Blood Curse (Branded Trilogy Book 2) (18 page)

“This from the very one who has done nothing but deceive others? How suitable.”

“Why would any mother kill their own child, evil or not?” Kade asked.

Sorina’s mouth curved into a devious smile.

“He does not know?”

Pril shook her head before meeting Galius’ eyes.

“You have not told him who he searches for?” Sorina asked.

“What the hell is going on?” Kade snapped.

Pril sighed. She’d hoped to sit with Kade and tell him the truth of Tsura once they were far enough away from the Renoldis and out of danger, but Sorina had ruined her plans.

“Tsura is my sister, Vadoma’s, daughter,” she said.

“Vadoma, the one with the magical powers?” He snickered.

She nodded.

“He does not believe in such things,” she said to Sorina and Galius.

“It is because he is of closed mind,” Galius said. “For him to fathom something so surreal is too much.”

“I understand it. I just don’t believe it. Those are two very different things,” Kade snapped.

“Tsura has Vadoma’s powers. She is a Chuvani like her mother was,” Pril interjected. “Vadoma laid a blood curse on the Monroes before they killed her. All of their daughters would die, and they believe by killing Tsura the curse will be broken.”

“Will it?” Kade asked.

“Yes.”

“Now do you see why she must die?” Sorina asked.

Kade frowned at the other woman. “No, I do not.”

“You cannot get your words back,” Pril said carefully to Sorina.

“I do not want them back.”

“I cannot abide you speaking of my daughter in such a way.” She stood.

“The truth may be difficult to speak, but you must understand.”

“I cannot comprehend how someone could wish a child dead.”

“She is cursed as Milosh said.”

Pril’s chest compressed as the loss of her brother hit her tenfold. The pain so raw, the wound still gaping seeped of anguish and misery. Her eyes watered, and the ache within her soul exposed the possibility of never seeing forgiveness for what she’d done. She hung her head, waiting for the pain to pass. She still needed to tell Galius of their loss, to repent of all her wrongdoings. She thought of Tsura, her baby girl, and anger bled into her veins to fuel her heart and ignite the fire within her soul.

She stepped toward Sorina ready to defend her daughter at all cost when Kade grabbed her arm.

“No, Gypsy. Not like this,” he whispered into her ear.

Galius moved behind Sorina.

“I am sorry we have come to this. I can no longer stay within your company,” she said, lips thin and unmoving.

Sorina lifted her shoulders. “Nor can I stay within yours.”

“Brother, will you take Sorina back to our clan so that she may be with her sister?”

Galius was silent, his eyes locked with hers before he glanced at Kade and nodded.

“Fate has its way, and you, my Pril, will get yours,” Sorina whispered.

“Get her away from me before I take my arrow and drive it into her tainted heart,” Pril hissed before she walked away.

Pril walked into the woods. Disgust twisted her gut, and she folded her arms across her midsection. Sorina had acted out of fear and from the horrible loss she’d experienced. But no matter which way Pril weighed the situation she could not condone how the other woman spoke of her daughter.

Within the span of Tsura’s short life, Pril had gone to battle with both her brothers, Magda and now Sorina. She loved them all. Regret showered her, drenching her in sorrow and dripped from her soul. She’d not been able to make them see—to help them understand that Tsura held no harm. She felt the loss of those she loved clear to her soul, and the agony almost too much for her to bear had ripped her in two.

How was she ever to feel whole again after the pain she’d caused? Where could she go that she’d be accepted—where her daughter felt loved for the child she was and not the gifts she had?

The Monroes wanted to kill her. Pias needed her as his pawn, and Milosh took her because of his own grief. She’d fed her daughter to the wrong people, handed her over without a fight, and she couldn’t contain the tears as they slipped from her eyes.

She didn’t believe in herself enough to count all of the spells she’d been taught. She didn’t trust the magick within her to release the words and watch them do her bidding. She used the book day after day to try and create new spells to keep them safe, but she never read further. She never peeked beyond the pages to where she’d learn the craft. She’d been too afraid.

She didn’t want to be like her sister. The power that came from the book, the knowledge inside of it frightened her to no end. What if she became as Vadoma? What if there was evil within her, too? She stayed away, only using the spells for necessity, for the children’s safety. She wiped a tear, and even then she’d discovered she was a coward.

She heard Galius’ steps as he came up behind her, and she used her shawl to dab at the tears upon her cheeks.

“The forest floor gives you away, Brother,” she said, turning to face him.

He smiled, and she sighed. It’d been weeks since he’d shown any emotion. Most days he was in control of all situations, holding himself at arm’s length away from everyone. He desired distance, he needed it to lead the clan, deal with his siblings and niece.

“How are you?” he asked.

There were so many things she needed to tell him, but first she had to confess the truth of Milosh. She had to tell Galius their brother was dead. She bowed her head. Her eyes misted. She hadn’t come to terms with the loss and carried the regret upon her shoulders.

“Brother, we need to have counsel.”

“Is that not what we are doing?”

She was quiet, the need to move her legs—to do something—overtook her, and she paced in front of him. Her hands were restless, and she folded them within her shawl several times before letting them hang at her sides. How was she going to tell him? She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She couldn’t even whisper the words. Her chest constricted, and she could feel the tightness in her throat. She placed her hand over her neck and rubbed the skin.

“What is it?” he asked.

She halted. Her feet planted into the ground, and she hung her head.

“I am sorry, Galius.”

He stepped toward her, and she retreated.

“Please do not come near me. I need to do this. I have to tell you without your comfort. I need to see the pain I’ve caused you and the despair within your eyes.”

He straightened.

“Get on with it.”

Her stomach contracted, and she bent. She forced herself to stare into Galius eyes and said, “Milosh is dead.”

He didn’t move, his eyes flickered but he masked the emotion she’d almost seen there.

“How?”

“He was murdered.”

“How?” he asked again this time louder.

She swallowed and avoided his eyes.

“Hung from a tree.”

She could hear him as he exhaled, forcing the air from his body in long puffs. She didn’t know what to do. She peeked at him through her lashes, watching as he pumped his fists at his side and clenched his jaw several times.

“Brother, I am sorry.”

He fixed his daunting gaze upon her, and she shuddered.

“Why do you apologize?”

“Had it not been for me, for my insistence on raising Tsura on my own, none of this would have happened.”

He sighed.

“That is the past. You cannot keep living there.”

“How can I not when the ones I love are being killed?”

“Milosh chose his own path, and though it saddens me to hear he is gone from us, I cannot abide what he did.”

“Yes, but he was still our brother. I loved him no matter what he did.”

“As did I.”

“I never got to say I was sorry. I was too late. I shall never forgive myself for it.”

“Milosh knew you loved him. He was driven by grief and nothing more.”

She nodded but his words did little to comfort her.

“Do you know who killed him?”

“I feel it was Pias. When asked he denied it, but I know it was him.”

He nodded.

“Rest easy, Sister. Milosh is with his sweet Alexandra now.”

“I cannot help but feel regret for the things I have done. I feel responsible for the death of our niece, Milosh and Sorina’s family. How can I ever come home knowing the fear still lives within our people?”

“They will accept you.”

She smiled, pitying her brother for his ignorance to the matter.

“You cannot change the way our people think. When Sorina gets home she will tell them about Tsura and how we deceived the clan. We will no longer be welcome.”

“The clan will listen to me. I can convince them Sorina is without mind.”

“Brother, you need to cease and hear me. We will have nothing to go back to. I cannot take Tsura there knowing they will kill her.”

Galius was silent, and she waited for him to speak.

“What of Tsura? Do you know where she is?”

She nodded.

“Pias has her, and he is taking her to the Monroes.”

His head shot up.

“It seems Pias has been working with the Monroes for some time now. Silas has offered him the pendant in trade for Tsura.”

“He has the talisman? But how?”

“I do not know. Vadoma could’ve given it to him before she died, in which case she deceived me.”

“How so?”

“She told me the pendant belonged to me and if something ever happened to her to keep it safe. The night she died I searched for it within the cabin, but it was gone.”

“Silas could’ve known it was there and took it.”

She nodded.

“Does he know the power it holds?”

“No, I do not think so. But Pias does and…” She paused.

“What is it? What were you going to say?”

“He has the spell book, too. He stole it from my vardo the night they attacked us.”

Galius ran his hand through his thick beard and growled.

“What will you have me do?” he asked.

She knew he struggled with his duty to take Sorina back. He wanted to be with her and Kade.

“You need to return Sorina to the clan.”

He nodded.

“Shall I take the boy?”

“No. He remains with me.”

“I will come back. I will not leave you to your own wits when it comes to Pias and the Monroes.”

She placed her hand on his shoulder.

“I am not alone. For all his crassness and superiority, Kade Walker is good with a dagger and can throw his fists quite well.”

“I will be two days behind you. Try to wait. We are stronger in numbers than alone.”

He was right, but if she came to Pias’s camp she would not wait to get her daughter.

“Yes, Brother, I will wait for you,” she lied.

His shoulders dropped, and he opened his arms to her.

She went to him, feeling his strength and love.

“Go now, and know that I love you,” she whispered.

He set her away from him and kissed her forehead. “As I you, Sister.”

She watched as he walked away, knowing she may never see him again. Once she found her daughter, she’d take her to the other world far away from the dangers that lurked here.

Kade reached into the sack and pulled a handful of oats out for Pril’s horse.

“Here you go, boy,” he said as the animal nuzzled his palm.

Pril had not returned from the forest after her disagreement with Sorina, and he was beginning to worry. He reached for the dagger fastened to his belt. He should go and search for her. What if something happened? He glanced at the boy drawing in the dirt. Galius hadn’t taken him back to their clan when he left earlier with Sorina, and Kade guessed Pril had some say in the matter. She didn’t want the boy to go with Sorina, and he couldn’t blame her. He’d grown fond of the kid, and to send him with strangers would only cause him to escape. He didn’t want to think of what could happen to him then.

With Galius gone he only had Pril to contend with, and he enjoyed riling her. He didn’t care much for her brother or the way he commanded those around him. Kade controlled his own future, and no one would tell him otherwise.

Galius had asked him to wait for his return before taking Pril to Pias and the Monroes. He’d refused the other man. He wanted blood for what Silas had done to Sam, and no matter how much Galius begged, if he saw Silas or Jude Monroe he’d kill them without so much as a second thought.

He glanced toward the bushes where he’d last seen Pril. The woman perplexed him. He wasn’t sure what to think when it came to her family and the mythical powers they held. Was what she told him true? Did the child possess magick? He’d witnessed Pril put the fires out when they were captured by the Renoldis but he still could not understand how it happened. Was his mind simply closed off to it as Galius suggested? Did he not have the capacity within his brain to comprehend such things?

Just thinking of it gave him a headache. He’d listened as Pias, Sorina and Pril’s own brother Milosh spoke of the child. How they revealed their hate, greed and anguish. How death was the only way to rid them of the curse. The Monroes would kill Tsura. He was certain of it now. He knew that no matter what happened he’d never be able to hand her over to Silas and his brothers. He no longer needed the child to trade. There would be no barter. Silas was going to die, and Kade would kill him.

“I gathered some berries for the ride,” Pril said as she walked from the bushes, her shawl tied to hold the blueberries she picked. He noticed the redness around her eyes and swollen lids. She’d been crying.

The boy bounced up from the ground and ran toward her, throwing his skinny arms around her waist.

“Oh my.”

She smiled as she hugged him back.

“Sounds nice,” he said and picked up the boy to place him on top of Athos.

“Thank you for saddling my horse and attaching my bow.”

He nodded.

“Are you ready to leave?”

“After we’ve talked.”

She froze while tying the shawl to the side of her saddle.

“About what?”

“Tsura.”

“What of her?”

“Turn, and look at me, Gypsy.”

He waited while she finished fastening the shawl and then faced him.

“Very well. What do you want to know?”

“I want you to tell me the story from the beginning.”

“What story?”

“The one I’ve been hearing bits and pieces of for the last two weeks.”

“It is a waste of time, and we cannot afford another minute.”

He searched her over; the skirt and blouse she wore was tattered and dirty. Her thick red hair fell to her waist and reminded him of the auburn leaves on a cool fall day. Her pert nose tipped up, and full lips shaped into a frown enticed him. Her pale complexion offset the red in her hair, making her brown eyes vivid and alluring. She was beautiful. Had it not been for the sadness he’d seen in her eyes he’d have told her so.

“I am not leaving until you’ve told me what you know. I need to understand what we are up against.”

She grimaced, and the urge to run his thumb across her lips overwhelmed him.

He turned from her and climbed onto Goliath.

“We will discuss it while we ride. Does that suit you?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No.”

She sighed, and he figured it had little to do with the predicament he’d placed her in but rather the events that had recently happened.

She mounted her horse, reins in hand, and eyed him.

“Where would you like me to begin?”

“Tell me about your sister, Vadoma.”

“I have told you everything.”

He clicked his tongue, and Goliath began a slow walk.