The Beast And The Blessed

Thirty-Seven: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

Dinner was a tense affair. Cyrus seemed uncomfortable trying to manipulate Rona into getting information from her, but he didn't have a choice.

She was obsessed with getting him to talk and spill his secrets. He was convinced she had actual feelings for him, even if it was only a physical attraction. Perhaps she would accidentally let something slip if he took advantage of that.

Even better would be if we took advantage of how close she let him and had him sedate her.

One quick slip of a needle and her magic could be blocked for hours. It would be the perfect way to question her. But if I was wrong about my suspicions of her, it could have catastrophic consequences when she was released. Killian wouldn't let me just kill her, no matter how badly I wanted to.

He insisted that we still had to follow the rules. He was trying to be a good leader, and he was. But that didn't make it any less frustrating when the rules were getting in the way of my job to protect him.

Cyrus agreed to try the more civil way first and attempt to get Rona to talk to him. He violently opposed my idea of resorting to drugs and torture, but

I was sick of waiting for someone to slip up and trying to be discrete as I searched for answers.

Someone who had been in the mountains the night before the war had built that altar and had performed the ritual to drain another of their life essence and magic. Someone powerful enough to perform that ritual on their own, if they were alone, shouldn't need more magic unless they were doing something big.

Cyrus was running for his life, needing protection from some unknown threat who wanted him dead. When I asked him about it during dinner, he confirmed the same thing he told me in the mountains.

He felt them.

He felt them pulling at his soul and magic, trying to separate the two. He looked haunted as he recalled the event that finally pushed him to ask for help. I had experienced something similar fifteen years ago, so I knew he remembered how much it hurt, with his experience being only a few months ago.

The pure and unbridled agony that came with that curse haunted me to this day, and I knew he would have to live with it for the rest of his life too.

When that didn't work, the mountain shook fiercely like it was about to come down on him. He said he was positive that if it wasn't someone powerful, it had to have been one of the Gods because he had never felt anything as strong or threatening.

it was only a matter of time before they tried

bother him more that he wouldn't have been able to face his killer before he was sent to meet the Goddess. Without embracing his powers, he would have died anyway. But getting the chance to see and face the person trying to kill him... no one deserved

fitting that they do it face

seemed to pick up on immediately. It was then that we shared the story of how Rona's mother passed

absorption of her magic. Her mother, Melinda, didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. At that point, she was too weak to fight back. Rona drained her of

have been on that. As I crawled into bed, my mind should have been dissecting every word that crossed

than our own future. I had been

about myself for a

the thoughts of

loudly," Tobias spoke against the back of my neck, his nose nuzzling through my

pulling me against his bare

knew I was acting unusual. If I weren't, I would have been wrapped around him by now, just like every night

He was patient, but it felt more like a silent demand for an explanation. I pressed my lips together until he placed a single kiss on

never talked about kids," I mumbled, refusing to turn my head and look at him. Kids. The thought made my stomach turn because I didn't know what answer I wanted. I didn't even know if I wanted to

wasn't even good

If he did want kids, and I

you want kids?" He questioned with excitement laced in his tone, answering his question without needing me to ask

He wanted them.

locked on the wall across the room as I lay still in his arms, scared that if I moved and faced him that the conversation would become even more difficult

ease my fears, but inside I was fighting down my stomach acid with everything

Kids.

as children, he wanted to bring some of his own into the world. He would be a great father, but I knew I would not meet his expectations. How

to do if I

or turned on me. My parents had locked me in my room for the first decade of my life, hiring priests and witches to try to take my gift from me. It was unclear whether they knew that ritual would kill

abandoned me when Killian chose me to stand by his side

if I wanted to come, and she rarely returned home for visits. Her trips back to the castle were becoming fewer and farther between. When she was here, it was to visit

life were power-hungry bitches who made me want to pull my hair out from the frustration of having to deal with