Free The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse by Melissa Myers

her and what sounded like one of them actually vomiting, but
she didn’t look back. The other girls from the village hated her,
and if they had noticed her attention it would have infuriated
them. It was only through Dominic’s protection that she was
tolerated at all. “Violence begets violence.” Zoelyn whispered the
words at the same time Dominic spoke them to the rest of their
small group. The words were a mantra to him and had become one to
her long ago. Her eyes scanned the blackened landscape and she had
to agree with his logic. She had never before seen a battlefield,
but she had seen plenty of injuries during her time living in
Dominic’s house, and from what she could tell they never solved
anything.
    “Girls, I want you to gather quickly all of
the soiled bandages you can find and take them to the river to
wash. We can boil them when you return, but most of the filth will
need to be removed before that,” he ordered and then paused as his
dark eyes scanned the numerous tents that had been set up to house
the wounded. “From the looks of things, my magic won’t stretch far
enough here. Some will have to be patched up the old fashioned way
until I have time to get to them with magic,” Dominic explained
with a sigh as he pulled his horse to a stop and dismounted. He was
a tall man, with the frame of a fighter. Thick muscles knotted his
arms and shoulders, but he carried no weapons. The lack of weapons,
combined with his complete lack of armor, made him stand out in the
camp almost as much as the dress-clad girls that swiftly moved to
do his bidding. Dominic turned to watch them leave before looking
back at Zoelyn. Brushing his hand lightly through his short tangled
brown hair, he smiled faintly. “I think we are going to be here a
while, Zoey. Why don’t you take our horses down for water and get
them settled. I’ll see if I can find someone else to care for the
rest of them.”
    Zoelyn nodded and dismounted silently. Her
heavy boots thudded loudly in the dirt and a few passersby paused
to give her curious glances. Compared with the rest of her group,
she supposed she did make an odd sight. The rest wore light cotton
or wool in bright colors and she was clad from head to toe in heavy
dark leather. Not even her face showed through the hood of her long
coat. It wasn’t by choice, though, and on days as humid as today
she wished she could shed it all. That simply wasn’t possible,
though, and she knew it. Carefully, she took the reins from Dominic
and gathered the horses as he turned toward the tents.
    Dominic paused mid-step and looked back at
her with a thoughtful expression. “Zoey, take a bucket with you if
you would. I doubt any of the girls I sent had enough sense to
realize I will need hot water in large supply to boil the bandages.
They are likely pondering why exactly I’m going to boil bandages in
the first place.” He sighed again and shook his head, rolling his
eyes.
    Zoelyn nodded with a faint smile and moved
quietly to the pack horse, taking care not to touch the animal
directly. She wore her gloves, but it was a habit that she had
developed before Dominic had made the gloves for her. She never
touched anything living, directly. Draping the reins of both horses
over one of her arms she moved closer to the beast and began to
work at the rope holding the buckets securely. The thick leather of
her gloves made working the knots loose a larger chore than it
should have been, but she was used to such things.
    With a sigh, she grabbed the reins that were
slipping from her arm and tucked them tighter against her. Before
she could glance up again, the bucket fell to her feet with a solid
thud and she looked up quickly to find the ropes that had secured
it swinging loosely against the pack saddle. The horses snorted
softly at the noise and her quick movement. Glancing around, Zoelyn
frowned and reached down to pick up the bucket, taking care to move
slower so the horses would settle once more. She