The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (51 page)

“She let him abuse me. She deserved to die!”
Seth’s voice rose with his anger and he glared at Finn with pure
hatred.

“She wanted you to live,” Finn repeated
coldly. “Do you think my own mother wanted to be raised by the
Avanti? I highly doubt it, but you allowed her to be taken as a
child because you knew even though it would be a harsh life, she
would live. Do you think she could slit your throat, knowing you
were her father, and not shed a tear for it?” Finn moved closer and
shook his head slowly. “She couldn’t. I promise you that.”

Seth stared at him and his anger faltered. He
had never compared his own actions with that of his mother. All he
had been able to focus on was how she had allowed him to be abused
and he had never considered why she had allowed it. Finn’s words
hit too close to home, though. He had known the same pain with
Davahni and had no choice other than to allow her to be taken.

“Do you think Dashara would have suffered as
much as she did if you hadn’t forced Donrey’s hand with your
actions?” Finn continued and the illusion of Dashara shimmered back
into view. “She was freeing slaves, Seth. Do you think this is the
death one earns for freeing slaves? I don’t. It was your actions
that led to this. Your nightly hunts on the Avanti that brought
Donrey to this point. He might have forgiven Dashara, if not for
your vengeance. How many did you kill in her name without uttering
a word about it to her?” Finn paused, waiting for an answer, but
Seth could only shake his head in response. “It was never about
making a better world to you. It has always been about vengeance,”
Finn sighed and shook his head with disgust.

“Why does it even matter to you?” Seth
whispered hoarsely. Guilt was settling firmly on his shoulders and
it wasn’t an emotion that he was familiar with. He had never wasted
the effort on remorse and had always believed what he did was
justified no matter how brutal it was.

“Because I echo Zoelyn’s sentiments about
you, Seth. I want to see you redeemed and I have been doing
everything I can to push you down that road. I’m not your former
master. I don’t want you to serve for eternity,” Finn answered
sadly.

“Why?” Seth asked softly.

“Because when I look at you, I see what I
would have become had Jala not appeared in my life. I was well on
the way to being you, and I know you can change, Seth. I did.” Finn
smiled and shook his head as he sighed heavily. “Besides, Fate has
something in store for you. You might be blind to it, but I’m not.
Everything is circling around you, Seth. It can’t be a coincidence
that all of these things are happening. I mean, what are the odds
of your son raising the only Undrae that has existed in centuries.
Something is coming, Seth, and you will have a role in it. I’m
certain of that.”

“I truly hope you are wrong,” Seth murmured.
The way he felt right now, he didn’t think he could face anything
else. Finn’s words rang with too much truth and he had a lot to
consider. His mind circled back to Zoelyn and his guilt increased.
With shoulders slumped he leaned heavily back against the wall and
shook his head at Finn. “I don’t think I could face more right
now,” he admitted quietly.

“Good. Then you are finally on the right
path,” Finn nodded with approval and stepped closer to Seth. “You
know, in time, she might forgive you. With Zoey, it probably
wouldn’t even be that much time. She is a sweet girl. However…”
Finn paused and pressed his hand firmly against Seth’s chest. White
fire coursed through Seth’s veins at the touch and when the Lord of
Death pulled his hand back, Seth could feel his magic weaken. “You
can do it without this. I think you have done enough damage with
your Charm magic. If you want her trust back, Seth, earn it,” Finn
finished as he stepped away from Seth.

Seth gaped at him and slid down the wall to
sit. He shook his head at Finn slowly and swallowed heavily at the
thought. “I don’t even know how to talk to someone without using
the Charm.”

“I suggest you learn, then,” Finn began as he
headed for the door. “Consider what I’ve said, Seth. I have to
serve my own penance now so you should have plenty of peace and
quiet to think.” “What?” Seth asked in confusion.

Finn paused by the door and smiled back at
him. “Did you honestly think the Aspects and other Divines would
let your actions in Delvay slide? It’s time to pay the piper, Seth,
and I’m not sure how long it will take me.”

“You could have simply given them me,” Seth
stammered as he rose to his feet once more. “I acted without your
permission and you didn’t have to claim the blame for this.”

“I didn’t have to,” Finn agreed with a nod.
“But that’s what friends do, Seth, and you are more than simply a
friend. You are family.”

Delvay

Neph settled back on his throne and stared at
the empty room dismally. Two days had passed since Jala turned her
back on him and he had yet to find motivation to do anything. The
only true accomplishment he could claim was cleaning the dead from
the city and that had been a simple matter of magic. The rest of
the time he had spent in thought and nothing that had crossed his
mind had been good. As far as he could tell, no matter what he did
he was fucked. Even if he woke his people from stasis, there
weren’t enough of them to hold the city when Rivasa attacked, and
he knew they would soon. By now, rumors of the attack had surely
reached the High Lord of Rivasa and he had to know how weak Delvay
was once Merro returned home.

Muffled clatter from the courtyard beyond
pulled him from his thoughts and Neph stiffened in his chair. That
had been hooves, he was certain of it. Standing slowly, he moved to
the door and braced himself for what was coming. He had known there
would be an attack and the only thing he could do now was fight
until he had nothing left to give. Closing his eyes, he summoned
the memory of Jala’s face and seized the pain that rose in his
chest for focus. Magic hummed through his veins and he pushed the
doors open wide in front of him.

“I’d really appreciate it if you would
release all of that magic.” Madren’s voice rose from the courtyard
beyond.

“Madren?” Neph gasped in shock and the magic
faded from his mind instantly. He couldn’t fathom a single thing
that would bring the High Lord of Goswin to his door. In all the
time he had known Madren, Neph had never once thought he would be
happy to hear that voice, but he was.

“Thank you, Neph. I really didn’t want to be
cooked in my armor,” Madren called in response and stepped slowly
through the doorway into the inner city. He was armored in shining
plate with a massive sword across his back and looked nothing like
the fragile boy Neph remembered from the city.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Neph
demanded, though there was no anger in his voice, only
confusion.

“Protecting my ally,” Madren answered calmly
and gazed around the empty hall curiously. His dark eyes found Neph
once more and his expression softened. “Anthe saw what was coming,
Neph, but I couldn’t say anything then. No one would have listened
to me,” he explained and shrugged. “So I remained behind in Arovan
and did what I could to ensure Jala had full support from those
Lords so when the time came she wouldn’t need me. I knew I would be
needed here.”

“Madren you don’t even like me, remember?”
Neph pressed as he stared at the man in wonder.

Madren smiled and let out a short sigh. “I do
at times, Neph. Besides, you aren’t the only one that knows how
important this city is. Goswin and Delvay have been allies for a
very long while if you remember correctly and it’s not just your
Grandmother that cast the spell to contain the Veyetta, if you
recall. My Grandfather helped with that as well and I know what
must be protected.”

Neph stared at him gape-jawed and tried to
pull his thoughts back into order. Just when he had been mastering
his own confusion, Madren had sucker punched him with another wave
of shock. “I thought only Delvay knew about that,” he admitted
quietly.

“And I never thought I would have to admit to
knowing,” Madren replied with a shrug. “But here we are, and from
the looks of things we have a lot to do. I have to admit I expected
you to have your people released by now.”

“I couldn’t face them yet, and I really
didn’t see the point in forcing them to die beside me when Rivasa
showed up,” Neph said quietly. His own gaze moved slowly around the
room and then back to Madren. Slowly he shook his head and smiled
faintly. “I can’t believe how much I have underestimated you.”

“Probably not nearly as much as I have
underestimated myself in the past. Thanks to Anthe, I think I
finally have it all together.” Madren glanced over his shoulder and
then back to Neph. “I’ve brought five thousand with me, but most of
them are guarding the border. Anthe is in charge there and she has
promised that the Rivasans won’t pass without paying dearly for it.
That should buy us time to get the city repaired and get your own
people situated.”

“Thank you, Madren,” Neph said quietly. After
the way he had treated Madren in the time he had known him, he
couldn’t believe that he had moved to help at all. Had he been in
Madren’s place, he doubted he would have.

“We are allies, Neph,” Madren replied with a
smile. “And if we work quickly enough we might manage to get this
done before your sister arrives,” he added quietly with dark eyes
locked on Neph’s.

“What?” Neph stammered once more. Madren had
certainly grown adept at keeping people off balance in the short
time he had been in Goswin.

“In Anthe’s visions, Zyi returned to Delvay
and woke the heroes. Anthe is very rarely wrong, and even though I
am confused as to how your dead sister will arrive I can see there
is a chance of it by the expression on your face,” Madren
explained.

Memories surfaced in Neph’s mind of his last
days with Zyi and her tear filled words the night she left home.
Maybe one day you will lead here, and I can come home again
.
The words had seemed unbelievable at the time, but now they echoed
clearly with truth. He was the High Lord of Delvay now and Zyi was
finally coming home. His throat tightened at the thought. “I don’t
even care if she can awaken the heroes. It’s enough to have her
home finally.” Neph spoke softly and wiped his face before the
first of the tears could form. Looking up, he smiled at Madren and
bowed his head. “Thank you, Madren. I was on the brink and if not
for you I don’t think I could have pulled back.”

Madren nodded once and gazed around the room.
“That’s what friends are for, Neph. I know you have never
considered me a friend, but I hope that changes in the future. I
have enough enemies in life and there are too many people that
simply don’t care. What I need is a true ally and Delvay has always
been just that.”

“And always will be,” Neph promised quietly.
He looked slowly around the room once more and calculated
everything that needed to be repaired. There was so much, but with
Madren’s help he could probably have it done within a week. Nodding
once, he summoned his traveling bag and dumped it on the floor in
front of him. The storage gems clattered noisily to the cobbles and
Neph stooped to pick one up. He paused before opening it and
grinned at Madren. “I have to warn you. They still don’t think much
of me as a leader and they most likely won’t be in a very good
mood.”

“I’ve dealt with you when you were pissed,
Neph. I doubt there is anything they can say or do that will shock
me,” Madren replied with a smirk.

“Well here we go, then,” Neph murmured as he
cracked the first gem.

“All hail High Lord Nephondelvayon,” Madren
said softly and bowed in Neph’s direction.

“Words I never thought I would hear,” Neph
muttered quietly as he cracked gem after gem. For the first time
since Jala left, he felt a glimmer of hope building in his chest.
The first step was securing Delvay. He wasn’t sure what would come
after that, but perhaps Zoelyn would offer suggestions. She had
always been wiser than he. He had just never truly listened to her
before. It wasn’t until after she was gone that everything she had
said made sense, and now he finally had a chance to prove that he
understood her. The Delvay he rebuilt would be a place just like
she had dreamed of, where you could speak the truth without fear
and no one was forced into a life he didn’t believe in.

The Elder Blood Chronicles

Book One, In Shades of Grey

Book Two Blood, Honor and Dreams

Book Three, From the Ashes

Book Four, The Blessed Curse

Book Five, The Crow King's Wife – Coming
Soon