“We’ve read these?” Spencer said, sighing. “I’ve gone over them extensively. There isn’t anything about cursed armor.”
“We’re not looking for a way to break a curse. We’re looking for a record of an ancient entity,” I explained. They had laid out each of their weapons on the table, and I kept them all sheathed. Using my gift, I touched each one and tried to determine what they were made of.
I would have expected the blades to be made of layers of sweet iron or high carbon steel—but I found none of those metals in these weapons.
The knife with its curved handle in the shape of a dragon’s head, the rapier with its double head and engraved hawk motif, and the broadsword were all made of a metal that I didn’t recognize. It was the same as my charm. But unlike my charm, it didn’t sing.
It terrified me to dig further into the weapons for fear of waking the darkness. As I continued to take notes and test it with my magic, I would catch glimpses of the previous owners of the weapons.
When I touched Damon’s blade, I saw visions of a young general being honored after winning a war. I felt his pride and responsibility. The blade, a prize given to him by a king. Spencer’s rapier was older, once belonging to a scholar by the name of Aster, a student of the books. He was given the weapon to study, not for the purpose of battle. When I touched Kash’s blade, I sensed it belonged to someone much older, a king of the past.
My only source of information was the history book where I could compare the descriptions of the late King Einsamall, the first dwarf king of Ragnar.
But none of the history books spoke of what happened to the weapons or how they reappeared hundreds of years later. How did King Goddrick find them, and what would possess him to bestow them and the curse upon his sons?
I looked up from my scroll to see Kash with his head down on his arms, his black hair hiding his eyes.
Damon was no longer reading but prodding the sliver of metal in the glass again for fun. Each time he poked it, it shifted back to mist before settling back into a black sliver.
“Stop that,” Spencer chided as he looked up from one of the three books he had spread out before him. “You’re making it angry.”
“It’s from the skin of my back. I can do what I want with it.” Damon leaned away and put his boot on the table.
Spencer’s lip curled up in disgust. “Just don’t go and name it, all right?”
Damon’s green eyes twinkled mischievously. “Too late, I named it Scabby.”
Spencer groaned and tossed a book at Damon’s head. Damon ducked, and the book smacked into Kash, who woke up, prepared for an attack. He jumped so high he fell backwards in his chair and it broke.
“I thought you were supposed to be the alert one.” I walked over to Kash as he looked up at me from the ground.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t slept much lately. Fighting a curse is exhausting, but for you, it’s worth it.” His lips pulled back into a cheeky grin. I felt that familiar rush, and my breath caught.
“I still got it,” he said smoothly.
“Got what?” I purposely exhaled and held out my hand to help him up. Kash didn’t need it as he sprung forward, causing me to retreat and back into the table with a bump.
“Careful,” Damon warned, holding up the flask. “You spooked Scabby.”
“Its name is not Scabby,” Spencer argued.
“When you get your own piece of back flesh, you can name it whatever you want. Until then, stop making fun of Scabby,” Damon said, taunting his brother.
Kash ignored both of them as he continued to stalk me. I leaned back, and he placed his arms on either side of me, drawing close. His golden eyes searched mine, ignoring his brothers bickering. He turned his head and whispered into my ear, “I can still take your breath away.”
I reached behind me and pulled the sheathed knife and poked him in the stomach.
Kash let out a grunt of pain and he retreated. “It seems I can do the same to you,” I gleefully whispered back.
“Touché.” Kash laughed, clutching his midsection.
“Hey, Rhea.” Spencer waved me over to his side of the table. He had put the book down and was staring at the artifact Grimkeep had given me. It was sitting on the worktable, and we had been using it as a paperweight since I hadn’t had time to study it closer.
“Yeah?”
“Did you see this?” He pointed to a crevice that had slipped my notice.
Spencer handed it to me, and I peered into the spot that had melted and folded over on itself.
“Bring me a light.”
Damon held up a candle, and as the flames flickered over the ore, we saw a rune and then a second one. Not just any runes. Eld runes.
“The forgotten language,” Spencer said in awe.
“Not only that,” I said in excitement, “this ore has a memory. I may be able to reconstruct it into its original form.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Spencer asked. “Let’s get forging.”
“Not tonight.” Kash’s voice carried the command across the chamber. “Tonight is over.”
“Come on!” Spencer was practically bouncing with enthusiasm. “We’ve just discovered a significant find.”
“No, we can’t expect Rhea to work miracles on very little sleep. Not only that, but we also need to rest. We are mentally stronger to help her during the day if we do.”
Damon nodded. “We can be more aware if we’re rested.”
I hated that Kash was right, but as soon as he mentioned sleep, I could feel my eyelids drooping. The silent yawns I had been holding back all night slipped out.
We headed back to my room and Kash slowed to drop me off. Damon kept walking.
Spencer hesitated. “Just one more question—”
“No, Spencer. I will not let us run her into the ground searching for a way to break the curse. We lived with it for a few years. What’s a few more days?”
Spencer slumped his shoulders and continued down the hall. I didn’t actually know where their rooms were. When Spencer was out of earshot, I turned to Kash.
“Except that I don’t know if I have days.” I had forgotten about my task and put these studies above the king’s demands.
“Tomorrow.” Kash placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. “We will start again tomorrow.” He opened the door and waited for me to go inside.
I turned to look at him and saw the sadness he was hiding. The moonlight highlighted his eyes, making their gold color seem even more effervescent.
“But what guarantee do I have that it will be you when I wake up tomorrow? What if you try to kill me again?” I asked, clutching my injured hand.
Kash reached to brush his knuckles across my cheek. “Well, I give you permission to toss me off the balcony again and again. That seemed to knock some sense into me.”
I let out a chuckle.
“There’s my girl,” Kash teased.
I held the door open for him, making a show that I wasn’t locking it. “Can you stay with me till I fall asleep?”
He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. But one day, I swear you will wake up, and I will be by your side and not the blade.”
“I don’t know. I kind of like the strong and silent Kash.”