From the rise of dawn to the setting of the sun people of Camelorn rejoiced with their king and queen. Everyone came to celebrate the blessings of the gods on the royal household bringing along gifts to present to their queen who sat at the right-hand side of her husband in her yellow tunic and with her crown on her head, the stones on her crown gleaming as they caught the light from the fire and the torches on the wall.Octavius sat on his throne on the king’s dais with his brother, Angus, by his side, who for the first time in years got rid of his many cloaks, in place of his cloak he wore a dark blue royal robe that was the proper outfit for a person of his standing. As Adviser and Commander of his brother’s army, the emblem of Ashterah was pinned to his clothes.
“If you keep doing this to yourself, sister dear, I swear you will harm yourself.” Ashterah hated the laughter in Nukis tone, no doubt he was mocking her, mocking her feelings. He stood by her window staring at her back while she lay on her bed with her knees tucked to her chest. For months she had watched as Queen Emilia’s pregnancy advanced and wished she never made him infertile again.
Chapter 41 The rain fell in slants against the stone walls of the palace. It was the first rain of the year so it brought warmth from the ocean to the village and the pleasing smell of newly wet earth, it had started suddenly, just after dawn when the villagers were preparing to go about their businesses. It was a heavy downpour so the people remained indoors around their fires with hot soups and fur around themselves. The royal household was no different.Unable to go back to sleep since the meeting of the day could no
“I must say that I support Angus’s decision, Your Highness,” Lord Fergus said. “Everyone enjoys peace but a nation needs to grow, we won’t wait for the enemies to attack first so why not be the first to attack? Find a rich nation, plunder it and expand our regions with both riches and land.” “I have nothing against it at this point,” Octavius replied. “But at this point, I am worried about my brother, it’s been months since he left, the corns are grown and ready for harvest yet no sign of Angus.” The court had come together to talk about Angus’ plan and its significance to the nation. Almost all the nobles voiced their support, even Ga
The midwife stared at Emilia with a mixture of sympathy and disgust. In her years of practice as a midwife she never encountered a human who birthed a god but she knew the reasons behind such an incident; either the child or the family of the child was cursed or the woman engaged in illicit affairs with gods. At the thought of the latter the midwife’s heart broke for Emilia, it wasn’t as if the queen could reject a god when he came crawling to her bed. She saw the confusion and shame that burned in the queen’s eyes and wished she had the power to change the situation but she was only human and couldn’t do anything more than pity and pray for the mercy of the gods on the royal house. She looked around and found one of her assistance, the one who
“Her Majesty would not breastfeed this child,” the midwife said solemnly with a look of pity at the baby who kept squirming and trying to reach for Termla’s face. Her mouth was stretched to a toothless smile and her eyes sparkled. She was a very attractive child and her powers made her even more alluring. “You should find a wet nurse for the child, Fella.” Termla had expected that. Of course, no one would want to take responsibility for the innocent child who didn’t beg to be in the world. Even the midwife with all her pity looks couldn’t stop looking distastefully at the small child. “Okay,” Termla agreed. She knew exactly who she wan
The child cried in anguish throughout the night. If any felt pity for her at the hour of her birth they hated her now because she cried so much she kept half the palace awake. Her shrill voice rang out and tears spilled down her cheeks unto her straw bed but there was no one to comfort her. People rolled and tossed on their beds but no one would make an effort to seek to comfort the crying baby. Of course, they didn’t want to be associated with a curse, after all, who would associate themselves with a child even the gods themselves rejected?So Cleopoda cried until the break of dawn, her head hurt badly, her skin was hot to the touch. There were voices in her head, so many voices and many of them seem to curse at her, although as a newborn she couldn’t quite understand anything they said so all the voices, the yelling in her head were a chorus of rando
From her place on the floor with her knees hugged to her chest Emilia wished she could find some sleep but sleep eluded her throughout the previous day, throughout the night. The child’s shrill cry had kept her awake but she barely heard the cries when she was so lost in her thoughts. There was no reason why she would be cursed with such a child when she never did anything wrong, she offered her sacrifices and respected the traditions of both Intavia and Camelorn. There was no reason she should birth a curse. More than once Ilena had come to her door to knock and she refused to answer. She refused to see anyone, talk to anyone or even accept food from the maids Ilena sent to her. She simply cried her eyes out and stared into space at regular int
“You whore!” Emilia looked up from where she was squeezing her tunic and gowns in her trunk to see Octavius storm into her room with rage clearly etched out on his face. His face was red and his hair stood out on ends. He advanced towards her like a mad man with his fists clenched at his sides. “What do you mean by that?” she asked with barely restrained anger. She struggled to keep her own hands by her side when she itched so hard to hit him across his face till his nose bleed. “You deceived me! Why did you lie to me about g
I have now come to the end of book one of my Cursed by the gods series. It has been a long journey I'm not gonna lie. I lost commitment along the way of writing this book, lost inspiration, even changed the plan I initially had for it. I am really glad that I got to finish it and if you stayed till the end I just want to say thank you for even choosing this book in the first place. I will start with the second book as soon as possible and do my best to make that one better. I hope I have been able to tell you a good story dear readers and once again I thank you for reading Cursed by the gods. Thank you.
Octavius stepped back at the sight of the change that came over the brother whom he thought he knew. "What do you mean Angus? Don't do anything stupid I beg you by the gods." Angus laughed as he reached into his robe. "I am not doing anything stupid. This is something that should have been done a long time ago. I am doing the gods a favor. I am doing Camelorn a favor by saving then from the one person who has caused many troubles on them." Octavius kept his eyes locked on Angus' and as soon as his hand came out from behind his robe he knew there was no use fighting. Angus thought of everything. In his hand was a dagger with a golden liquid covering it. It was the Mekai. The one liquid that was known to kill gods and make them wandering souls. "You really want to do this?" Angus approached him. From the corner of his eyes tears fell from Octavius eyes. He knew this was the end, knew this was all his life was coming to and in that last mom
Cleopoda ran hastily down the hall, her legs barely touched the ground as she ran. She feared that one of the people in the library knew she had been there and may come for her. Tears threatened to blind her as she went. Who would believe that Uncle Angus took so many years to plan his own brother's downfall? The same Uncle Angus who loved her when no one else did, the same one who brother food to her when she was younger, the same one who risked war with an enemy nation to see that she was brought back home. How can the man in the library be the same Uncle Angus? Some part of her was glad that Father would be stripped of his power as King of Camelorn, the other part of her heart broke for him. He loved his brother very much yet that brother planned for years on how best to take his kingdom away from him. She felt sad for him but her anger at his treatment of her over these years threatened to overcome her pity for him. Uncle Angus even knew of Amelia's infidel
Cleopoda ran down the length of the hall looking for Angus. It was amazing what one declaration from the mouth of a prince could do. Since Uncle Angus made that declaration of her royalty in the morning the servants had treated her with a little more dignity even though they were still wary of her.She wasn't used to having any servant look at her with anything besides disdain, as though she was a common thing stuck to the bottom of their sandals, and curiosity. Now some even bowed slightly. Even Demeris seemed to acknowledge her presence when she stopped in the kitchen for some food for Ajun.As she walked the length of the hall ignoring the soldiers who stood guard she looked from side to side hoping to catch a glimpse of her beloved uncle. She was just about to give up searching for him when she heard his voice coming from the library. She stopped in her tracks listened to be sure it was indeed Uncle Angus. Sure enough, it was he.The door of the
Octavius raised his hands to silence the people who only yelled more, pumping their fists in the air as they shouted. Octavius looked helplessly at the angry faces as they demanded that he open the gates so they can destroy the temple or do something about their predicament. They spoke simultaneously and loudly that he could not hear a single word.Taking a deep breath he raised his voice high above the din. "People of Camelorn what is it you want?"The replied all at once. Octavius' ears hurt at their shouts. He took another breath and shouted louder."I can not hear what you all are saying and as such can not respond to your complaints. If you may please chose someone to speak for everyone."It was an impossible task. They were an angry mob and everyone wanted to represent the crowd. After much time had been wasted with much pushing and fighting the people finally chose a certain merchant who held a little girl in his arms. He held her
Even before the day started Octavius already knew it would be a day he would dread. It started with Asterah visiting him, draining even ounce of his strength before the day even began. How the goddess could never be satisfied with sex he would never know. He was glad that he was able to please her this time. But as soon as she left him and he heard the knock on the door he knew his bad day was about to get worse.It was Angus who knocked. He wore a light tunic and over it was his royal robe of dark blue with the coat of arms of Camelorn sewn below its shoulder."Brother," Octavius greeted, doing his best to sound formal and regal. "You look well."Angus entered the room."You look terrible," he chuckled. Octavius laughed too but in his heart, he knew that he was indeed a miserable man. He picked himself from his bed and drew his robe around his shoulders with a show of confidence."Any news from Amire?" He asked Angus."Much news. They w
Cleopoda looked at a sleeping Ajun at the foot of her bed. The palace was quiet at this time of the morning, it was just before dawn but she was already awake. In fact, she couldn't sleep throughout the night because her mind was troubled. Since her return to the palace a week ago there had been changes. The servants were still the same as ever, eyeing her curiously and wondering why she should be allowed to live in the palace but there was a bit of respect for her too because Uncle Angus had commanded that she should be treated like royalty. She still had to cover her head and eyes when moving about the palace, especially when she had to go to the kitchen or the washrooms to hide the allure that drew people to her. But these things weren't troubling her, what was the fact that she had seen someone who didn't belong in the palace creeping around. Her surprise at seeing him there had held her rooted to the ground especially when she had seen from whose room he was coming from.
Days after they left the Summer Palace to Camelorn the tension was still high in the atmosphere. The talk and fear of war increased drastically and words of it were whispered from soldier to soldier and servant to servant. Cleopoda remained in her room because Angus told her to. She knew he feared that if she ever ran into her father, Octavius in the halls he would send her back to the temple or someplace where he may never find her again. Father never visited her and neither did his new wife, Amelia and it hurt her but by now she was used to his lack of concern for her. She wanted nothing more than to see Mama Remin and Strukus, maybe even pay a visit to Zenas at the temple if he was still there but she was to remain within the walls of the room Angus had the servants prepare for her. She shared her room with Ajun who did nothing more than to eat and sleep and read the books Angus sent to her through the servants, they were folklore with sketched pictures. The boy barely had storie
"What have you done Angus! I sent you to Amire to congratulate our new comrade and you went to stare up trouble! The king of Amire has sent messengers promising war." He turned hateful eyes to her and glared at her with so much venom that made her want to sink to the ground and die. "And what is this cursed child doing here in my palace?!" Shocked Angus moved to shield Cleopoda from his brother's hateful glare. He had not expected Octavius to be here. He had planned to hide out here and plan the next way to let his brother know he brought back his daughter. "What are you doing here, Octavius? I thought you were at the palace in Camelorn" "Angus answer my question, I did not come here to trade petty words with you. What is this cursed child doing here?" There was no way he could distract his brother decided to be blunt. "Your child!" "Not my child! I did not birth evil. How dare you bring her here? Do you not know she possesses ev