The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse by Melissa Myers Page B

gone for some time. I didn’t want to leave
her alone in the village, Milord,” Dominic answered quietly.
    “Were you afraid she would damage something
or injure someone?” Elijah asked, though by his tone she could tell
he already knew the answer to his own question.
    “I was afraid of what would happen to her
without my protection, Milord,” Dominic answered and shrugged. “The
villagers don’t understand her at all, Milord. They fear her, but
they respect me so they leave her be when I am there,” he added
after a short sigh.
    “As I suspected,” Elijah said with a slight
nod and leaned back in his chair once more. Still watching her, he
steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and frowned. His gaze
dropped to the corpse lying before his table once more and then he
nodded again more firmly. “Because of the bruise on her face as
well as your answer and my respect for Lord Blackwolf’s concerns, I
will be taking your Ward, Dominic. She isn’t safe where she is,
though it’s by no fault of yours. I am sure you have done what you
could for her while she has been in your care,” Elijah said at
last.
    “Taking her, Milord?” Dominic stammered as if
he didn’t quite understand what he was hearing.
    “She will return with me to my home and live
under my protection, Dominic, until further notice. I will not kill
her for simply existing. From what I can see, she has committed no
sins. Were she aggressive as the Blights are, I would not hesitate
to deal with her accordingly, but from what I have seen she is
simply a scared child that seems to carry a very large curse on her
shoulders. Perhaps, given time, a method of helping her will be
found, but until then she is mine to look after.” Lord Arovan stood
as he spoke and looked down at her. “I leave for the capital
tomorrow, Zoey. Please be prepared to ride as well.” His gaze moved
to each of the others in the tent and he nodded faintly. “We are
done here. Troyelle, please do something with that body and be
discreet about it. I don’t want questions rising about what killed
him.”
    Zoelyn watched them all with a detached
shock, her eyes slowly moving to Dominic who seemed to be taking
the news as poorly as she was. It was better than death, she
supposed, but not by much. The capital was brimming with people and
not only would she be in the capital she would be in the palace
itself. She had imagined a hundred ways that this meeting could
end, none of them had been good, and yet none of them had been this
one either. Elijah had caught her completely flat footed with his
choice.
    “Come on, Zoey,” Dominic urged, and she
nodded faintly as she followed him silently from the tent. It was
hard to believe this was the last night she would spend in his
company. For seven years he had been the only person in her life.
Now everything was changing and she couldn’t think of a single way
to stop it. Even if she ran from the camp, she lost Dominic.
Swallowing heavily, she fought back tears and tried to stop her
mind from thinking about what was waiting for her tomorrow.

Chapter 3
     
    Southern Goswin
     
     
    Neph closed the door behind him and it took a
force of will to keep from slamming it so hard the boards rattled.
For the past two weeks it had been a constant struggle to keep
order among his people, and it was wearing on his nerves. Most of
his remaining people were too old or too young to fight, but the
ones that were of fighting age seemed to have nothing on their
minds but pissing him off. It was barely two days into the week and
he had already had to kill a man for challenging his right to lead.
That brought the total number of Delvay warriors he had killed to
six since he had arrived in Goswin. At the current rate he was
progressing he wouldn’t have enough of a fighting force left over
to even contemplate retaking his land.
    Closing his eyes he tilted his head back and
slowed his breathing. After several moments his fists unclenched
and the desire to