Chapter 113: A cursed mark

Words : 1051 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

Chapter 113: A cursed mark The curtains were slightly open while faint sunlight flickered in through the bind. The subtle sounds of the crackling of flames continued to echo in the room occupied by just 3. Abrielle, who was lying motionless on the bed, and Cedric, who had an unusually soft gaze that even if he was looking at himself he would not believe it. It would be ridiculous if he was staring at her that way. He didn’t even know when he started to carry her in such a tender gaze either. Zoltana walked slowly towards them. She didn’t want to ruin their moment, but she wanted to save her mistress, who she owed her life to. Leaving as a maid in the castle was way more comfortable than swindling people on the streets. Her lips parted, she was hesitant to talk just looking at the way Cedric’s thumb was rubbing Abrielle’s cheeks. "What do you want to say?" His voice was harsh, but he reduced the tone strangely like he was considering Abrielle. "I am sorry to inconvenience you in any way, but can I take a look at the princess? I am a healing professional of the Dzari clan. Maybe I can check to be of help." Zoltana’s voice was very calm; her insides were shaking, scared of Cedric. He normally had a commanding presence around him, but he had something darker that covered him, which was influenced by Abrielle. Cedric didn’t say anything for a while as his gaze was focused on Abrielle until a long sigh left his lips. "Fine, but if anything wrong happens to her, your head will have to find another shoulder to rest on," Cedric commented, which Zoltana nodded at. He sat by the side of the bed and gave Zoltana the chance to check Abrielle’s condition. The hermit witch took Abrielle’s hand and a frown immediately etched in between her brows as her gaze drew to the mark on her neck. She closed her eyes, muttering some words; in reaction, the flame mark glowed, and Zoltana jolted as she was forced to drop Abrielle’s hand. Cedric’s eyes narrowed at her actions. At that moment, the flame mark glowed, and Zoltana was forced to drop Abrielle’s hand. A sharp pain split into his head. Her heartbeat skyrocketed, and she started taking a long breath to calm her nerves before her gaze slowly went to Cedric, who had a frown on his forehead. "I am sorry for my actions, your highness. I was just stunned by the backlash." "I do have an idea of what is wrong with the princess. It is a very dark magic that wasn’t meant to be in her body and she just doesn’t know how to fight it." Zoltana explained then pointed at the flame mark. Cedric’s eyes narrowed because remembered where it came from. He was the one who placed that there, but he didn’t understand why he had the usual urge to bite her or why the mark appeared. "How is this related to her condition?" He asked patiently, giving a chance to Zoltana to speak, hoping maybe her Insights would help him. "It’s a curse mark on the princess; I don’t know how it came about, but it ties you guys together." She explained which made Cedric confused. Did that mean he cursed her? "The mark feeds on Abrielle’s little to no very faint magic affinity she possesses. My best advice is that we unseal her magic." Zoltana explained, which was similar to what The physician mentioned to Elias. "I thought she didn’t have any magic affinity." "She does but it was sealed off at birth because it wasn’t holy magic. To be born with magic not related to the moon goddess in the Nightshade family was considered a curse. It still is, so my guess is that her parents sealed off her ability to prevent her from being ostracized for it. You were not able to sense it because the curse mark is constantly draining her." Zoltana explained, which made Cedric frown, no wonder He never sensed anything. "But if we unseal her, won’t it make it obvious she has forbidden magic related to witches," Cedric asked; he didn’t want to get Abrielle targeted as witches we considered enemies of the nation because of their practices. "I know someone that can cast an illusion spell on her to hide it. This is the best solution I can come up with. The longer nothing is done the mark will slowly start draining her life essence too." Cedric was plunged in deep thoughts wondering about the situation. He hasn’t heard anything of the sort. "Will she only wake up when the seal is undone?" It seemed like Abrielle’s breath was getting weaker with each second. "She will be up before dawn. All you just have to do is stay by her side and let the mark feed on your essence instead of hers, but that is a temporary solution." "Give me some time to think about it." With that being said, Zoltana nodded and then exited the room, leaving Cedric and Abrielle. The door closed behind Zoltana. Cedric’s gaze then went to the flame mark on her neck, his fingers brushing on it. It left a tingling sensation as it glowed at his touch. "I guess we will be sharing the same bed the entire day." He was meant to travel to a nearby town today with Callista as they had clues leading there, but it seems that has to wait. ****** The sun had gone down and the weather was noticeably cold. The room was covered with a warm gold embrace coming from the fireplace. Abrielle’s brows furrowed, and her eyes slowly opened. The first time that came to her sight under the dim light was Cedric’s shirtless chest, which was contoured by the shadows cast by the flames. Her gaze slowly travelled to his face, then her breath hitched, seeing his perfectly sculptured face that wasn’t hidden by a mask. She could describe his beauty with one word: he looked like an angel. She tried adjusting her position to put some distance between them, Cedric’s brows furrowed in his sleep, lacking the slight warmth from her skin. He pulled her closer to his chest.

Chapter 113: A cursed mark

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