Page 9 of Oath of Revenge
Scarlet drowned her rage with another olpertine and drink of tea, but the roiling emotions finally broke free. “Yeah, yeah, that’s what you’ve said for months.”
“We’re not giving up,” he said.
Scarlet shot back, “Easy for you to say when you look so normal.”
They both glanced in surprise at each other, then burst out laughing.
Knox scratched at his temples where green and brown scales spread around the back of his head. Brown hair grew on the top which he kept in a thick braid. But for years, he’d hidden his scales beneath a cloak and stuck to the shadows of the forest, rarely going in public.
“Well, that’s a first. Never heard anyone call me normal before,” Knox grinned.
Scarlet chewed another olpertine. They’d fought like this as kids a lot. Quick, heated words, then a laugh, and it was over. It was good to hear him laugh about his own appearance now.
The love of a good woman would do that to a man, though. At least, that’s what she’d seen in her short thirty-five years.
Scarlet swallowed and drained her tea. “Well, as normal as you’ll ever be,” she teased.
Eirwyn had eaten almost her entire personal plate of olpertine and finally stopped long enough to chime in. “You’re not normal, but normal is over-rated. You have to accept who you are, Scarlet. Embrace your curses and use them to your advantage, like Helga.”
Scarlet arched a brow at her friend and sat her empty porcelain cup on the cart. “Queenie, some curses are easier to accept than others. I appreciate your optimism, but I need my old body back.”
“And if you can’t get it back?” Eirwyn asked softly. “What then?”
Scarlet stared into the fire, the food settling like a knot in her stomach as her lips pinched. Her heart pounded in her ears, too fast like the scared little rabbit she worked so hard to bury deep inside her.
She had beaten that fear within her for six months and made it her little bitch. But it was a constant, daily battle with her multiple instincts. Run like a deer, fight like a wolf, or hide like a fucking scared little rabbit.
That’s what she’d been reduced to with these fucking curses. It wasn’t all about the physical differences. It was about eliminating that fear for good. The only thing that had helped keep it at bay was channeling it into anger, but that anger needed a focus, a release.
Her eyes burned with rage as she turned to stare at Eirwyn.
“I’m going to kill the queen, Eirwyn. Gods help me, if she doesn’t fix this, I will kill her.”
The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire in the fireplace. A tear rolled down Eirwyn’s cheek, and Knox sighed, handing her a napkin from the cart.
“You can’t just kill her,” Knox said, the disappointment in his voice making Scarlet’s stomach twist.
But she just arched a brow and crossed her arms and ankles. Stretching her legs in front of her toward the fire, she took a deep breath. Her mind wandered as Eirwyn handed her empty plate to Knox, who tidied up the cart.
The silence was tense. She needed to make them see it was a last resort but maybe the best option.
“It’s not just about the curses,” she said quietly. “There are other things going on in Busparia. We thought the old king was a bad ruler because of the taxes and the war with Glathen? This is worse.”
Eirwyn’s shoulders sank at the mention of her brother.
Knox sat forward, his tea forgotten as he frowned. “In what way?”
“The king would throw suspects into the dungeon and torture them or hold them ransom until someone paid their taxes, right?” Scarlet’s spine tingled at the memory of her own time in the dungeon, but she pushed the emotions away.
She continued. “The queen doesn’t. Any infraction leads to sudden and instant death.”
Eirwyn gasped, and Knox took her hand.
Scarlet shook her head. “That’s not all. Every town in the country has a curfew. No one roams the streets after sunset. There are reports of monsters killing anyone caught in the darkness. Cattle and livestock are found every morning slaughtered and ripped to shreds.”
“Monsters?” Knox asked.
Scarlet nodded. “I didn’t believe the reports at first, but my team of Hunters and I barely made it into an inn our first night on the road. We could hear the flutter of wings and the growls.”