The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(52)

“So what is it that makes him snap daily?” Shade asked, his gaze moving back to the sparring match once more that was growing more intense with each breath.

“Vaze doesn’t pull punches with me. When I miss a parry, I get hit. They are wooden swords, though. It’s not as if I’m truly going to get hurt more than simple bruising,” Jala explained and smiled as she leaned back in her chair and stared up toward the clouds once more. “Valor can’t stand to see me get hurt, no matter how small the pain, though. Every bruise and scrape is like a hot iron to him. I’ve tried to get him to find other entertainments while I practice, but he can’t focus on anything else. Yet, he is the one that insists I learn to use a sword.” Her smile widened and she closed her eyes. “He is unreasonable and stubborn and I love him so much for it,” she added in a wistful voice. “Bloody hell. I thought you were past the girlish romance phase of your life,” Neph grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Why doesn’t Valor just teach you if he objects to Vaze’s training so much?” Shade asked in confusion.

“Because Valor can’t stand to hit her at all. He freezes in mid-swing,” Wisp explained, her voice filled with laughter.

“I can learn as things are now. Each morning I get twenty or so minutes of sword training in and Valor gets an hour of sword sparring with someone talented enough to challenge him,” Jala said as she opened her eyes once more. Her smile faltered on her lips as her eyes locked on the corner of the roof and Zoelyn barely glimpsed the flash of sadness that crossed her features before Jala forced the smile back onto her face.

Glancing up, Zoelyn caught the brief flash of black feathers as a crow took flight from the roof. Silently, she watched the others at the table and realized that no one but she had noticed Jala’s slip. It wasn’t the first time she had seen Jala falter at the sight of a crow. She had been in Merro for nearly two weeks now and there had been at least three occasions when the High Lady paused to watch one of the birds. It was odd behavior and Zoelyn wished one of the others had caught it. She knew without a doubt that Neph would have questioned Jala about it, but they were distracted with the fight in the courtyard. With a sigh, she took another bite of her food and watched as Jala rose from her chair.

“You want to go play with mommy while they fight?” Jala asked as she held her arms out for Legacy. The child wriggled free of Wisp’s grasp and quickly moved to his mother’s side. Smiling, Jala nodded to everyone at the table and picked up her son. “We will be in the garden if we are needed,” she announced.

Shade watched her for a moment and sighed heavily as he rose from the table as well. “I need to get my ship packed. I get to go play with Blights tomorrow,” he sighed.

“May they strip your flesh for dinner and hide the bones well enough that not even Jala can bring you back,” Neph said with a smile.

“If they do, I will bargain with Death for the chance to haunt you,” Shade replied with a matching smile.

“I’m on good terms with Ash. I’m sure I could convince him to bind your soul to the privy,” Neph called before Shade had a chance to reach the door.

“Pissed on in death, eh? They say the afterlife is supposed to be worse than life if you have lived in sin. I rather enjoy sin, and it sounds like nothing will change because of it. Good news for me, then,” Shade returned with a wink as he disappeared into the house.

Neph watched the doorway for a long moment and then leaned forward on the table, his eyes moving from Wisp to Sovann and back again. “So, why do crows depress Jala?” he asked, calmly watching both of them for the slightest reaction. “What?” Wisp asked in obvious confusion.

Sovann looked up from his papers with a thoughtful expression. “They are carrion birds and prone to following battles. Perhaps the sight of them reminds her of the war with Avanti,” he offered with a shrug.

Neph shook his head at both of them and stood from the table. “You are both clueless on the matter. Has to be something to do with Seth,” he mumbled as he headed off for the garden at a brisk walk.

“He is so strange at times,” Wisp mused as she watched him disappear. Shaking her head, she turned back to look at Zoelyn and smiled.

“Welcome to our weird little world,” she sighed.

“She has been part of our weird little world for nearly two weeks, love. It’s a bit late to be welcoming her,” Sovann pointed out in a distracted voice as his quill once again scratched noisily across the papers.

“Better late than never,” Wisp said with a shrug and smiled warmly at Zoelyn. “So, how are your magic lessons going with Jala?” she asked.

“They aren’t exactly magic lessons, love. Jala is trying to figure out how to stop her from siphoning magic. Zoelyn can’t work spells herself,” Sovann corrected, his brow furrowing as he scribbled more on the paper.

Zoelyn watched them both in silence as they debated what exactly Jala was teaching her. Slowly she slid her plate to the side when it became obvious that they were both fully distracted. She watched as the food quickly disappeared and mouthed the words thank you to the Blight. She waited until the food was mostly gone and silently pushed her chair back. “I was supposed to go find Jala when I finished eating,” Zoelyn announced as both Wisp and Sovann looked up at her. Carefully she picked up her plate and nodded to them both as she carried it back into the house.