The Seelie Curse

Chapter 43

The power of her name hits her, stuffing itself up her nose and down her throat. For a single moment, Rowan feels like she's drowning. But he doesn't do anything with her name, he just speaks it. The power in it fades after a moment, releasing her. Rowan takes a gasping breath and shakes her head again, angry tears pouring from her eyes.

"You can't- Why?"

He looks down at the ground. "Why did I leave? I had to."

Rowan snarls in anger and clenches her palms, trying to hold back the flame. "That's your reasoning? How dare you!"

She'd lunge forward and hit him, but that would be a bit cliché. He has magic too, powerful magic. He could hurt her. So she turns away from him and runs, sprinting out of the clearing. She makes a beeline for the river, preparing to go straight to the pocket realm, where he can't follow.

She splashes into the water, wading into the river. Rowan's arms are wrapped tightly around herself as she moves. She feels like she's just trying to hold herself together. Rowan moves to take a step forward and almost pitches facefirst into the water. Her feet won't budge from their positions.

"What?!"

She tries to take another step, but her feet don't move. Rowan mutters under her breath, trying to yank her feet from the riverbottom. There's a soft sound from behind her, someone shifting their position on the riverbank. At least, that's what she interprets from the crunch of stone. Rowan twists around to look behind her. It's the Unseelie King, his auburn hair gleaming in the sunlight shining through the trees. His eyebrow arches when she glares at him.

"You're not going anywhere."

The fire Rowan had been trying to restrain bursts from her palms, steaming around her. She hisses at him.

"Let me go!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We need to talk, Rowan."

The name hits her again and she sways on her feet, her skin suddenly clammy. If her feet weren't anchored to the riverbed, she thinks the repeated use of her name would send her falling into the water. She continues to glare at him, hoping her anger will burn a hole straight through him. But alas, the world doesn't work like that.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Even from this far away, she can see him swallow at the unbridled fury in her voice. But when he speaks, his voice remains calm.

"You may not wish to speak to me, but I have many, many things to say to you. You think I don't have a valid reason for leaving you and your mother, then let me explain it to you."

"You had your chance before, you don't get another one."

He groans. "Rowan, please. Just listen to me."

The name hits her again, his request hitting her with it. He told her to listen, now she has no choice. He might have forced her into that, but he didn't say anything about moving closer to him. So she sits down in the water. It comes up to her chest, but it doesn't soak her clothes. Not right now, anyway. The Unseelie King sighs.

"What did you know already?"

"That you told Mum your name was Coillen, you like the forest. Most of the things about your description, although she said nothing about antlers. She said you knew I was a girl and that you left a few months before I was born."

He sounds worried when he asks, "That's it?"

"Mum has nightmares all the time, I'll catch her crying. She won't talk about you very much. What do you think?"

The Unseelie King swallows, his expression filling with pain for a heartbeat. His face smooths over, but the emotions remain in his voice. "Nightmares?"

"They've picked up recently, after the Seelie Lord and my own nightmares."

He breathes, "Of course."

Rowan frowns. "What?"

"Look at the pendant on your neck."

Rowan glances down. The white stone with the protection rune? Is that what he's referring to? She lifts it up slightly and he nods, continuing.

"You have that because of me. When I gave it to your grandmother to give to you, Arwen noticed that her mother was outside and she came out. She saw me." Rowan gasps. "I made her forget, it was hurting her to much. But something of that must have remained."

Rowan blinks for a moment. "You manipulated her?!"

"I just made her forget something that was hurting her. It was only a moment of her memory."

Rowan shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. You used her name against her and you stole her memories. She didn't say you could do that!"

His eyebrow arches. "You took the Seelie Lord's memories."

Rowan gapes at him. "How did you know that- never mind. I took his memories because I had no other choice. It was that or let him take me and possibly kill me. And they were only going to be gone temporarily. It's not the same."

The Unseelie King shakes his head. "It is the same."
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I feel bad for the Unseelie King. She hates him right now. Do you think Rowan is reacting the right way? Is she being a hypocrite about the memories? Should she listen to the Unseelie King? What do you think his reasons were? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.