The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(116)

“You were supposed to protect her, Jala. She was your ward and trusted you to keep her safe.” Seth’s low voice shattered the silence of the room and Jala stirred once more.

“She wanted to be here, Seth. I didn’t ask her to come; she asked me if she could,” Jala replied softly. Neph could hear guilt thick in her voice as she spoke and knew the demon’s words would weigh on her mind for a very long time.

“If she dies, there is no return for her Jala. She is Undrae and she doesn’t have the option of returning as we do. You should have protected her better. I trusted you to take care of her,” Seth pressed in the coldest voice Neph had ever heard.

“Jala is not at fault here. Zoelyn knew the risks and chose to come anyway,” Neph snapped as he stepped forward once more to shield Jala. Facing the demon was the last thing he wanted to do, but he wouldn’t simply stand in silence as Jala was wrongly blamed. It had been Zoelyn’s choice to come and Seth had no right to lay all of the blame on Jala.

“You?” Seth snarled in fury. “You dare to bring my attention to you after what you have done?” he continued and stalked toward them. Seth’s gold eyes were locked fully on him and Neph could see the Demon’s anger rising once more. “Do you think I don’t know what you did, Delvay? Did you think I wouldn’t discover it was you?” he hissed.

“What is he talking about?” Jala asked hesitantly and gazed up at Neph in confusion.

Neph shook his head slowly in bewilderment, but remained silent. He had no idea what Seth was talking about, but now didn’t s eem like a good time to correct the demon.

“What am I talking about?” Seth asked loudly, his gaze flashing to Jala for a breath before they snapped back to Neph with renewed fury.

“If not for Neph, she wouldn’t exist. He created her as she is and left her to fend for herself,” Seth growled as he stopped just in front of them. His arms tightened around Zoelyn’s still form, pulling her closer to him. “It took me a while, Delvay, but now I know it was you. I had suspicions, given your talent with dark magic, but I didn’t truly believe that you would create a Broken one,” he finished in a disgusted voice.

“That spell failed,” Neph whispered, shaking his head at Seth as realization dawned on him. He had only used the forbidden magic once in an attempt to return life, and it had been a bitter failure. The demon had to be wrong. If he was right, Neph wasn’t sure how he could ever live with himself again.

“What?” Jala whispered beside him and he could hear disgust in her voice. “Neph, that spell requires a sacrifice,” she added with a note of pleading in her voice. She needed him to tell her Seth was wrong, but he wasn’t sure he could.

“The spell didn’t fail, Neph. Did you truly believe a little half-blood whore’s child was a worthy sacrifice for your sister?” Seth snarled as Neph paled and backed away once more shaking his head in denial.

“The spell failed,” Neph repeated hoarsely. “I waited for the entire day and she didn’t rise. It failed.”

“It takes longer for a Broken one to rise, but they still rise. The girl you killed to raise your sister was unworthy and you know it. You can hear the truth in my words and you know I’m right.” Seth paused and glared at him with more hate than he had ever seen before. “Zyi was stronger than most Undrae I’ve known, though. When they found her wandering, she still held fragments of herself. She tried to tell them who she was, even as her memories were fading. The name Zyi Delvayon was too much for her, as weak as she was, though, and the best the hunter could make out was Zy Lyn. So Zoelyn was born by your abandonment. Because of you, she has suffered.” Seth paused once more and his gaze turned to Jala. “And because of your failure to protect her, she is suffering more. You are both unworthy of her and I am taking her with me. Neither of you faded with his last words and the room returned to silence.

The icy breath of the air faded, but Neph was too stunned to take notice. He had lived for the past seven years believing Zyi was forever lost from him, and the knowledge of what he had actually done was like a hammer to his stomach. Wordlessly, he raised a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes. He wanted to deny the accusation, but Seth’s words had made too much sense. He didn’t know anyone else that knew as much Forbidden magic as he did, and the area they found her in was very close to where he had attempted the spell in Gaelyn.

“Tell me he was wrong, Neph,” Jala whispered beside him. Neph looked over at her slowly and swallowed heavily at the desperate pleading that was written so clearly on her face. “Tell me he was wrong, Neph,” she repeated more firmly when he remained silent.

Neph looked away from the accusation in her eyes and let his attention trail across the corpse littered room. Valor lay sprawled near the wall and the sight of him made it very apparent how important his answer was to her. Had Jala been thinking clearly she would have been rushing to her husband’s side, but instead she was standing frozen and waiting for him to speak.

“You should see to Valor,” Neph said at last and the words faltered in his mouth. He was still too stunned for conversation and wasn’t truly sure what he could say. He wouldn’t lie to Jala, but he wasn’t ready to speak the truth either.

“Tell me he was wrong, Neph!” Jala repeated once more with anger rising in her voice. “Tell me you didn’t cast that spell. Tell me you didn’t sacrifice an innocent. Tell me you didn’t abandon her in Glis!” With every word spoken her voice gained volume and Neph felt his own anger with her words.