Blood Curse (Branded Trilogy Book 2) Read Online Free

explanation was needed. Her brother came to know when Tsura was involved.
    “Are you okay?” he asked his thick eyebrows pulled together with concern.
    “It seems I’ve broken a few ribs.” She inhaled, not prepared for the powerful ache in her side which caused her to involuntarily groan.
    He nodded, and without further conversation he bent, picked up Pril and gently set her on her feet.
    “We need to move him,” Stefan said.
    “You will be all right?” Galius asked her.
    “Sorina will aide me.”
    The men hoisted Mr. Walker and carried him to the supply wagon behind Pril’s.
    “What happened?” Sorina whispered.
    “We…he slipped leaving the vardo. I tried to help him.” She prayed her friend would believe the lie.
    “All is well, good people of Riverbend,” Sorina said, smiling at the crowd around them. “Mr. Walker slipped while exiting Pril’s vardo. She tried to aide him and in turn fell, too. They will be fine in no time.” She waited until they disbursed before she placed her arm around Pril’s waist. “Come now, friend. I need to wrap you tight.”
    “I need to see Tsura.”
    “After I’ve examined you.”
    Pril stopped. Each breath was paired with a pain so intense it penetrated across her middle, and she gasped. “No, right now.”
    Sorina sighed. “Very well.”
     
    It’d taken Pril the better part of an hour to calm her daughter down, and in the end she placed a sleeping spell over her. The ox charm hung from the bed where they slept, and she grazed it with her fingertip. If something ever happened to Tsura, Pril would die. She’d need to examine her mother’s book again for a new spell, one she could create to protect Tsura and the other children. There had to be something she’d missed.
    She frowned. The powers Tsura held were difficult for even Pril to understand, but she needed to find a way to show her how to control them. She’d watched her sister as they’d grown and was often bewildered by all the possibilities her magick held. But Tsura was different—Tsura was stronger.
    At four years old, she was a Chuvani but no Peddler saw her as such. They were a band of misfit gypsies from all different clans. When Vadoma died, Pril and her brothers decided to go off on their own. The Renoldi clan they’d grown up with didn’t need to suffer for Vadoma’s sins, and because Pril refused to give up the child, it put them in danger.
    She bent and brushed her lips over Tsura’s forehead before leaving to go stand by the table.
    “She sleeps?” Sorina asked as she brushed her long black hair from her shoulder to lay across her back.
    “She does.”
    “Come, let me bind your ribs and give you some tea that will relieve the pain.”
    Pril removed her blouse.
    “Had you been wearing a full corset your ribs would still be intact,” Sorina said and snickered.
    “That may be so, but surely I would’ve punctured my heart from the corset bone itself.” Pril hated the corset; instead she wore a short stay that only went a bit below the breasts allowing her midsection to be free of anything tight and encompassing.
    “I am afraid you will need to wear one for the next week.”
    She groaned.
    “We won’t do it up too tight, but you’ll need to sleep with it on as well.”
    “Very well.” She pulled the unpleasant contraption from the trunk and handed it to her friend.
    The woman wrapped it around Pril’s midsection and wove the silk through the holes lacing it. “Hold on,” she said while pulling the silk together to bind her stomach, ribs and lungs tight.
    She whimpered as Sorina tied the back. Her ribs seemed to hurt more with the corset than without. Unsure if she should sit, she remained standing and watched as Sorina mixed the Horsetail tea.
    She hated the herb. It tasted awful and smelled worse, too. For all the good it did she knew, even before Sorina handed her the cup, she’d not be able to drink it.
    When the other woman wasn’t watching, Pril opened the jar of