scars. She knew that well enough, but not all of Seth’s looked to be battle wounds. He never spoke about his past and now she knew why. His scars spoke of a very brutal life, and by the number of marks she didn’t have to ask why he avoided dreams. Dominic told her once that dreams were often figments of memories or aspirations for the future. For Seth, neither could be pleasant. His past was written in pain across his body, and what future could he possibly have to hope for. He was trapped in hell with no end of his penance in sight.

“Seth, if you could have one thing, what would it be?” Zoelyn asked quietly as she untied the laces of the leather bag he had thrown to her. The silence stretched between them for several breaths and she glanced up to see him watching her with an enigmatic expression on his handsome face.

A flicker of doubt crossed his face and was quickly replaced by one of his devilish grins. “For you to do well with your less ons today,” he answered and waved once more to the bag.

“Then I will do my best,” Zoelyn said softly and shook her head as she sat down cross-legged in the floor. “You know what would be better than whatever surprise you have waiting for me, Seth?” she asked.

“Hmm?” Seth mumbled. His attention was focused on his countless knives as he fastened them back onto belt carefully.

“An honest answer to my question. I know you want me to do well with my lessons, but that can’t be the one thing you would as k for if wishes were granted.” Zoelyn watched him as she spoke. He paused at her words and glanced at her with a neutral expression.

“Never wish for something, Zoey. If you want it, work for it. From what I’ve seen in life, when you try to take the easy road it blows up in your face.” His voice was level, without anger or sadness, as if the words were cold hard facts in his mind.

Zoelyn nodded wordlessly and lifted the first gem. Closing her eyes she focused on the magic inside and felt her curse draining the power. As always there was no hint of the flavor that Seth spoke of so often. It felt like raw power in her veins with no hint of what it had been intended to be. With a faint sigh she dropped the stone and picked up the next. Within moments warmth rose in her hand and she stared down at the gem in wonder. It was different from what the first had been. Elation rose in her chest as her eyes snapped up to Seth once more.

“It feels different. I have no idea what it is, but it’s different!” she exclaimed excitedly.

Seth smiled at her and nodded faintly. “I had an idea last night, but I wasn’t sure it would work. It seems it has, and now we can truly make progress.”