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Chapter 58
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2024-10-29 19:42:56He dreaded the moments when he woke up to prepare for the council room meetings. As he slipped his royal robe on he couldn’t shake the feeling that today’s meeting would be different, it was a wariness by the daemon in him that gave him that knowledge. He looked at himself, ran a finger over the vein that thumped inhumanly slow in his wrist, the place where daemon blood mixed with his own human blood flowed and knew. The dark clouds around his head hung lower today but he squared his shoulders and opened the door of his chambers. He walked down the hallway with a raised chin, an arrogance that he would never feel as long as he was half daemon. The soldiers in the corridors bowed at his approach, he raised his hand and passed by them to the council room.
There his heart dropped, his suspicions confirmed. This would not be like the previous ones, if not the feeling he had in his guts and his bones, the faces of the nobles gathered around the room confirmed it. T
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He knew something was different. He could tell that the meeting in the Council Room today would be different from the others. He could feel it in the gloom that hung in the air around him and he almost didn't want to don on his royal robe. As he walked down the hallway of the palace Octavius wished he could merge himself with the wall away from the world and his responsibilities as king of Camelorn. He had woken up sharply after dreaming of several ways to kill Ashterah and has woken up disappointed to find that he was on his bed with her brand on his neck. The guards stood at their place by the wall and when he approached the dark wood door of the Council Room one of the guards stationed there pushed it open. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the nobles standing rather than sitting. Unlike before when they would be feasting on the food the servants served for them even before he arrived, they were standing around with grim faces that didn't bode well with him. At hi
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Robos sat on a glass throne watching the priests deliver the blows to Octavius' naked back, on his face was a smug smile and his eyes were ruthless. The nobles had been relegated to the shadows for fear of angering the god. They watched with fear as Octavius received the lashes without a single sound, he grimaced and clenched his tied hands but refused to openly make a sound to indicate the pain he was going through. With every rise and fall of the whip blood flew from torn flesh still Octavius refused to make a sound. When the beating was over the old priest took a bowl and placed it below Octavius' bowed body so that the blood that ran from his back fell into it. At Robos' behest, the priest took the bowl to the statue and poured the blood out on the feet of it. Robos eyes glowed and on his skin ran white light that climbed all the way to his neck and around his mouth. He smacked his lips with a satisfied smile and stood up approaching Octavius. "Now your sins are
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From some sensible part of his head Octavius knew what he was about to do was the most foolish thing a non-citizen of Mount Kpamos was ever to do but he was beyond reasoning. The moment Ashterah has climbed the bed to expose herself to him something in him had snapped. While his body longed for her his broken soul knew better, his anger at her one solution to everything brought a rage so intense he could almost taste on his tongue. As he lunged at the red-haired goddess her face had shown pleasure and she had reached up to kiss him but when he got close enough that she could see his eyes something strange had passed across her face. Instead of kissing her and waiting for her to direct him on how to please her as he used to, he grabbed her throat and pulled her up so she could meet his mouth. The kiss he bestowed on her was passionless and brutal but she took it because she was Ashterah and she was stupid. She even reached up to wrap her hand around his neck. "That's
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"My king you need to open this door so the healer can take a look at your wounds. You could have an infection and possibly - die from it." Octavius listened from within. For days Garius had camped in front of his chambers asking to be let in, asking for entrance for the priests and the healers so that they could make certain that he will not die and he had refused. He didn't want anyone to see him, not when he looked so grotesque and disfigured. He was healing rapidly, more than a normal human being will but his skin was still wrinkled and he didn't want to be seen that way. In her own demented way, Ashterah had been kind enough to save him the shame of a scarred face. He feared that his scars may never properly heal but he could cover them with clothes while he couldn't do the same with his face. Not surprising that she hadn't come to see how he was faring. Usually, she hid in the shadows to watch him sleep or to grope at him but since that day at her temple at Moun
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With hands across her chest, Cleopoda looked up while Remin applied fresh ointment to her arms and shoulders. The joint in her shoulder ached and the skin around it was so swollen it looked like a deflated ball. On her face were white streaks from her tears, tears that she had long since grown weary of. Her face hurt less now but if the hurt in her hands were anything to go by she would have preferred to have her cheeks stinging than her hands laying uselessly on her body. Mama Remin worked in silence but Cleopoda could hear her sniff from time to time. She refused to look at her and see the pity in her face, in fact, she wished the woman would be done dressing her injuries so she would leave. All Cleopoda wanted was to be in peace, she wanted to have a quiet place to herself, why wouldn't anyone let her have it? As if the troubles of the palace were not enough for her the voices in her head were louder. In the night they were unbearable, so much that she only had time
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It was odd that when Strukus was with her the voices in her head ceased. They were totally silent. It always struck her how different the noise around her was compared to the ones in her head when they stopped. She glanced at Strukus who was no longer concerned about her nose but was now fussing over her shoulders. The small goblet where he has poured some ointment lay beside him and now and then he reached into it to scoop some on his fingers so he could rub it along the length of her arm. On the bedside table beside the lamp, he had lit to disperse the darkness around them lay the jar of honey he had brought for her. It was his gift to her after such a long time of not seeing each other. At intervals, he poured some on his palm and raised it to her lips. "They really shouldn't be treating you this way. You are the princess. Princesses are meant to be spoiled and pampered and only concerned with fabric textures for their tunic." Cleopoda snorted. "That would make th
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A year has come and gone but some things remain constant. Cleopoda the strings of the battered armor to tighten it around her body, the laces were so worn that she took great measures to pull it carefully so they don't cut. No doubt Garius had a squire who dressed him in his own armor. Garius armor was clean and shiny whereas hers was old and rusted. Strukus had come to her room the previous day like he always did these days but was long gone before the crack of dawn but before slipping out of her room he had pressed some coins into her hands. He never said what she was to use it for since there was nothing she could possibly buy in the palace but he asked her to keep them and promised to send more through Remin. Now that the coins were safely stowed in her trunk she knew what she would use them for, she would get a new sword, shield and armor since she couldn't ask Garius for new ones. "Will you stay in there all day plotting what evils would befall the royal househol
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She was moving. She felt it she didn't know it because she was still unconscious. Hard hands held her and whoever held her was moving at a fast pace, crushing her stomach to his shoulder but she couldn't make any sound of complaint, no words could come out of her mouth. She was slipping in and out of consciousness for who knows how long. The last time she opened her eyes she was being hoisted on top of a horse, the next time the horse was moving fast on the hard floor the galloping of the horse made her stomach retch. When she tried to open her eyes to see where she was being taken her eyes met with thick darkness. She moaned and tried to widen her eyes so she could see clearly. Only then did she notice that a cloak had been draped over her to completely hide her from the villagers. When she tried to move to remove the cloak a still hand gripped her and hot breath fell against her cheek. "If you try to be stupid you'll find yourself at the end of my sword."&nbs
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Cursed by the Gods: Cleopoda CBTG Book 1 Author's note
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.
Cursed by the Gods: Cleopoda CBTG Book 1 Chapter 123
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Cursed by the Gods: Cleopoda CBTG Book 1 Chapter 118
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.
Cursed by the Gods: Cleopoda CBTG Book 1 Chapter 117
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
Cursed by the Gods: Cleopoda CBTG Book 1 Chapter 116
"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
