The Seelie Curse

Chapter 78

Rowan sprints for the river, Astrila and Kyma just a few paces behind her. It is still frozen over but cracks are webbing over the surface. Ciorsdan's magic is fading now that she's gone, but slowly. It's lingering. Rowan slows as she reaches the edge of the water, wanting to scream in frustration. She just wants to go to the pocket realm. She's about to step onto the ice and try to break through it when Astrila grabs her arm, knowing where Rowan's thoughts are going.

"If you do that, you'll get yourself killed."

Rowan stares at her blankly, not following. Sure, there are cracks, but the ice itself looks stable enough. Astrila sighs and crouches on the riverbank, pointing to one of the cracks.

"Do you see these darker lines?" Rowan looks down at the blue lines webbing through the ice. "If you step on one of those, you will fall right through the water and get hypothermia or you'll drown. Since most of the river is iced over, I won't be able to get to you before you die."

Rowan flinches slightly at Astrila's harsh words. "Then I won't step on the cracks."

Astrila lifts a brow. "You think that's all you'll need to do? Right at the edge of the water here, try to walk."

Eager to prove Astrila wrong, Rowan steps onto the ice. It's slippery, she has to be careful. She shuffles her feet a bit, moving towards the centre of the river. The ice groans and creaks beneath her weight and she freezes, inching backwards. She quickly moves off the ice and stares down at the ground nervously.

"Okay, I believe you."

Astrila sighs. "You have good intentions, but we'll have to wait for the ice to thaw."

"So what? We just sit here?"

Astrila glances over at Kyma. "Well, there is something else we could do."

"What?"

Kyma speaks, her voice soft and slightly shaky with nerves. "We have to go to the merrow kingdom."

Rowan frowns. "Why?"

"Ciorsdan. We have to tell her family."

"Is that a good idea?"

Kyma's eyes widen, a hint of anger entering her gaze. "Seriously?! I get that she was bad, but she had children, Ro. A family. I think they deserve to know that she's dead. They deserve the truth."

Rowan stares down at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think of that. I just . . . can't reconcile the thought of her with having children."

"And why is that?"

"Because we're the same age as her children are, I think. Based on your memories. Why would she want to kill someone that young?"

"She thought she was going to die if she didn't stop us. We may not agree with what she did, but I can understand it. She truly just wanted to survive."

"Yet the process of trying to stop us is what killed her."

"I suppose." Kyma frowns. "What did the Ben Síde tell us again?"

Astrila responds quickly, the words spilling out of her without a moment of hesitation. She must have the words memorized. "When new and ancient meet as one. When all three together bound, meet the blood of cursed magic found. A brimming storm awaits within. Barriers will break and curses shatter."

Kyma chews on her lip. Rowan glances between her and Astrila, not sure where Kyma's thoughts are going. "What is it?"

"Ciorsdan said she would die when the curse breaks. The Ben Síde, when she said that how to break the curse, she mentioned a storm within, then barriers breaking and curses shattering. What if the release of your magic was what did it?"

"That wouldn't make sense. Why would my magic just existing be what breaks the curse?"

"We don't exactly know what that magic is, Ro. This could be what it does."

"I don't think so. It doesn't make sense to me, Wave."

Kyma shrugs. "Then we'll find out when we go to the pocket realm. But for now, let's figure out what to tell the merrows."

Rowan sighs. "The truth is best."

"And how do we tell them that in the best way to explain?"

"Showing the memories would work well, because there are some things you might not be able to say."

"Like what?"

Rowan raises an eyebrow. "Do you really think Ciorsdan would let her family remember everything that happened when you visited? I'm quite sure they didn't know the Seelie Lord was her father and I don't think she would have wanted them to know that side of her."

Kyma's eyes widen. "You're right, she would have made them forget. I think she did, when you showed Star's memories."

Rowan nods. "So we've decided to show memories. How will we do that? I could use the runes, but I'm not sure I could get to the merrow kingdom. I can't swim underwater, especially not that deep."

"We can't take the runes with us?"

"They don't work unless you have the gift."
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How will Ciorsdan's family react to the news? What do you think will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out