It was just as Edomi was explaining the problem when the girls Rae had stumbled upon in the forest appeared.

  “There you are!” Edomi threw her arms around the two of them. The more ordinary of the two walked at the sight of Rae.

  “What are you doing here?”

  But before Rae could think of an answer, Edomi had taken the reins.

  “Thank the heavens you found her. And I've found just the person who can help us,”

  The witch girl blinked and mumbled a response, barely more lucid than she had been when Rae first caught sight of her. Edomi grabbed her by the shoulders and made her stand in front of Sebi.

  “This is the one. She’s been strange and lost for three days now. Sometimes she’ll wander off as if possessed. Whatever can we do for her?”

  Sebi coldly regarded the girl. Rae knew this icy demeanour was just his way, but the girl shivered under the scrutiny.

  “Are you aware of what’s happening when you wander off?” He asked.

  “Hmmm… Not really,”

  “Not really?”

  “I sometimes remember, after…” she glanced at Rae.

  “Do you notice it coming before it starts?

  Sebi asked her countless questions. And Rae drifted to the sidelines. The strange girl’s gaze followed him for a time. Sebi’s investigation and her sisters crowding around her created an impenetrable barrier.

  Rae’s limbs ached from the tension.

  He went to Zott. He was leaning against the tree he had previously been hiding in. He didn’t so much as glance at Rae as he approached, his scowl fixed on the girls crowding around Sebi.

  “We should ditch this healer,” he said, with no regard for volume.

  “Don’t be silly,” Rae hissed.

  “I’m not kidding. He’s holding us up with this nonsense,”

  “He’s only trying to help the sick girl,”

  “And we’ll be of no help. We should move on,”

  “What about your injury? He can help if it gets worse. And since we’re all going the same way, it’s safest if we travel together. Never mind about a few delays,”

  Zott only scowled.

  “In addition, Lady Edomi is a friend of mine. I’d worry if we left without making sure…”

  “Making sure the possessed girl isn’t dangerous?”

  Possessed? So Zott had noticed it too.

  Despite his grumbling, Zott was a servant, and Rae was the Shak. So, they settled down to spend one more night at the camp, with the ladies of Azalea House for company.

  Rae and Zott settled down to sleep next to each other, and soon Sebi joined them.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Rae asked.

  “It’s hard to say,”

  Zott groaned. Rae elbowed him. Sebi monotonously continued.

  “They say the symptoms started after she stepped onto witch’s ground,”

  Witch’s ground: areas of the forest which inexplicably reek of death. Burnt out clearings where no grass will grow, rings of ghost-white fungi, caves littered with bones.

  “It’s well known that trespassing can incur a cost. Whatever the curse is, it’s made worse by all the time spent out in the wilds. Once she’s returned to a camp, she should start to settle down. If not, some grounding herbs from a healer should help,”

  “Did they say where the witch’s ground was? We should be careful to avoid it,” Rae said.

  “Yes, yes. We should. It’s not far from Camp Ashem. I can show you on my map,”

  By this point, Sebi’s eyelids were drooping.

  “You better be ready to make some progress east tomorrow,” Zott said.

  In the tension in Sebi’s stature, the clench of his jaw, Rae saw the camel’s back was about to break.

  “Ignore him and get some rest. You’ve earned it,”

  There wasn’t much chatter that night, and soon the camp fell silent, save for gentle snores.

  Rae lay between Sebi and Zott, less than a foot from each of them. He could feel the warmth of soft breaths on his back. He turned to glance at a sleeping Sebi. He was more angelic than ever before, his palms pressed together under his cheek, hair spread out like moonbeams.

  Zott, despite being less striking, was not bad to look at either. Even when seemingly unconscious, all his muscles were tense and hard. He lay flat on his back, with hands resting on his stomach. Upon his face was still the slight shadow of a frown.

  Between too handsome and dependable men, Rae thought, and I’m still struggling to sleep peacefully…

  There was something off about that girl, something inhuman in her eyes. Rae had never met someone truly cursed by a witch before, so he lacked experience. But he was certain Sebi and Zott were being too flippant about her. There was something very wrong…

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Rae eventually slipped into sleep. And he slipped out of it just as easily.

  The sun wasn’t up yet, and a gentle, rustling calm had settled over the forest. Despite the long night, Rae, bundled in his furs as he was, was starting to get clammy. He peeled himself free, the cool air refreshing against his skin, and looked about the camp.

  The ladies of Azalea hall were all sleeping huddled together, wrapped in more furs and silks than Rae was.

  The previous night, the two groups had pooled their food rations. Rae grabbed a handful of dried berries. After he’d eaten them, he started fixing his hair.

  He combed it as neatly as he could manage and tied it in a ponytail. He tied it with the red ribbon he had bought on the day Ven had confessed to him. He shuddered. Even all these months later, his skin tingled where Ven had touched.

  He was getting better at fixing his own hair, but the ribbon was made of slippery silk, and he couldn’t tie it so the bow sat symmetrically.

  He untied it and sighed. Soon…

  Before he could try again, the ribbon slipped from his grip.

  “Hey!”

  That girl. The one who had been acting so strangely had sneaked over and snatched the ribbon right out of his hands.

  “Give that back!”

  She glanced back at him, her eyes sparkling. She let out a high-pitched giggle before sprinting away.

  Rae hesitated for a breath, then took off after her.

  Rae was an energetic young man. Despite his small frame, he could move with precision and power. These had served him on many a hunting trip. Despite having the element of surprise on her side, and being propelled by the power of lunacy, the girl was no match for him.

  He kept pace as she took a twisting, debris-laden route through the undergrowth. She was only wearing a white dress, torn in places from her previous escapades. Rae winced as he watched her sprint across a bramble patch.

  If she was in any pain, it was hysterical to her. Her high, bubbling laughter echoes through the trees.

  Rae spared a thought for those back at the camp.

  Did they wake? Will they follow me?

  He had taken off without thinking and was now wondering exactly what sort of fight she would put up if he tried to drag her back to the others.

  It was just as Rae was thinking this, that the girl slowed her flight. The terrain was rocky here, but that hadn’t slowed her down at first. Instead of running, she wandered around a clearing, glancing at Rae gleefully.

  “Are you finished?” Rae asked. He stopped at the edge of the clearing, and hid his exhaustion with a smile, “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head, and wandered back and forth, in a senseless rhythm which echoed the dance Rae had witnessed the previous morning. She twirled the stolen ribbon between her fingers, dragging it behind her like the tail of a kite.

  Rae chuckled and echoed her movements. He didn’t try to grab the ribbon just yet.

  Smiling at her kindly, he said “Your dress is ripped, and your feet are bleeding. Why don’t we go back to the camp?”

  She looked at him dreamily.

  “You’re the Shak,” she said.

  Rae’s heart was in his chest, he schooled his expression.

  “Why do you-?”

  Before he could finish, she held out the ribbon and said, “Is this yours?”

  As Rae reached for the ribbon, the girl surged forward. The ground beneath Rae was uneven, and his foot slipped and he tumbled. The girl was on top of him, grasping at his waist.

  For a moment, Rae didn’t realise how dangerous her intentions could be. He thought this was her pitiful attempt at sexual harassment.

  “What-?”

  But, no. What she was groping to find was the dagger he kept concealed in his belt. He felt her shaking hands settle on something, and the press of metal against his stomach.

  Before she could do any damage, he grabbed her wrist and wrestled the blade away from his body.

  “What are you doing?!”

  She smiled with crescent eyes.

  She shook off Rae’s grip. Lifted above her head, Rae got his first flashing glimpse of the blade.

  As she brought the blade down, the girl spoke in a changed voice —whispering, hissing, cursing —a voice of multitudes.

  “Son of the son of the son of five sons, the covenant ends with you,”

  Rae caught the hand, but the knife caught his wrist too. A flash of pain gave way to the ache of defending against the crazed girl. He couldn't feel blood flowing, nor was the pain unbearable, so he put it out of his mind. She was bearing down on him with the weight of a bear. Any second, Rae was sure his bones would shatter.

  Isn’t this a dancing girl? A courtesan? How is she so…

  An animal growl. Like a miasma, her murderous intent choked Rae. He let out a grunt. She spit on him, and he couldn’t spare a hand to wipe it. They were locked in a battle of strength. To an onlooker, it would look as if they were barely moving, only holding each other and trembling. But if Rae made one small slip up, he would be mince meat at her disposal!

  There was a thud, and the pressure suddenly subsided.

  “Don’t just lie there,” said a cold voice. A tight, sneering, welcome voice.

  Zott had kicked the girl with enough force to send her flying. Rae scrambled to his feet.

  The girl was up just as quickly.

  “Stay out of this, you welp!” she growled.

  “Be careful, she has a-“

  Zott didn’t give the girl a chance to pounce again. He wrestled her to the ground.

  “-a knife,” Rae finished, and seeing as the threat was neutralised, he plucked the blade from the prone girl’s hands, slipping it back into the sheath on his belt.

  Behind him, he heard footsteps. He flinched, before looking back to Edomi, Sebi, and the rest of the Azalea house descending on the scene.

  “Don’t hurt her!” Edomi shouted.

  Sebi sprinted ahead of her and whizzed past Rae. In the blink of an eye, he was crouched beside Zott and the girl, who were battling for dominance. He took a needle from his medicine bag and viciously jabbed the girl on the neck. Within seconds, she’d slumped to the ground.

  “Is- is she-?” Edomi asked.

  “She’s unconscious. Whatever curse has overtaken her, my sedatives are more potent,”

  Now that the threat was neutralised, it was evident the two groups must go their separate ways. Sebi gave Edomi a large supply of sedatives, to keep the girl from running off until they could return to civilisation and cleanse her of the curse. Then he patched up the wound on Rae’s palm, they returned to the camp, packed up their things, and parted ways.

  When they had been walking for about an hour, Zott spoke up “Haven’t you forgotten something?”

  “What?” Rae said. He had been dazedly going along with whatever would get them back on track, since the attack, and shuddered at the thought of turning back to look for something.

  “Isn’t this yours?” Zott asked.

  Rae looked back. Zott was holding the red ribbon.

  “Your hair’s a mess. Do you want me to tie it for you?”

  “Hm. Okay,”