Fantasy Land

Chapter 19

Waiting

Gabriella

I watch as Jayna walks out of the dinning room as fast as she can, face flaming red. I'm not shocked, if a sexy dragon lord were flirting with me, I'd be a mess too. Fafnir announces his exit shortly after she's gone, leaving in the opposite direction.

"Damn him." I say, my feet in Lest's lap as he gives them a massage. "He's so stoic and shut off. Walking out of here as if he didn't just make Jayna hornier than she's ever been."

"Ten bucks says they make out by tonight." Lest says making Damon snort.

"Now you're betting with actually money instead of acts." Damon says. "Is it because I'm here."

"I bet they do more than make out, I say they get all hot and heavy tonight." I speak.

"If we can hear them from down the hall you owe me a night of fun." Lest says. Damon makes a gaging sound turning our attention to him.

"You both know that is my father, right?" He says with a dejected tone. My jaw drops at the revelation.

"Wait, what?" Lest asks, my foot massage forgotten.

"Why is he still around but your mother isn't?" I ask gently knowing it is a sensitive topic for him.

"He was cursed years ago by an immensely powerful sorceress. She was jealous of my mother and decided to take everything from her. For whatever reason, Fafnir can remember his life perfectly until it comes of anything involving my mother or me. He's been roaming the world as a husk of a man all these years I think."

"Why is he flirting with Jayna then?" Lest asks. I nod, wanting to know as well.

"Another one of the sorceresses' curses. While with my mother they had a daughter together. Shortly after she was born Fafnir started to cheat on my mother. First with a woman named Minthe." Damon explains to us. "She looked exactly like Jayna. My mother was so furious she killed Minthe. Years later, she appeared again, and Fafnir instantly fell for her and chased her. It was a viscous cycle that broke my mother. Fafnir lost his memories and that was the last I'd seen both of them."

I reach to hold his hand, a silent comfort.

"Jayna is just one in a lengthy line of ancestors that are Minthe reincarnated to torment my poor mother." His fingers drag up and down my forearm as he speaks, preforming the same action on Lest's arm. "I harbour no hatred for your friend, however, for her ancestor Minthe who caused all of this torment."

"Who was the witch?" I ask, curious. I've studied all the witches who came before me over the years. I've never heard of anyone being able to preform magic directly on the human body. That kind of magic was used by the elves mostly and they'd all died out, as did the secrets of their magic.

"Not a witch, a sorceress. My mother was one. You've likely never heard of them for good reason. They were gifted magic users who were rigorously trained for decades to be powerful magic wielders." He explains for us. "My mother along with many of my aunts were also trained there. They learned all manner of spells that witches could never hope to possess. Many sorceresses trained there were also God Vessels."

"God Vessels?" Lest asks this time.

"Yes. They are people selected by the Elder Gods to house the souls of gods for a period of time." Damon fills in for us. Clearly, he's lived through so much magical knowledge that I hope to one day possess myself. "The gods themselves are immortal, however their bodies are not. The power that their souls hold is immense, slowly eating away and decaying the body they possess. Every couple centuries they have to body hop. Sometimes, the souls come across the perfect body and can inhabit it for millennia. Rarely is there a completely perfect match, meaning that even that almost perfect match will still end up killing the host."