Page 15 of Magic Cursed
Tuuk winks. “I like it just fine, even more so knowing that it’s yours.”
She flashes her fangs at him and flies off, disappearing into the leaves of the trees overhead. Tuuk chuckles at her fleeting form.
“You did it,” Desmira says. I can’t read the expression on her face. She wasn’t happy about my going after the scale in the first place, but the community as a whole outvoted her. She only agreed under the condition that I kept my cloaking spell on the whole time. “The dragon,” she asks. “Did he see you?”
The last thing I want right now is to tell her that I failed at the one thing she asked of me. “I’m really tired, Des, could we talk after–––“
She takes a step forward, grabs my arm, and looks down at me with wild un-Des-like eyes. “Answer me! Did the dragon see you?”
Not finding my voice, I swallow and nod. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tuuk hobbling away.Coward.
“And what did he do when he saw you?” Her whole body is tense waiting for my response. “Tell me!”
“Des, I—I got the scale. That’s all that matters.”
Her eyes are wide with. . . worry? I’ve never seen Des worried before. “Did the dragon do anything to you? Anything with magic?”
I think about what happened when I touched the dragon and the surge of magic that followed. The popping sound, like a cork, pulled from a bottle of liquor. I still don’t know what it all means. Des must see the truth in my expression because her body tenses. “This can’t be,” she murmurs and lets go of my arm, seeming lost in her thoughts.
I don’t know why she’s acting like this. I know she didn’t want me to go to the dragon caves, but when she was outvoted, she seemed resigned about it. She even saw me off and agreed I had a good, solid plan. So what if the dragon did some magic voodoo on me. Stranger things have happened to me. Once a water sprite stunned me and I was frozen for a whole day, but Des only chuckled at that. I just need to remind her of the money we’ll get from the scale. Money always puts her in a good mood.
“I’ll sell the scale tomorrow at the black market. Even after I take my cut, they’ll be plenty left over to help the community for a long while.”
Her head jerks up and she glares at me. “No. You can’t go to the Southern Isles!”
I take a step back like she’d slapped me. Des hasn’t spoken like this to me since I was a child.
“Sahra.” Des’s voice is softer now. “I’m sorry, but you just can’t. It is not your path, your path is here.”
“That’s not your choice to make,” I say. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a child anymore. I’m twenty-two and I’ll decide my own path.”
Desmira snaps her fingers and the scale leaves my pocket, gliding through the air to rest in her palm. “I said you’re not going anywhere, least of all the Southern Isles.”
As my anger builds, my face warms and I clench my hands into fists. “Why, so I can continue being Hydenglen’s human slave? Risking my life every time I leave this place, going on quests to procure all kinds of treasures to trade and sell at the market?” Desmira flinches and I know I’m being unfair, but I don’t care. I raise my voice. “What happens when the Steel Guard finally catches me? You’ll only lose your errand girl, but I’ll lose my freedom, possibly my life! But I bet you couldn’t care less–––” she snaps her fingers again and my lips shut with them.
I want to yell more but no matter how hard I try, I can’t open my mouth. I sometimes forget how powerful Des is. She had killed twenty of the Steel Guard during the night of the Blood Moon before escaping.
“That’s quite enough,” she says, her voice booming with authority.
I narrow my eyes at her, the only thing I can do short of giving her a particularly rude hand gesture, but even in my anger, I’m not that stupid.
Des’s shoulders relax and she sighs. “Go home, Sahra. Eat and get some rest. We’ll talk more in the morning when you’ve calmed yourself. We have much to discuss.”
I’m not done being angry. I want to tell her she’s crazy, and that I determine my own damn path. Not her and certainly not some overgrown, flying lizard. A burning anger in the pit of my stomach ignites, but since I can’t open my mouth at the moment, I do the only thing I can. I turn and stalk away.
A crowd has gathered, probably brought over by my outburst. They shrink away when I stride past them as if touching me might burn their skin. I storm past them. But I don’t stop when I’m far enough away that Des’s spell releases me and I can open my mouth again, and I don’t stop at the beautiful white stone cottage with a waterfall on one side and wild flowering vines crawling up the other. My bed is calling to me. My eyes burn, muscles sore, and bruises aching. And yet somehow, the pain feels good, it’s like a form of defiance. Des tells me to go home and rest, the hell I will–––I’ll decide when my body rests or when I push it to its limits.
I make my way to the hidden cave I’d found on my first few days here, twelve years ago. Dense vines cover the entrance. I move them aside and say the small incantation for illumination. My magic responds and a ball of light hovers in the air by my head. I know it will zap the last of my energy, but it doesn’t matter because I’ll fall asleep soon anyway. The scent of moist earth and roots meets me like an old friend.
The cave is seemingly empty, save for a blackened spot where I light fires when it’s cold. Desmira’s house may be the home I sleep in, but this place is all mine. I move to the back where a symbol is painted on the wall: a triple infinity knot. It’s my family’s symbol.
I never knew my mother. She died during childbirth. Father would say she was a great woman who was as lovely as she was strong-willed. And while I never knew a mother’s love, I’ve yearned for it my whole life. Especially during the two years I was on the streets, hiding in shadows and consuming whatever I could find to survive. The long, cold nights when I had nothing but my shivering to keep me company. But I quickly learned that I could only depend on myself, and if I wanted everything to be okay, it was up to me to find a way to make it so.
Directly under the symbol, I use my fingers to dig at the earth. I brush loose dirt away to reveal a wooden box. I wiggle it out of its earthly hiding place. The simple rectangular designed jewelry box has another triple infinity knot etched into the lid. I sit, leaning against the cold stone wall, and place the container in my lap. I lift the lid to reveal the only things I have left from my old life: a necklace my father gave me, an old handwritten note, and a simple jade ring. They’re a reminder of better times, of what I’d lost. I run my fingers over the pendant hanging from the delicate chain. Another triple infinity knot, but with a blue stone in the center, the same color as my eyes. My heart aches, and I resist the burning in my nose that threatens the onslaught of tears. Tears are useless.
I put the ring on my pinky, the only finger it will fit now, and slide the necklace over my head before tucking it under my top. I never take the necklace or the ring on my adventures for fear that something will happen to them. I gingerly take out the note, which had been in my pocket the night I fled the castle. The folds are deeply worn and there are a couple of stains on it. Blood, though I’m not sure if it’s my own or someone else’s, probably both.
I unfold the paper and read the note, even though I have every word, every curve, and stroke of ink burned into my memory: