The Seelie Curse

Chapter 45

Rowan inhales sharply as something clicks in her mind. It's like a door in her mind that she hadn't even seen has opened and she can now go through it. She can remember first seeing him, how strange it was to see an Aos Sí just watching her.

She frowns at her father. "How long had you been watching me?"

He winces at the tone of her voice. He doesn't speak immediately, likely deciding what he's going to stay. "I've always been watching, I suppose. Whenever I had even just a moment of time, I would stop by the house, or the woods if you were there. Just to make sure you were safe."

Rowan looks down at the ground, her voice quiet. "It hurt you, didn't it? Staying at a distance."

He nods. "More than you know, more than anyone should have to bear. But it's safer that way, for-" He stops and looks up, into the trees. "I have to go now. I've been gone too long."

Rowan blinks in surprise. "What's happening?"

"My court is summoning me once again. If I don't go, they'll come looking for me. They can't find you. I won't let them find you."

He stands quickly, striding away from the water. But then he pauses, stopping at one of the trees. He pulls a leaf from it and returns to Rowan. He strides right into the water, grabbing Rowan's forearm. She makes a sound of protest and his grip loosens slightly, but he doesn't release her. He presses the leaf against the soft skin on the underside of her arm.

The skin stings, like the leaf is burning her. She tries to pull her hand away, but her father's grip remains tight enough that she can't extricate herself. The burning sensation grows and grows until he finally pulls the leaf away. Rowan folds her arm against her chest, cradling it. Her breath comes out in small pants, she's trying to hold back tears. Her voice is so low she can barely even hear it herself, she's trying not to choke on the words.

"What did you do that for?"

"I apologize for hurting you, but this will protect you."

Rowan frowns. "Don't I have a substantial amount of protection? Salt, iron, my runes, the other parts of my magic, and my inside out clothing. Wouldn't that be enough?"

"All of those can fail. If you need my aid, touch the leaf and think of me. I will come."

He pulls away from her and slips off into the trees, disappearing in an instant. The air surrounding Rowan ripples and she inhales sharply. She hadn't even realized there was a glamour there, what had been hidden from her? But nothing that she couldn't see before has appeared.

The glamour must have been on her. Or around her, at least. Was her father hiding their conversation from view? Or just hiding her presence altogether? Rowan pulls her arm away from her chest and twists it so that the underside of her forearm is facing the sky. Where her father had pressed the leaf into her skin there is the perfect imprint, etched in gold.

She swallows nervously. Her grandmother is going to kill her for this. Rowan curls her fingers over her palm, freezing when they brush over something that doesn't feel right. She unfolds them to examine her palm and gasps. Where the cloth had been stuck to her skin, where the stone Astrila gave her had burned her as she pressed it against the Seelie Lord, her palm has developed a wrinkled scar.

It's similar to the one on her leg, but when she looks closer she realizes that there is something else the two scars share. She hadn't noticed it before, she was too distracted. But she notices it now. The scars are golden, just like the leaf now branded on Rowan's skin. But why are they golden? It's not right.

If anything, scars would be silvery. But not gold. Although, there's something familiar about the coloration. There is a soft rustling sound from the trees and Rowan's head snaps up to look. It's Kyma, emerging from the woods like a ghost. Astrila is just behind her, her own footfalls much quieter than those of her cousin.

"Are you alright, Ro? You ran out here. Did he find you?"

Rowan nods, staring down at the scar in her palm. Astrila moves closer, stopping when she is ankle-deep in the water. She touches gently on Rowan's shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Rowan shrugs. "He's- He's-" It's all sinking in now, she can't say it. Astrila tugs on Rowan's arm.

"I know. Come, sit down."

Rowan lets Astrila pull her out of the water, still holding her scared palm at a weird angle. Astrila taps on the skin of Rowan's arm.

"Is something wrong with your hand?"

Rowan shrugs. "It's scarred, but it's strange. See?"

Astrila turns Rowan's hand to better look at her palm, clicking her tongue. "A golden scar. Just like mine and Wave's." She pauses for a moment, murmuring to herself. Rowan frowns at her.

"What is it?"

"Do you remember the words of the prophecy?"

Rowan nods. "I think so, but I don't understand."

"The prophecy referred to when us three were bound. We thought it meant connected by blood and magical ties, like the cridhe bond. But what if it meant something else? Like the scars? All three of us have golden scars like this, what if that's how we were meant to be bound?"
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Are they right? Will Rowan ever use the leaf mark? If she does, when? What do you think of the golden scars? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.