Page 80 of Heart of the Cursed
“It would help if we knew what I was, wouldn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes, it would help,” he said. “But unfortunately, I don’t know of anyone with the same, or even similar, powers as you have. It could just be because you’re a halfling, but we won’t know for sure until we find other halflings like you, or find out about your father.”
“I don’t mind not knowing,” Selene admitted.
She could tell it surprised him, but she was happy not knowing. Her mother was bound to have known who her father was, which meant she also knew what he was. If she carried that secret to her death, there must have been a reason why. And that reason would have been to protect Selene. So, did she want to go digging into things best left alone? Hell, no.
“Okay,” Arun nodded after a moment. “We don’t have to look into it, if you don’t want to.”
Selene was silent as she thought about the spell and what life would be like once it was done. After searching for it for so long, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to find it now. If they found it and she performed the spell, there was a high chance she would never see Arun again. The thought alone sent pain shooting straight through her heart.
“Do your friends and their mates know what will happen when I perform the spell?” she asked.
“Yes, they know,” he said.
“And they still want to help?”
“Yes. In fact, they were rather insistent about it.”
Now that surprised her. She would have thought they would try to stop her, not help her. But then, she shouldn’t have been surprised. They were Arun’s friends, after all.
“Really?”
“I told you that Dain felt the same way as me,” he said. “Well, it turns out Taredd feels the same, too.”
“Oh,” Selene said, then remembered what he’d told her earlier about Natalia. “I take it his mate played a part in that.”
Arun laughed. “I have a feeling you might be right.”
“I can’t wait to meet all of them,” she said.
“There’s something else you should know,” he said. “We managed to rescue the other females that were in my brother’s harem. I hope it’s okay with you, we brought them back here with us.”
“Of course, that’s okay,” she said, smiling up at him. “There’s plenty of space here. Really, it’s far too big for me on my own. It’ll be nice to have some company.”
“Good, I’m glad you’re fine with it,” he said.
Fatigue hit her like a ton of bricks. She covered her mouth as she yawned.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be,” he told her. “You need to rest.”
He helped her lie down and then tucked her in. He climbed off the bed before kissing her on the forehead.
“We can talk more later,” he said. “I’ll make sure there’s some food here ready for when you next wake up.”
“Thank you,” Selene said sleepily.
“You’re more than welcome.”
Selene couldn’t have kept her eyes open even if she’d wanted to. As soon as they closed, she let sleep drag her under.
.
