Cursed by Ice (35 page)

In the end, she had decided it would just be easier to remain completely out of his sphere. He was a very powerful man. He could decide he wanted her child … but not her. There had been a time when she wouldn’t have thought him capable of something like that, but now … now she didn’t trust him at all. She didn’t know him at all.

She blinked her eyes rapidly as the sting of his betrayal hit her all over again, as it often did when she sat quietly and had nothing to do but think. But the fact of it was that she hurt. She hurt so deeply she couldn’t see straight. She called herself a fool for it. He had never made any promises to her. He had warned her not to get too attached to him. Maybe by so visibly bedding Davine he had purposely driven a chasm between them. Maybe it had been his way of forcing a good-bye on her.

And yet despite his betrayal she found she foolishly still yearned for him. She yearned for his smile and
laughter. She craved his mouth and his touch on her body. She longed for the smell and feel of him. It was as though a huge chunk of her soul had been torn away from her and was living distantly from her. Not dead, but not alive either.

She touched her cheek and found tears upon it. She felt angry with herself whenever she spilled tears over him, but that didn’t stop it from happening again and again. More often rather than less. She had hoped time and distance would help her to heal, but they simply weren’t enough.

And as always, when the tears came, Koro’s concerned thoughts followed. He wanted to know why she was so sad. Wanted to understand her pain and the reasons why he was not able to fix it for her.

Do not worry, Koro. I will get better
.

But she did not believe it herself, so it was difficult to convince him. And then, in the next moment, he asked when his sister would be born.

Sarielle sat up straight.

Your sister?
she asked hesitantly.

Yes, he said. The one inside her. The one whose thoughts he could hear.

Sarielle was shocked. He could hear the baby? But … how? It didn’t even have any thoughts yet … did it?

Did
she
?

A girl. Koro thought it was a girl. And he was probably right. Sarielle couldn’t question the wyvern’s power. They were creatures of great magic. Magic that grew stronger as they aged. Koro was still just a baby in so many ways. He had not yet come into all his power. But she had heard of wyverns that could disappear from one place and appear in another. Others that could use the power of their thoughts to move things.

What … what does she say?
Sarielle asked hesitantly.

She did not say very much apparently. She was very
quiet. It took some explaining as to why she was inside Sarielle, as opposed to being in an egg, but eventually Koro seemed to understand

Sarielle could feel his curiosity and his sudden excitement. He wanted a “sister.” And she understood why. If not for her, he would be all alone in the world. She couldn’t imagine Koro doing well by himself, with no touchstone whatsoever. And she didn’t even remember what it had been like for her before she had had him nestled securely in her mind at all times.

She took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. She had to be careful. If Koro thought for even a moment that Garreth had caused her pain, there was no telling what he might do in retaliation. And the last thing she wanted to do was sic a wyvern on Garreth. No matter how hurt and angry she was, he did not deserve that. And she could not bear the idea of anything happening to him. Even after all her pain …

She still loved him.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

Mordu sighed.

If a god could get a headache, then he most certainly had one. And he knew what it was from.

Weysa’s champion.

As an immortal being, Garreth had some of the power of a god inside him, and that made him able to connect with whatever god he chose to connect with at the time. It used to be Weysa this man connected to, sending her prayers and bringing her glory. His army was marching across the world, gaining power for him and, more important, Weysa.

Really it had been a stroke of genius on Weysa’s part, freeing these little men and using them to help her gain power. Mordu was part of Weysa’s faction. So her gain was for all intents and purposes his gain. He hadn’t been so sure these men had deserved freedom from their torments, but they had proven themselves worthy warriors and they had devoted themselves to the task of winning Weysa the followers she needed to grow stronger.

But now one of them was calling to
him
incessantly, the pain of the man’s broken heart almost too much to
be borne. Mordu had rarely seen such pain as this, except in cases in which souls had been meant for each other, the bond so profound that it was nigh unbreakable. But it was uncommon for two such souls to really find each other. Hella, the goddess of fate, could be cruel like that, keeping destined souls just out of reach of each other. She was a mercurial witch sometimes. Some days she delighted in toying with mortal fates, laughing at the torment she could bring to them, and other days she grew soft and loving and was eager to see two such souls find each other.

In this case, she had done both. She had thrown two destined souls together … and then made it their fate to be driven apart.

Truly, she was a cold-hearted bitch at times.

But he was only saying that because she was his wife.

And because it was true.

So as a result of her fickle ways, Mordu was now being bombarded with the grief of this warrior of Weysa’s. At first Mordu had been able to ignore it. He had thousands upon thousands of people coming to him, begging him for the love of this one or that one. Occasionally it amused him to have a hand in how things worked out, but mostly he basked in the power of what his wife, fate, had wrought in the way of love.

But this … this was ceaseless, this begging for his help. And … what was most vexing about it was that the man wasn’t wishing for his love … but instead wished his love would not feel pain over her love for him. Wished Mordu would lighten her burden.

At least that was what he prayed for aloud. But deep in the soul of this man were the true cravings of his heart: To be reunited with his love. To be able to keep her and treasure her for all time. And yet he would not wish his cursed state to be within her sphere for fear of it doing her any harm.

In a nutshell, the warrior couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted. Oh, Mordu could see what was at the heart of it, but he could also see the dilemma for what it was.

So he was driven to find a solution … if for no other reason than to hush the man up and give himself a moment’s peace in the process. To that end, he had called Weysa and Hella for a meeting of their godly minds.

“What is it?” Hella asked impatiently.

At present, Mordu was not one of Hella’s favorite gods to be around. Oh sure, they were married … but that didn’t mean they always got along. At present his beloved wife was peeved at him for some such thing or other. He honestly didn’t know what it was this time. Just like he didn’t know what had possessed her to throw two soul mates together and then drive them apart the next instant.

“It’s a little matter of the warrior Garreth.”

Weysa sat up in her chair, then pushed to her feet, her body language erect and tight. “What of him?”

Mordu sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. “I want to shut the man up.”

“You cannot kill him,” Weysa said harshly. “He is mine. And he is doing a very good job at what he’s been asked to do.”

“I do not wish to kill the man,” Mordu said impatiently. “I merely want to give him some form of ease.”

“What did you have in mind exactly?” Hella asked, narrowing her eyes on him. His wife did not like it when he meddled in her affairs. Nor did Weysa.

“Is there not some way we can bring them together rather than drive them apart? My love,” he coaxed his wife, “you are so good at warm reunions.”

She preened. Mordu had always known how to manipulate Hella. All it required was going straight for her ego and giving it a good brushup.

“No,” Weysa said flatly. “You cannot give him the woman. I forbid it.”

Mordu deflated. “Why in the eight hells not?” he demanded of her.

“Because she will distract him from his true course! He and his brother have won me four cities in a single turning! I will not lose him to the simpering love of a mortal woman. I already lost his brother before him.”

“Yet that brother still battles in your name,” Mordu pointed out. “Wife and child and still he helped to capture those four cities.”

Weysa turned up her nose. “That is only because Garreth was a driving force. Dethan’s focus is squarely on his wife, not on me.”

“I only mean to point out that he can have a wife and still win cities in your name.”

“You will be doing her no favors,” Weysa said harshly. “To bring her to her love only to have her watch him leave time and again.”

“There has to be a solution. One that will satisfy all involved,” Mordu said with frustration.

“Well, I have a suggestion,” Hella said, her fingertips drifting over to touch Mordu on his thigh. A flirtatious gesture. Mordu was surprised. Hella had been angry with him for quite some time.

“Please,” he invited her, taking the opportunity to pick up her hand and press a forgiving kiss to the back of it. “What do you suggest?”

“Why, another brother of course. There are four of them. Why not take one to replace the second one.”

“And let this one off free and clear? I do not like it,” Weysa said. “How do I know the new brother is a worthy soldier? How do I know he will win the cities and followers I need? We need.”

“He will,” Mordu assured her. “And we will not set
this brother as you say ‘free and clear.’ There will be a task for him and his love … working for me. I find your idea of having a human battle for your cause and bring the name of the gods back onto the lips of the people to be a very keen one. So give me this warrior, let him fight for followers in my name now. You may have your new soldier, and if this one gains me followers, it is all the same to our faction.”

What Mordu did not say was that he had been watching Weysa grow stronger as the brothers battled in her name and he wanted that strength for himself.

“The brothers can still fight side by side … winning the cities in your name … but the flip side of war is love, and there is nothing wrong with bringing that to their conquered cities as well as your name.”

Weysa seemed to mull that over a moment. “There is only one problem with that. One of the other brothers is chained to a star … that’s Grimu’s territory. Enemy territory. It would take quite a lot to free him. And the fourth brother … we don’t even know where he is. Sabo took him away, no doubt to a territory of his own. Again, enemy territory. So what do you suggest? That we risk ourselves in battle just to free a soul from torment that, in my opinion, does not truly deserve release?”

“Weysa, please,” Mordu said gently. “I feel as you do, that they needed punishment for their audacity in trying to force the hands of the gods, but it has been hundreds of turnings now. Surely a reprieve is not such a reaching idea.”

“Perhaps not,” Weysa said speculatively. “I must admit I never expected them to succeed as famously as they have. They are of a true warrior breed.”

“So we have two dilemmas,” Mordu said. “One, how to free the one called Garreth from his curse, and two,
how to free another brother. I am thinking it would be best to go for the one chained to the star. At least we know where he is. It would take a great deal of effort to find the other.”

“Well, I can solve one of those problems. He was cursed by cruel fate.” Hella chuckled. “Planting him within reach of that fountain was really a stroke of genius on my part. The irony of it amuses me still.”

“Yes, it really was quite good,” Weysa agreed with a smile. “But now … will you withdraw it?”

“I will … but only if we manage to free the third brother from Grimu’s territory. I am willing to forgive him his crime if all of you are willing as well.”

“I am,” Weysa said with a nod.

“Good,” Mordu said with satisfaction. “Now, let us see about freeing this other brother.”

“Actually, it will be quite simple,” Weysa said. “We will begin a battle with Grimu as our target, drawing him away from his territory, and one of us will stay behind to sneak in and free the brother.”

“Do you think the others will agree to this?”

“I believe so,” Weysa said. “I have grown very strong, thanks to these brothers. I can attack Grimu with ease.”

“Then I will free the other brother from his torment on the star. However, like his brothers before him, he will suffer that torment again every night from dusk to juquil’s hour.”

“This time, Hella, do not toy with my warrior,” Weysa said. “No more falling in love, Mordu.”

“Don’t worry. What is the likelihood of three brothers in a row falling under the sway of love? These are men not prone to loving,” Hella said.

“And yet they have,” Weysa said, her look at Mordu almost accusatory.