Page 6 of A Curse of Breath and Blood (The Mind Breaker #1)

5 AELIA

Two brown eyes peered into my soul. My mind brought the face into focus.

My heart twisted in my chest.

A devious smile cut the handsome face in two.

I squirmed to escape his glance, but my body wouldn’t move.

White light surrounded us, illuminating the edges of his face. I screamed, but no sound left my lungs.

“ Shh… ” His lips graced my cheek. “ I’ve been looking for you, my love. ”

Another silent scream. I grasped at any shred of reality I could. “ You’re not real. You’re not real. I am safe. I am protected. ”

“ Oh, my little queen. I am? real. ” The words dripped like poison from his lips.

“ Fuck you, Gideon. ”

“Aelia!” A familiar voice pulled me back to reality. “Wake up, Aelia.”

My eyes fluttered open to find Caiden gripping my shoulders. Sweat drenched my body. Tiny bruises formed on my palms where my finders had been embedded .

“I could hear you screaming through the walls.”

The light from a single candle illuminated his sculpted physique.

His heat radiated through me, causing my cheeks to flush red.

I gasped for air. I wanted him closer. My fingers itched to feel his skin just a moment longer.

Any flame burning inside me went cold at the sight of his wedding ring glinting in the candlelight. Once, long ago, that ring could have been mine. Nausea bubbled in my stomach, bringing up the hurt and humiliation I thought I’d gotten over.

“Thank… you,” I said through ragged breaths.

Caiden scoffed. “I need my rest. It’s hard to sleep through your screams.” He released me, though his touch lingered on my skin.

I deserved every ounce of disdain Caiden directed at me. He remained as guarded as I, and rightly so.

After I escaped from Ryft’s Edge, Caiden tried to put me back together. To mend my broken soul, but I couldn’t be fixed. There was nothing left of the girl he had fallen in love with. Carved into a thousand tiny shards, I couldn’t be put back together again.

Broken, I wanted Caiden to hurt the way I did.

“ I never loved you. You are nothing to me. I never want to see you again. ” My words still haunted me to this day.

Tossing and turning, I tried to convince myself it had all been a dream. Gideon couldn’t be here. But he seemed so close. So real. My skin crawled from his lips on my cheek. I needed to get far away from here.

Instinctively, I reached for my satchel. Rummaging through it, I pulled out the small bag where I kept my stash of dust. Tipping it over, my heart sank. Only a few flecks poured out. Shit . I’d need more.

Fresh air would help. Throwing the covers off the bed, I pulled on my leathers and wool cloak .

Amolie’s bed lay empty. Sometimes, when she couldn’t sleep, she prayed at the temple of Ammena—the human goddess of the Trinity.

I tucked my dagger, Little Death, into my leather pants and slipped out into the night, pulling my hood up over my head.

Cold night air whipped at my face as I traversed the city’s snow-covered streets. Wooden buildings sagged with the weight of water, and the taste of salt lingered in the air. I raised my mental barriers like a thick wall of stone in my mind. Gideon sought my thoughts like a shark searching for blood in the water. I needed to protect myself. If what I had dreamed was real, he wouldn’t be far off. Our blood mixed, our thoughts eternally linked.

I snapped my fingers nervously, trying to distract myself from the craving clawing at my mind. Without a medicinal dose, my thoughts would consume me. My chest refused to unknot. I needed to find dust soon before I curbed my need in other ways.

Shops run by both humans and magus lined the docks. I canned each one, looking for any sign they carried what I sought.

Even this late in the evening, salt mongers raked the terraced bay of the lake.

My eyes searched frantically for anyone peddling more than just salt and fish.

I hurried through the stalls, desperate to find a hit, before I did something rash. Champing on the willow bark I used as a placebo, its effects would only last so long.

I dug my nails into my palms, the pain a welcomed relief.

Down back alleys I marched, feet slipping on wet snow. Pain radiated through my mind. I needed dust and I needed it soon, or else I would be a puddle of nothing in the streets of a strange city.

I rounded the corner of the seedier part of town. Questionable characters lingered in darkened alcoves. The sound of glass breaking and fists shattering bone echoed through the streets .

A brothel nestled between two saloons shone like a beacon of hope. If the women didn’t have dust, they could provide me with other distractions.

Dark wood and mirrors paneled the walls. The smell of smoke and incense hung heavy in the air. All around me, courtesans flirted with their customers.

I sauntered up to a black-haired nymph sitting at the bar.

She gave me a smile full of razor-sharp teeth. “Trouble’s here.”

She slid me a shot of amber liquid.

I let it burn in my throat before asking, “How much for dust?”

She downed her own drink. Her iridescent skin glowed in the soft light of candles.

“How much are you looking for?”

I drummed my fingers on the shabby wooden bar.

“Enough for me to forget my name.”

The nymph raised an eyebrow at me. “Ah, it’s that kind of night, is it?”

“It’s that kind of life.”

She pulled a glass vile filled with pink dust from between her ample breasts.

“Be careful. This is new. Folk are saying it’s stronger than usual.”

“Perfect.” I placed three gold coins on the bar.

“Come back anytime.” She flicked her hair behind her back.

I left the nymph and headed for the nearest darkened alleyway.

Exhilaration raced through my veins at the thought of the dust tingling my senses. My fingers twitched at the promised sweet relief.

I snorted a pinch of the dust off my pinky finger and rubbed the rest on my gums. My body relaxed. Bleary-eyed and lightheaded, something like happiness filled my belly. A moment’s rest from the perpetual state of hyper-vigilance I lived in.

Lighting a cigarette, I strolled down the docks. Magus flocked to Oakton for the precious salts they harvested from the lake. The scent of salt water and brine heavier here.

A euphoric feeling blanketed my mind, dulling my senses. I sat on the shoreline contemplating how I ended up traveling with my former lover to thwart my husband.

The point of an iron knife seared into my chin.

Fuck . I jolted my head back, slamming it against the crate I had been leaning against.

Stars dotted my vision.

“You’re off your game, Springborn,” a seductive female voice said.

I winced. “You are far from the Undersea, Ursula.”

She let out a cackle. “Even salt-lake Nymphs bow to my queen.”

Shit . I should’ve known better. Of course, the Queen of the Undersea would send her best assassin. Once lovers, our paths crossed when I was on a mission to steal her queen’s pearl. She never forgave me for the betrayal.

I lifted my neck to avoid the dagger’s searing heat. “What do you want, Ursula? I said I was sorry for the pearl. You know how business is.”

“Breaking my heart is just business ?” Her words came out in a hiss as she moved before me in the smooth way only a creature accustomed to moving in water could. Her long blue hair, the color of the tides, glistened in the moonlight. Hate danced in her sea-glass eyes. She wore a skintight blue dress resembling her fin.

Something about the curve of her body made me want to put my hands on it. I didn’t know if this was a side effect of the dust or something more. “I didn’t?—”

“Enough.” She cut me off before I could come up with an excuse. The tip of her dagger burned my skin. “It’s time for me to repay the favor.” A smile of razors crossed her fish-like face. “Get up. There’s someone who wants to see you.”

She wrapped a rope of seaweed around my wrists. The sliminess turned my stomach.

We walked through the docks to a warehouse on stilts. Waves slapped the shore beneath as the tide rose. Once inside, she escorted me to a small room in the back, where a single candle sat on a bare table next to a wooden chair. What was she planning? What other ghost would be haunting me tonight?

Bile rose in my throat at the stench of dead fish permeating every pore of the place.

“Sit. And don’t you dare try to run away,” Ursula said, pointing her dagger at the empty chair.

I took a seat, focusing my mind on hers. Let me in, Ursula.

“Get out of my head.”

You don’t have to do this. Whatever this is about. We can fix it.

“I said, get out of my head.”

She clasped iron manacles around my wrists. Iron negated magic in the blood. I sucked in a shallow breath. The cold metal seared my skin.

I tried to push further, but it was no use. The iron, combined with dust, left my head spinning. Every strand of her mind I grasped slipped through my fingers. I gave up.

“Sit here. I’ll be right back.”

Head heavy, I slumped in my chair, waiting for her to leave.

Dampness chilled my bones. I surveyed the room for potential escape routes. One door leading to the dock, and a tiny window too small for me to fit through, were my only options.

Hushed whispers debated outside the door—Ursula’s smooth, sultry voice and another harsher, more cracked one .

My eyes flitted from the window to the door. Could I fit through it? Maybe if I wriggled just right.

“Right this way,” Ursula said, unlocking the door. I focused on the rhythm of the waves through the slits in the warped floor.

My heart leapt into my throat at the sight of the tall, broad-shouldered, graying man. Brutus Strong, Chief Commander of the Highland army, his face full of scars from a lifetime of battles. The years of a mortal life left his once handsome face cracked and frayed.

Breaths rattled in my chest. I had to get out of here.

“Hello, Aelia. You’re looking…” His brows knitted in disgust. “Well, you’ve looked better.”

I cringed at his voice, remembering all the times he’d laughed while Gideon let him beat me.

“Always the gentleman, Brutus. Why are you here?”

A smile crossed his lined face. “King Gideon doesn’t appreciate his belongings disappearing.”

“It’s almost like I didn’t want to be found,” I practically spat the words at him.

The sound of an empty glove hitting my face rang in my ears before the sharp pain of the slap stung my cheek. Stars clouded my vision, and pain shot through my lip as the freshly healed scrape ripped anew, filling my mouth with the metallic taste of blood.

Launching myself into his mind, I hit a wall of steel, shooting me out as quickly as I had come in.

Brutus barked out a laugh. “I’ve been trained, little bird. You won’t get in here.” He tapped his temple with a bulbus finger.

Rage burned in my veins.

“Hey—” Ursula stepped in between us. “You said she wouldn’t be harmed.”

A backhand to the face sent Ursula crashing to the floor.

She bared her teeth at him .

Brutus clicked his tongue at her. “Not so fast, little mermaid. Remember our deal.”

Wiping the blood from her mouth, Ursula picked herself up from the floor. “You’re an asshole. I should kill you for that.” Her nostrils flared, their faces nearly touching.

“Oh, little fish, if you kill me, who will pay you?” He dangled a pouch of gold in front of her.

Snatching the pouch, she stomped out of the room.

“Alright, where is he?” I asked once Ursula left.My head buzzed, and my vision blurred.

“He’s busy.” A deviant smile crossed his face, sending a shiver down my spine.

I braced for the impact of his fist. Years of pent-up anger were released in one swing, and it landed like a hammer. Spitting blood onto the decaying wood floor, I tried to focus my vision, but the room spun around me.

“That was for making me look foolish.”

“You didn’t need my help with that.”A bloody smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

Hatred burned in his blue eyes.

“Where is my sister?”

“Oh, she is a fair thing, isn’t she? My king has a special place in his heart for her.” His dialect resembled the royalty of the Highlands, but if you listened closely, you could hear the slums in his words.

A pit opened in my stomach. “If you’ve laid a finger on her, I will?—”

“Shh—I promise she’s in excellent hands.” He leaned in close to me. The acrid smell of mead seeped from his lips.

Bile bubbled in my throat.

“Let’s go, little bird.” Hauling me to my feet, he pulled me along behind him. I rattled the chains.

I needed to get out of here .

Three of them versus one of me, and I had no magic.

The iron mixed with the dust in my veins, making my feet clumsy. Why did I have to take dust? Why was I such a colossal fuck up? Why did I do this to myself?

We wove our way through the docks. Brutus’s torch cast a pitiful glow. Two of Gideon’s guards flanked me. Their swords clinked at their sides. At this time of night, the docks were empty. Even the salt traders had gone to bed. No one would hear me scream.

Frantically, I searched for some way to escape. Massive crates filled with salt and fish lined the docks—an idea formed in my mind. Brutus may have had training against telepaths, but the other men didn’t. If I could get inside one of their minds, I could possibly get him to free me. Damn, these iron cuffs.

Dead-eyed, the men plodded along with stoic faces. Something was off about them, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Glassy eyes usually indicated a glamour, but these were soldiers. What reason could he have for glamouring them?

Brutus rounded the corner ahead, leaving me a millisecond to enact my plan.

I ducked left down a row of cargo crates. Then right down another, hoping to lose them.

“Hey, stop,” the soldiers yelled.

“Get her!” The sound of Brutus’s heavy footsteps scrapped across the frozen snow.

I ran down another aisle. They were stronger and faster than me, but I had the element of surprise on my side.

Concealed in shadow, I wedged between two crates and listened for the men’s footsteps.

Crunch, crunch, crunch , one of them drew near. I tightened the chains of my manacles and held my breath.

“Tracks! Here!” the man yelled to the others. “I found?— ”

My chains were around his neck before he could finish his sentence.

He clawed at his neck, tossing me back and forth, but I held steady.

He gasped for air, sinking into the snow.

Brutus’s footsteps grew louder with each passing second.

C’mon. The iron burned into my skin. Tears welled in my eyes. The soldier flailed, trying to save his own life, but slowly, his windpipe collapsed. He slunk into a heap on the ground.

Pausing for a moment, I contemplated the intimacy of the kill. I had held his life in my hands and snapped his neck. Maybe I was the monster after all.

I searched his body for a key.

Please, please, please.

Precious seconds ticked by.

I padded the soldier’s armor.

No key.

Fuck .

Brutus stood at the end of the row. “Now, little bird, don’t make this difficult.”

His head swiveled as he searched for me.

My chest loosened a bit.

He couldn’t see me. He followed my footprints here.

I grabbed the sword from the soldier’s sheath and ducked between the crates again.

“Oh, little bird. Come out and play.”

The flickering light grew brighter with each step he took.

Sucking in a breath, I crouched low. Please let this work, please let this work.

Brutus stopped at the body of the soldier, clicking his tongue in disgust. “Pathetic.”

I gathered every ounce of courage I could muster, biting my lip so hard it bled.

I struck hard and fast, stabbing my sword through his thigh.

Brutus let out a cry of pain. Slipping on the ice, he tumbled to the ground. Blood pooled around him.

I ran.