The Count of Castle Rock

Chapter XXII- Cursebreaker

Trigger Warning: this chapter contains mention of sexual content and assault.

They study the door and the enchanted light source while Dyn and Ruckus twirl above their heads. Leesa's skin tingles under the blue light of the torch. Being back in Castle Black Roost gave her goosebumps and seeing the insane half-elf sent a chill up her spine. Watching Hans with Olivia was unsettling to say the least, but, after the initial shock, Leesa has been able to see the growth in Hans Heathson. There is something different about him.

He looks from door to torch and back again. His stormcloud colored eyes are distant as if he's in a trance, in contrast to the set of his brow and the tight set of his lips. His posture is straighter, his smile more guarded. It's as if Hans Heathson has matured years and not months. Despite putting on a little weight, undoubtedly from his time studying books instead of herding livestock, he looks better than ever. Leesa's gaze finds his full lips and she wonders how soft they might feel against her own.

Startled by the unbidden thought, she forces her full attention to the unadorned wooden door. She catches his glance from the corner of her eye and her cheeks grow hot.

"We waste time," she says, louder than intended. Flustered, she grabs the doorknob and turns.

"Leesa, wait!"

The door opens as Hans snatches her aside. He pushes her against the wall, pressing himself against her protectively. Her heart races, the smell of his musk and the heat from his body, distracting in a way she's never experienced. After a moment, he looks into her eyes.

"As I said, this place is crawling with spellcraft." His tanned cheeks darken and his voice becomes husky. "We have to be careful down here, okay? I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you too."

Leesa places a hand on his chest, feeling his muscles through the dirty robe. She eases him back, relishing the almost hungry way he stares into her eyes.

"Then don't let anything happen to me," she says, letting her hand drop. Looking into his eyes, she feels crazy thinking about the feel of his muscles in the bowels of a haunted castle.

"Look, look, the answer you seek," Dyn sings. "Subject to the master's wrath, once you take a peek."

Hans turns to the cufflinks, though his eyes linger on Leesa long enough for more than her cheeks to grow warm. Dyn and Ruckus zip through the doorway, leaving Leesa and Hans to decide whether to follow or wait in the shadow-choked hall. Through the doorway is a small room of naked brick, bare except for a single wooden chair, a plaque on the wall, and a sheet-covered painting above it. The singing cufflinks create excited circles in front of the plaque, their gold matching the gold lettering of the narrow tablet.

Leesa and Hans approach together.

Hans stops beside the chair, studying the room with the same strange look from before. Leesa, however, is drawn to the gold writing.

Hatched from one breed but embracing another,

The Lord of Black Feathers will forever be doomed.

On the waning of the moon when the gods turn their gaze

He will face the consumption of an inner gloom.

Placed under a curse by The Hag of Hubris

To suffer and rot until he becomes an empty shell.

He will be filled with painful confusion, lose his power and control.

The blight was spun through magic and custom