Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) Jessie Eaker (best reads txt) 📖

He grinned, clearly delighted. “Thank you very much! This is a great gift! I’ve been trying to learn it since we have travelers from your lands. But it’s been hard for me to wrap my tongue around your words. My father will be most pleased. In fact, I’m going to tell him right now.” The excited boy ran to the door and was out only a moment later.

I bent over Cabrina and offered her my hand. She looked at it a moment before gingerly taking it so I could help her stand.

“Are you all right?” I asked. “I’m sorry I bound you, but I was afraid your Dark Avenyts was going to make a run for it.”

She shrugged and looked down. She was avoiding my eyes. “I’m fine. No-name has w-withdrawn for now. She’s very frustrated and w-won’t even talk to me. She d-didn’t like that you p-punished me for something she did.”

I patted her shoulder. “Well, don’t worry. We’ll get No-name off of you soon.”

And then she said something that surprised me.

“I’m not in a hurry. I kind of like her.” She glanced up at me before returning her gaze to the floor. “I w-was scared at first, but after she c-completed her mission, she’s b-been... sort of... nice. I haven’t had very many friends and w-w-we talk all the time. She helps me be the p-person I’ve always w-wanted to be.” She looked down with tears in her eyes. “It’s nice.”

I put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at me. “What will you do if she gets a new directive?”

She shrugged. “As long as she’s with me, I don’t think I’ll care.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You know she’s a Dark Avenyts. An enemy to humans. She could kill you.”

She looked down and stirred the straw on the floor with the toe of her boot. “Yes, I know.” She took a deep breath and then looked up fully into my face. “But is that so different from the princess ordering you into battle against an enemy? You might not want to hurt the people you go up against, but you’ll still do it.” She paused and searched my face. “It’s the same for her. She’ll have to do it, but she won’t like it. It doesn’t change that she’s still my friend.”

We stared at each other for a moment. A nagging thought occurred to me. Was there more to the Dark Avenyts than I originally thought?

My stomach growled, and we both smiled. The tension in the room eased. “I guess we’ve waited on breakfast long enough.”

She nodded and went to get her cloak.

I looked to Zofie, standing close by patiently waiting. Would I go into battle if she ordered? Would I be willing to kill a friend?

I shook my head. It bothered me that I didn’t have an answer.

We spent the day resting. Not that I minded. The last few days had been a whirlwind, and I needed the time to regain my strength and compose myself.

But resting was not the same as relaxing. Even though we were over a thousand miles from our home in Brethnach, I still couldn’t help but feel a twitch at my back. Lilith was coming. I knew it as sure as I knew the sun would rise tomorrow. The only question was when.

I practiced with Fumiko later that morning and was surprised at my new sword skills. We cleared a spot in the barn large enough to spar and be out of the snow. When we were ready, I launched into the same attack I had seen her use against her friend. Naturally, she defended against it perfectly. Back and forth, we traded blows until Fumiko called a halt. I stepped back breathing hard. This was really difficult, but exhilarating. I had been able to hold my own. I grinned at her. “That was fantastic. I feel like I could take on an army now.”

Fumiko didn’t seem winded at all. It reminded me of practicing with Risten before the Dark Avenyts took her. She had likewise never seemed fazed.

She shook her head. “You have some skills now, but they are still my skills, not yours. You still have much work to do.”

I shook my head. “Surely, it can’t be that bad.”

Fumiko cocked an eyebrow. She raised her sword and moved into position. “Again.”

I grinned and moved to my first position. We launched at each other, and I was able to counter her every move. Then Fumiko varied the flow, and I suddenly didn’t know what to do. My nimble blade became awkward and slow. The next thing I knew, my weapon was flying across the room, and her sword was pointed at my throat.

“See,” she said. “You have a copy of my skills in your brain. But there are still some things you don’t know.” She stepped back, sheathing her sword. “Also, your muscles haven’t incorporated all the knowledge yet. Your arms are about to fall off, aren’t they?”

I smiled sheepishly. “Pretty much. My muscles are quivering.” I stepped over to pick up my sword.

She pursed her lips. “You need to practice. Go through the forms by yourself, as many times as you can stand. Five hundred would be a good number to start with.”

“Five hundred?”

She nodded. “You won’t remember them for long unless you practice. Remember, they are my skills, and while your brain has temporarily accepted them, it will soon figure out they are not actually yours and purge them.”

“But Zofie has given me bits of her memories before, and I remember them just fine.”

Fumiko sighed and rubbed her side. Her ribs must be hurting her. “Those are different. She set a context for remembering them, plus they were