Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 116749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
It was not until Elysia sat a tankard of the brew in front of him then joined him at the table that she spoke again. “It is hot. Let it cool some.”
He nodded, keeping his eyes on her. There was much he wanted to ask her, but would she want to tell him what he wanted to know? She owed him no answers. His only hope was that she would talk freely with him as she had done other times he had been here.
Elysia considered keeping a tight tongue around Saber since she didn’t even know if she could call him a friend. However, three days without her sisters had her longing to talk freely with someone and she had once trusted Saber. She still did.
She asked the question before she could stop herself. “Are you my friend, Saber?”
He nodded rapidly and patted his chest.
She smiled softly. “I am glad for your friendship and I am sorry if I hurt our friendship by asking you to wed me. It was rude of me and you can rest assured I will not do it again. I would have never considered it if my sisters had not been taken away from me.”
He shrugged and his brow grew taut in question. He had heard what happened to Bliss and Annis, but he could not be sure how much was true. He preferred to hear it from Elysia herself.
Relief settled over Elysia. At least she and Saber could now return to their familiar companionship she had found such comfort in. She simply needed to remind herself that they were no more than friends and never would be.
She would tell him all that happened and hoped it would relieve some of the burden it had left on her. “Bliss wed the cursed lord so that Annis would be spared from marrying Lord Brogan, the condemned lord.” She shook her head. “The stories told about death not being able to touch Lord Brogan seem more myths than truths, but Bliss was worried for Annis and what a marriage to him might bring, so she sacrificed herself. She also made certain that I would not be forced to wed Lord Brogan in place of Annis and that neither Annis and I would be forced to wed the last of the three cursed lords.” She shivered. “I heard say that his voice was struck from him the day he killed his brother in a fit of madness.”
It was a foolish thought that had struck her, just because Saber had no voice did not mean he was the lord cursed to silence. He was a farmer who had an unfortunate accident or encounter. Besides, the lord cursed silent would never be able to speak again and Saber’s voice was returning to him.
Still, she asked, “How did you lose your voice?”
He reached down at his waist as if drawing a knife and, with his finger for a blade, sliced across his throat.
“I am so sorry for what you suffered and I am so glad you survived,” Elysia said.
Her sincere kindness and her soft voice soothed the pain of the memories of that day, though it could never take away the guilt that haunted him.
Elysia understood all too well what hurtful memories could do and she quickly moved away from the conversation. “I was so upset with what Bliss had done, I did not realize the consequences of her action. Annis made it clear that we would lose Bliss to the curse since three of the cursed lord’s wives had died. Bliss had doomed herself to death by marrying him.” Elysia swallowed hard to keep from crying and nodded at the tankard in front of Saber. “Finish the brew before it cools.”
He raised it to his lips and drank when what he truly wanted to do was shove the table aside, wrap her in his arms, and hold her tight while she wept. Instead, he sat where he was and did the only thing he could to comfort her… he listened.
“Annis heard a tale about the witch in the hills.” Elysia was surprised to see his brow shoot high. “You have heard of her?”
He shrugged in question.
“You believe her nothing more than a myth?”
He pointed to his ear.
“That is what you have heard?” she asked.
Saber nodded.
“Annis was told the same, but she insisted on finding out for herself. Lord Brogan told Annis he had searched for the witch but could not find her. He also told her something we did not know about the curse.” She leaned her arms on the table and kept her voice low. “Lord Brogan explained that the curse cannot be broken, that it must be fulfilled for it to end. That the wrong that had been done to the Clan MacWilliam must be made right. The only way to do that is through the last surviving MacWilliam, a daughter, no more than a couple of days old at the time of her parents’ deaths. She was the last MacWilliam that the three cursed lords’ fathers planned to kill, but she escaped the dreadful fate thanks to her mother’s sacrifice. However, Lord Brogan claims the lass was eventually found and killed so the curse will never be broken.”