The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (39 page)

“Are you really going to give up so easily?”
Seth asked with a heavy sigh.

“Easily?” Zoelyn snapped. She shook her head
in frustration, but refused to look at him. She didn’t want to see
what expression he had. “I’ve been working for three weeks with
Jala, and another week with you and I still can’t sense anything
about the magic or control my abilities at all. I don’t have the
talent for it.”

She heard the sound of his chair scraping on
the floor and his soft footsteps moving behind her. “You have the
talent. All Undrae do. You just need proper motivation,” Seth said
in a low voice as he paused behind her chair. She had expected him
to move around her, to force her to look him in the eyes, but
instead he leaned over her and grabbed her arm in his iron like
grip.

“What are you doing?” Zoelyn demanded as he
ran a finger down her bare hand. She had taken the gloves off to
work with the stones, and the way he was staring at her made her
nervous.

Seth smiled at her coldly and grabbed her
other arm effectively pinning her in place. “Motivating you,” he
whispered. His gaze rose from her to the child across the room.
“Legacy, come here.” His voice rose as he beckoned the child over
with a nod.

“No,” Zoelyn gasped her eyes flickering to
her bare hand and Jala’s son who was already approaching with an
innocent look on his face.

“No, Seth, don’t do this,” Zoelyn begged. She
struggled in her chair in an attempt to loosen his grip on her arm,
but he didn’t budge.

“Legacy do you have faith in Zoey?” Seth
asked calmly as the child stopped to watch them with confusion
growing in his violet eyes.

Legacy nodded slowly and crossed his arms
over his tiny chest. “Are you hurting her, Seth? She doesn’t look
happy.” There was a note of reproach in the child’s voice as he
continued to watch them.

“Legacy, get back please. Go back to your
toys.” Zoelyn’s voice rose with her desperation and Legacy’s
expression darkened.

“Zoey is my friend, Seth,” Legacy warned, his
eyes narrowing. There was no hint of his age in his tone of voice
or the look in his eyes, and Zoelyn knew the boy was dead serious.
Legacy had a very fixed idea of right and wrong in his mind, and
the expression he was giving Seth left no doubt on how he viewed
the current situation.

“I’m not hurting her, Legacy. I’m keeping her
from running. She is very afraid right now and she has lost all
faith in herself,” Seth explained calmly as he knelt down beside
her chair. He still held her arms pinned and by his relaxed posture
it was taking very little effort to hold her in place. “Zoey has
given up on herself, Legacy. She thinks she is a failure and I
disagree. What do you think?”

“Momma says you never give up on what you
believe in.” Legacy spoke cautiously and was still watching Seth
with suspicion.

The Demon nodded and gave the child another
smile. “I want to help her. Will you help me with that?” he asked
sweetly. “No, Legacy please don’t,” Zoelyn pleaded. She could feel
the beginning of tears welling in her eyes.

“All you have to do is touch her hand,
Legacy,” Seth continued in the same sweet voice.

“Momma says never to touch Zoey,” Legacy
informed him stubbornly.

“Your momma is right, Legacy, I will hurt you
without meaning to,” Zoelyn gasped as she pulled against Seth’s
grip once more.

Seth nodded with a thoughtful expression on
his face. “Do you remember when your father started teaching you
swords, Legacy?” he asked.

“Yes,” Legacy replied hesitantly with a slow
nod.

“Do you remember how you did really badly
until Finn made you angry and then you started really trying to hit
him and you got better?”

Seth prompted.

“He said bad things about my Momma,” Legacy
said with a trace of anger in his voice.

“He said that because he wanted you to be
angry so you would try to fight in earnest. He didn’t mean those
things any more than I want you to get hurt by Zoelyn’s powers. You
needed motivation to hit your father, and Zoelyn needs a reason to
control her powers. She doesn’t want to hurt you at all, and she
will do everything to keep from hurting you,” Seth explained.

“Legacy, I can’t help it. I can’t control the
powers. Please, no,” Zoelyn sobbed and shook her head frantically
at the child.

“She is scared,” Seth explained in a soothing
voice and smiled at Legacy. “We need to show her that she can
control her power if she really, really wants to.”

“Finn!” Zoelyn screeched, her voice echoing
off the walls of the throne room. She had no idea where he was or
if he could hear her, but if he did, he would stop this. She had no
doubts on what the Lord of Death would think of Seth jeopardizing
his only son.

“He can’t hear you. He isn’t even in his
domain right now,” Seth informed her with a faint smile. “Legacy,
your daddy really doesn’t want you to do this,” Zoelyn gasped in
desperation.

“If we let Zoelyn give up on herself right
now she will never know true happiness, Legacy. She will never be
able to touch another living creature or go swimming in the river
with you. She will never know love or enjoy true friendship. As
long as she is governed by her curse she will always be watching
others live, but never living herself.” Seth paused and pushed her
hand toward the child once more. “When your Momma died in Arovan
everyone said she was dead, but you and Valor had faith in her and
you called her back. Right now, you and I can save Zoey just like
that. All we have to do is have faith in her.”

The indecision on Legacy’s face vanished at
once with Seth’s last words and his tiny hand pressed against her
open palm firmly. “I have faith,” he whispered.

“No!” Zoelyn screamed kicking against the
chair and pulling on her arm with every ounce of strength she had.
She could feel the first kiss of her curse already draining the
child. Seth’s grip on her tightened and her panic rose. She
squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away from Legacy. She
didn’t want to see the life fade from the child and she hated Seth
more than anything for forcing this upon her. It was a thousand
times worse than what Nicoli Blackwolf had done to her with the
prisoner. That man had been a stranger and she had known he was
guilty, and it had still sickened her. Legacy was her friend and
she loved him. If she killed him, that would be it for her. It was
a guilt she couldn’t live with. “No,” she hissed repeating the word
aloud as she forced her curse back down. The pressure on her hand
eased, but she couldn’t force herself to look. In her mind she
could already see the shriveled husk of Legacy’s tiny form curled
on the cold stone floor before her.

“Open your eyes, Zoey,” Seth whispered as he
released her arms.

She moved at once, whirling on him with more
anger than she had ever felt in her life. “You bastard!” she railed
as her fist connected solidly with his face. Tears were streaming
down her cheeks and she knew her voice was hysterical, but she
didn’t care. Seth stood impassively as she struck him again and
again until her anger receded to a low throb of despair. Her curses
faded to broken sobs and she bowed her head as she backed away from
him.

“You really shouldn’t make her angry again,
Seth. She is meaner than Momma when she is upset,” Legacy observed
from behind her.

Shock silenced her tears at once and she
turned slowly to look down at the small boy. He had backed away
from the chair and was watching her with wide violet eyes. If her
curse had affected him at all there was no sign. He looked just as
healthy as he had before he touched her hand.

“You have to face your fears to conquer them.
Congratulations, Zoey you just controlled your power for the first
time,” Seth said quietly.

She turned slowly to stare at him and shook
her head slowly. “I hate you so much right now,” she whispered.
“You had no way of knowing I wouldn’t hurt him, and you know how
much he means to me. You forced me to violence and I have never
acted in violen ce before in my life. Violence begets violence
Seth, and I despise it.”

His expression changed at once with her last
words and Seth took a slow step back from her. “Where did you hear
those words?” he asked in a tone of voice she had never heard him
use before. It wasn’t fear lacing his words, it was uncertainty.
She had unsettled him with the words, though she didn’t know
why.

“My guardian in Arovan. He taught me that
violence never solves anything and he was right. I live my life by
what he showed me and you just made me turn from everything I
believe in,” Zoelyn replied coldly. She had no idea what had
unnerved him, but she was relishing in it. He deserved to squirm
after what he had just put her through.

“What was his name?” Seth asked hesitantly as
he took another step back from her.

“Dominic,” Zoelyn answered quietly, her eyes
moving past Seth to Finn as he appeared behind the Assassin. It was
obvious Seth hadn’t noticed Finn’s arrival yet, but by the
expression on Finn’s face, it wouldn’t be long before he did. It
was the first time she had ever seen the Lord of Death truly angry,
and just the sight of it chilled her blood. Swallowing heavily she
took a step back toward Legacy.

“She may not believe in violence, but I most
certainly do.” Finn’s voice echoed through the throne room and Seth
whirled at once to face him. His fist connected solidly as Seth
turned and the Assassin staggered back under the blow. Seth had
shown no reaction when she had vented her fury on him, not even
bruising on his pale flesh. Blood streamed from a gash in his face
now, though, and it didn’t look as though Finn was finished. “I
trust you with my son and you gamble with his life,” he snarled as
he advanced on Seth once more.

“I didn’t consider it a gamble,” Seth replied
calmly. He brushed his fingertips across his cheek and stared at
the blood on his hand with a frown. His gaze rose once more to Finn
as he closed on him. “You look angry enough to kill me right now,
Finn. If you are going to do so would you send your son and Zoelyn
away first, please?” he asked quietly and the Lord of Death’s
advance stopped at once.

Finn swallowed heavily, his gaze flicking to
her and Legacy and a flash of regret showed on his handsome face.
“My temper has always been bad,” he offered in apology. His gaze
returned to Seth once more and he shook his head slowly. The anger
was still there, but Finn was doing his best to control it now. “We
aren’t done, but you have shamed me. I won’t rip you apart in front
of my son or Zoey.”

“I thank you for that. Watching someone you
care for die is a painful memory, and despite their feelings for me
right now, both of them consider me a friend,” Seth replied with a
bow of his head. “Zoelyn, take Legacy to my quarters. Finn will
summon you back when he has finished here,” Seth ordered in a
louder voice.

“Daddy, don’t kill him,” Legacy pleaded.

Zoelyn stared at Finn for a long moment then
looked to Seth. Her anger with the man evaporated like mist as she
realized Finn was still angry enough to kill, and Seth looked more
than ready to accept the punishment. He hadn’t even raised a hand
to defend himself when Finn attacked him. He had simply taken the
blow with the same calmness he had accepted her own punishment.
“Please Finn. It was a horrible lesson, but he was just trying to
help me.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized what
she was saying.

“Zoey, please take Legacy to my rooms. The
Lord of Death will deliver the judgment he sees fit, regardless of
your words,” Seth repeated without turning to look at her. His eyes
were on Finn alone as he calmly folded his arms across his chest.
Blood still trickled down from the cut on his cheek, but there
wasn’t a trace of fear or regret on his face.

“C’mon Legacy,” Zoelyn murmured as she pulled
her gloves back on and took the child’s hand. She cast another
glance back at Seth and Finn as she left the room, but kept her
silence.

“Is Daddy going to kill Seth?” Legacy asked
as they started toward the stairs.

“I don’t know, Legacy,” Zoelyn admitted. “I
hope not,” she added in a softer voice. She had to fight the urge
to run back to the throne room, and she knew the wait for the
summons would be excruciating. Just a few minutes ago she had
wanted to kill Seth herself, and now she was praying to every
Divine that he would live. It made no sense at all.

* * *

The sound of a door opening brought Zoelyn
out of her chair at once. Legacy had worried himself into a fitful
sleep hours ago, and she had been waiting on pins and needles since
then. Moving swiftly she crossed to the bedroom door and pulled it
open. Her eyes searched the darkened entry room frantically until
she spotted him by the small window. His back was to her, and she
couldn’t see the expression on his face, but from the way he was
standing she could tell he was in pain.

“Seth,” she whispered hesitantly.

“You should be asleep by now,” Seth replied
quietly without turning.

“I couldn’t sleep until I knew what
happened,” Zoelyn admitted softly. Taking a cautious step forward
she tilted her head trying to get a look at his face. The cut on
his cheek had bruised badly and swollen, but the angle that he
stood from her and the shadows prevented her from seeing any more
than that. “Are you OK?”

He inhaled deeply and crossed his arms on the
windowsill. “I’m fine, little Undrae,. You should get rest,” he
replied in a flat voice. He hadn’t called her
Undrae
in days
and the word gave her pause.

Zoelyn watched him for a long moment, but his
gaze never left the window. She had no idea what held his attention
so fully, but he apparently found more interest in the shadows than
in her. “Should I take Legacy back to Finn, first?” she asked
cautiously.