The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(117)

Rounding on her he matched her glare fully and narrowed his eyes. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same to bring back Finn, Jala!” he snarled and shook his head at her as his emotions rose past the point of reason. “If I had taught you that spell, you would have moved in a breath to return him, no matter who you had to put to the knife.”

Jala blanched at his words and shook her head slowly as sadness washed over her face. “I don’t think you know me at all, Neph,” she whispered as she backed away from him slowly with tears brimming in her eyes. “And I know I don’t know you,” she added in a hoarse voice. Her hand rose to her face and wiped away the first of the tears. “Death gave me that option, Neph. She told me I could bargain souls with her for Finn’s life, but the only life I would have traded for him was my own. I would never kill an innocent intentionally and I would never sacrifice another’s life to salve my own wounds.” She shook her head sadly and more tears poured down her pale face. “We are done, Neph. I may forgive you in time, but for now I can’t even stand to look at you.” Her words were barely coherent through her sobs and Jala shook her head once more as she quickly crossed to Valor’s side. “Marrow, find Vaze,” she ordered in a thick voice.

Neph watched her in stunned silence as Jala gathered her wounded and prepared the spell that would return them to Merro. He couldn’t find words to make things right between them no matter how desperately he tried. His mind simply refused to work, and all he could do was watch in silence as the only people that truly mattered to him left him alone in the fallen city. His gaze moved slowly across the corpse-littered room to the flame-darkened walls and finally the door. It was fitting he supposed. Delvay reflected exactly what he felt like inside: dead, empty, and broken.

“I never once claimed to be a hero, Jala. You are the only hero in Sanctuary. The rest of us are all damned,” Neph whispered to the empty room as he slowly slumped against the wall. Silently he slid down to rest heavily on the floor and pulled his knees up against his chest.

He knew he should be moving now to release his people from stasis and fortify the city, but that would have to wait. His shoulders shook as the first of his tears broke and a muffled sob escaped his throat. If he woke his people now they would put him to the sword for weakness, and he wasn’t sure he would even try to stop them. Death sounded better than life to him at the moment, and the only thing that was keeping him from that path was the knowledge that Seth was waiting below. Madren had been right. He did have penance coming and the thought of Seth delivering his punishments was too much for him to face in his current frame of mind.





Chapter 19





The Darklands





The vertigo of the transport spell made her stomach heave and Zoelyn fought back the desire to vomit. She had been crouched near Foster when the explosion hit and the blast had caught her full on the side. Pain laced every part of her, but the worst was her throbbing head. With every step Seth took, the pain grew worse and she knew he was trying to be gentle. It was taking everything she had just to remain conscious, but she knew enough about healing to know sleep was her enemy right now. Head wounds were dangerous and by the gummy feeling on her scalp and the raw pain, she knew the gash on her scalp was a serious one.

“Do you have any idea what you have done!” a woman screamed as Seth pushed the doors of the palace open. It wasn’t a voice Zoelyn knew, but it was one she would remember forever. Just the volume alone made her want to sob, but the anger filling the words kept her silent.

“Get out of my way, Fiona. I am not in the temper to deal with you,” Seth warned in a low voice. He shifted Zoelyn carefully to one arm and placed his free hand on his dagger hilt to emphasis his words.

“The Divine are not to partake of mortal struggles and you slaughtered an entire city of Rivasans. They will tear Finn apart for your actions, you selfish bastard!” Fiona snarled and Zoelyn caught a glimpse of the woman as she moved directly into Seth’s path. She was pale with dark hair and would have been beautiful if not for the twisted expression of fury covering her face. Fiona’s hand dropped to her sword hilt and she shook her head slowly at Seth. “You will not simply walk away from this, Seth. You will pay for these sins with your miserable existence. I have watched Finn let you run wild these past few months, but I will not let this pass. You have gone too far.” Her voice dropped lower as her anger gave away to resolve.

“You will allow me to pass and see to the girl before we settle things,” Seth corrected with a snarl.

“Let him pass, Fiona.” Finn’s voice silenced them both. He hadn’t spoken loudly, but there was a power to his voice that neither of them could ignore. “Seth, see to Zoey,” Finn ordered as he approached. “Fiona, this will be resolved on my terms, not yours,” he added as he stopped between the two of them. His tanned face was creased with worry, but he smiled down at Zoelyn despite his obvious stress. “You will be fine,” he promised softly as he motioned once more for Seth to go.

“Finn, you can’t simply let him walk from this. Do you realize how bad this is?” Fiona hissed as Seth pushed past her and continued for the tower stairs.

“What is going to happen to you?” Zoelyn whispered as the voices behind them faded. Seth had picked up his pace and she missed Finn’s response entirely, but from Fiona’s words she doubted it could be good.