Page 19 of A Curse of Breath and Blood (The Mind Breaker #1)

18 AELIA

Tharan caressed my thigh as I poured enchanted wine into his mouth. We lay on a plush chase lounge in one of the smaller parlors. A lutist played in the background, gently strumming his instrument in a calming melody.

“Why haven’t I seen you at one of these before?” Tharan asked. “I’m familiar with the Wild Courts, and I’ve never seen you before.”

“I don’t get out much.” I took a drink of wine. I needed to have him sedated if I wanted to enter into his mind, but it would look off if I didn’t drink, too.

“Well then, I’ll have to give you a night to remember, mystery woman.” He downed the last bit of wine with a hiccup. His cheeks flushed red.

I had to act fast.

I launched into his mind. A tangled web of vines and trees guarded his precious psyche.

Let me in, Tharan. I’m not here to hurt you.

The vines tightened their grip.

Focusing, I made my mind relax, trying to blend into the surroundings. When entering a mind, you have to be careful not to trip the traps the unconscious mind sets. I ran a finger over the vines. A pink flower with white edges bloomed at my touch. But, instead of a pestle at the center, a large thorn hissed at me.

I took a step back. His mind was trained. Fuck. I was going to have to fight my way in.

Pulling my sword from my sheath, I hacked at the vines. The flowers spit poisonous spikes at me. I ducked, narrowly avoiding them.

The flowers shriveled and died. The vines untangled, opening to a forest of toadstools and tall pines.

I stood in the clearing, contemplating my next move. The mind was my playground. I cracked my knuckles, rubbed my hands together, and created an invite.

The forest creaked around me. The subconscious recognized a foreign presence. I quickly laid the invite on a red and white mushroom before bolting out of his mind.

Tharan blinked at me. “Where did you go? You looked so far away for a moment.”

I smiled. “Oh, I’m just thinking about something I shouldn’t be.”

He curled a strand of my dark hair around his finger playfully. “I hope it was about me.”

A devilish grin made my heart skip a beat.

“Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn’t. Kiss me and find out.”

Tharan bit his lip. “If that’s what you want.”

I leaned in, planting my lips on his. A heat grew between us.

His tongue teased mine while his hands gripped my waist, holding me close.

My breaths came faster. Arousal bloomed in my chest. I wanted more. He tasted like wine and clove cigarettes. The combination made me ravenous with need.

‘ Having fun, Little bird? ’

I pulled away from Tharan.

Get out of my head, Gideon. This doesn’t involve you.

‘ Everything you do involves me. You are mine. And I won’t have my wife whoring herself out to a dirty sylph. ’

Tharan cupped my face tenderly. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Tears trickled down my cheeks.

GET OUT! I pushed Gideon out of my mind, cursing myself for being so weak.

“Nothing,” I said, rubbing my knuckles over Tharan’s jaw. “I just had a little too much wine.”

He hopped to his feet. “Well then, let’s get you something to eat.”

Shaken, I followed Tharan into the ballroom. The lights burned low, casting everyone in shadow.

I eyed Gideon and Nysemia flirting in a corner. My stomach churned. How could everyone love him? Didn’t they see the monster he was? Maybe it was just me. Maybe I was unlovable.

Amolie and Roderick nodded at me as I followed Tharan to the buffet of cooked meats and fruits splayed out across two massive tables. I didn’t have the heart to tell him—my stomach was in knots.

But before we could eat, a massive wind blew open the doors to the ballroom, snuffing all the candles, blanketing the room in darkness.

Tharan pulled me closer.

I gripped him tight.

A flame flickered through the open door.

The crowd held their breath. All eyes fixed on the dancing flame.

The fire twisted and turned, taking the form of a hooded figure.

From the opposite end of the room, Nysemia stood, a torch in her hand. “What is the meaning of this?”

The figure snapped their fingers .

Screams rang out from beyond the doors. The sound of scales slithering on stone made my blood run cold.

A basilisk slithered into the ballroom. Its iridescent skin shined in the light of a single flame. Its tongue tasted the air.

For a second, the room froze. Everyone collectively held their breaths, wondering if this was a part of tonight’s entertainment.

The hooded figure spoke in a raspy voice, “Go, my child, devour what is yours.”

Screams rang out, and the hall echoed them back. Chaos erupted. Creatures tried to flee, but the exits were barred. Panic hung thick in the air as they scratched desperately at the door.

The snake snapped at people, swallowing some whole. Their fists banged against the reptile’s soft flesh as they descended into its gut.

“Wraiths arise! Protect my people!”

Through the floor, dozens of cloaked ghouls appeared. Faces empty under tattered hoods. Each carried a sword and a mace, swinging them menacingly as they approached the king and his mage.

Tharan drew his sword.

I searched the room for Amolie and Roderick but couldn’t see anything through the haze of darkness and panicking bodies.

“We need to go. Out the back.” Tharan pulled me toward the throne.

“But my friends—” I tugged at his arm.

“You are no use to them dead, Aelia. This place is about to be a blood bath.”

The hooded figure swirled their arm around their head, creating a vortex of wind around themself and the basilisk.

The wraiths closed in, but they were no match for the hooded figure, whose wind shredded them as though they were made of nothing.

Through the doors, an army of goblins marched. Pale-skinned, with eyes as red as blood and pointed floppy ears. Their leader let out a guttural cry, before sticking his sword through the gut of the nearest man.

Nysemia released her wall of insects, sending them flooding into the crowd, devouring everything in their path.

Tharan and I dodged bodies being consumed by ravenous insects. The protection spell woven into my dress repelled their advances.

Darkness hindered our escape.

My thoughts went to Gideon. He hadn’t tried to get back into my head.

Through the haze of the crowd, I watched as he took on the basilisk.

The creature snapped at him with giant fangs.

A master of swordplay, he sidestepped each attack with a flourish, slicing the snake’s hard skin.

The creature reared up before striking, nipping his leg.

I smiled to myself. Good .

Gideon narrowed his eyes at the creature. No one made him look foolish and lived.

Pulling his sword back, he charged the creature, thrusting the blade through its open jaw. The basilisk screeched in pain, its body flailing, trying to hold on to any ounce of life.

Gideon jumped onto the back of the snake.

Holding on for dear life, he crawled to the head of the beast.

Pulling a long dagger from his bandolier, he drove it into the creature’s skull.

The snake collapsed onto the marble floor.

Gideon dismounted, straightening his vest, proud of the work he’d done.

Meanwhile, Roderick sparred with the hooded stranger.

I bit my lip, unsure where I could help. Where was Amolie?

The sound of swords clashing muffled the screams of the dying. Tharan fought off attacks on all sides: giant insects, goblins, even the sylph were attacking one another.

My heartbeat drummed in my ears.

A goblin reached for me with clawed fingers, but I buried my dagger in his skull before his callous hands could reach my flesh.

“Through this door,” Tharan said, leading us into a deserted hallway.

Blood trailed through the hallway, smeared by the train of a dress. Had Nysemia come through here?

Tharan barred the door.

We rounded the corner to find Caiden crouched over the dead queen. Blood covered his hands.

“I couldn’t save her.”