Cursed by Darkness (Once Upon A Curse)

1. Juniper

ONE

Juniper

When the universe came to be, the King of Gods had three children. The eldest were twins: Theran, the God of Light, and Eryx, the God of Darkness. But it was their sister, Ronna, who truly held the power.

W ringing her hands together, Juniper wondered if it was too late to sneak off, to escape and disappear into this vast foreign kingdom. Surely the gathered crowds around the palace would help her blend in.

Though, the white dress might make that difficult.

She tried to keep the rest of her body still as Nadine—the woman sent to be her new lady’s maid—pinned her hair into place. Most of her long blond waves were left down, brushing her lower back, but tiny braids had been twisted in here and there, giving it an intricate, regal look. Nadine had also lined Juniper’s green eyes with kohl and painted her lips a light red.

Only Juniper’s eldest brother, Raphael, waited in the room with them. He met her gaze in the mirror and gave a small smile. She tried to keep her own in place, but it was difficult when she was on the verge of crying. Not even her mother had come with them, which hurt more than she cared to admit.

“There we go,” Nadine said. “Perfect.” She had insisted on helping her prepare in the bold styles of Mesairla, but she managed to weave in some elements from Juniper’s home, where their preferences leaned toward simple and more conservative. The lacy white dress that had been made and brought with them from Forosse had been altered to add thin flowing chiffon skirts that were popular here. Her makeup and hair were done to appear natural, but they had been amplified to match the way the people here liked to embellish everything.

From what she remembered of her minimal time visiting this court as a child, everything was so grand here, overdone. She’d dreamt about the open ballroom surrounded by towering columns instead of walls for years. Though, that was about as much as she could recall.

When her father first told her about the arrangement and she voiced her disinterest in marrying a stranger, he had insisted she’d met the then-prince during her visits, as well as his younger brother, who was closer to her age. However, the last time she was here, she had only been six years old, and her not-yet betrothed was over a decade older than her. Not to mention the fact that she hadn’t been introduced as the princess. For her safety, while traveling, her parents had always hidden her true identity, making her act as if she were the daughter of a maid instead. She had mostly stayed in the servants’ quarters.

Prince Bodin would have been practically an adult when she was here.

King Bodin now. The widowed king everyone feared.

Her stomach churned.

“Can you give us a moment, please?” her brother said, cutting into her spiraling thoughts.

The maid nodded and left them alone, closing the door.

“Juni, what’s wrong?” Rafe asked, moving to stand behind Juniper and meeting her gaze in the mirror. His dark attire, pale brown hair, and golden-brown eyes contrasted with her white dress and light coloring.

She scoffed and turned to face him. “What’s wrong? Father is making me marry a monster.”

“King Bodin isn’t a monster. You know better than anyone how stories can be distorted the more they are spread.”

Juniper hated when he was reasonable and made sense. It was beyond infuriating. “So, he didn’t kill his first two wives?”

“His first wife died giving birth,” Rafe said in a soft tone, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not sure what happened to the second, but if he’s the man I remember, I don’t believe that he killed her. He was quiet and broody, but not a bloodthirsty murderer.”

She wanted to believe him, but she was still terrified. “I know this alliance is important, but why do I have to marry him? Isn’t there another way? Or can’t it wait a little longer? You know… so I could meet him before walking down the aisle, get to know him.”

Sighing, Rafe pulled her into a hug. With a dozen years between their ages, he had always felt more like a parental figure than a sibling. At twenty-one, she still looked up to him in that way. Especially with how little she saw their mother, father, and the rest of their brothers. Most hadn’t even traveled with them to attend the wedding. Only Rafe and their brother Hugo accompanied her, and the latter barely spoke to her.

Rafe had always been there, looking after her, reading to her, teaching her how to protect herself. Though, his visits to her quarters had been sparse with too much time in between the older she got.

It was going to hurt to say goodbye tomorrow.

“I wish there was another way,” he whispered against the side of her head. “I tried to convince Father to find a different solution, but he refused.”

Because they needed the small fortune he’d traded for her. Her kingdom was struggling immensely, its people starving, so the king had sold his only daughter, his youngest child, the Princess of Forosse, to the one man rich enough to save them.

“Besides,” Rafe went on, “this gets you out of that tower.”

“But how do you know I’m not trading one gilded cage for another?”

He sighed. “I don’t…” He grabbed her bouquet—light pink roses, white lilies, and a variety of flowers in different shades of lavender, intermixed with greenery that cascaded in front of her when she carried it.

“I don’t want to marry a stranger.” She took the flowers then leaned into her brother. “Let alone one so much older than me, who’s already been married twice. Isn’t he older than you?”

“By a couple months, I think.” Regret filled his voice.

“What if…” She swallowed. “What if he expects too much? What if he hurts me?”

Rafe pressed a kiss to her temple. He didn’t respond. Normally, she appreciated him not giving her false promises, but right now, she just wanted her brother to lie and tell her everything would be all right.

“He won’t,” Nadine said as she returned.

Juniper hadn’t heard her enter. Releasing Rafe, she turned toward the woman and glanced at the lace veil in her hands. Nadine gave her a sad smile. One that told Juniper she understood—as only women of this realm could—that this wasn’t her choice. It was comforting, in a way. It reminded Juniper that she wasn’t entirely alone. She might not have known this woman before arriving, but she silently thanked the goddess for whomever had assigned Nadine to be her new maid.

Nadine stepped closer to pin the veil in place behind her tiara. “King Bodin is a good man. He might seem intimidating, but he’d never harm a soul outside of battle. He’s been through a lot, and as a result, he’s built up walls around himself that make him appear distant and uncaring, but it’s a fa?ade. He cares more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“You sound as if you know him well,” Rafe said.

She nodded. “My mother has been the head chef down in the kitchens for nearly two decades, and I used to help out as a child. I grew up here in the palace, so I’ve known him my whole life, and most of us here in Kehlir know he’s not the vicious ruler the rest of the realm thinks he is.”

That made Juniper feel a little better, but only just. It didn’t help the other concerns screaming on a loop in her head.

She was a princess in title only. Her life thus far had been spent confined by the same stone tower walls day after day. And in a few short minutes, she would walk down the aisle to marry a king. By the end of the evening, she would be the Queen of Mesairla.

Remembering that nearly made her sick. She didn’t know the first thing about being a queen, despite her own mother being one. Everything she did know came from books, fairy tales.

She couldn’t even think about what happened after the ceremony. Sharing a bed for the first time, and with a stranger…

She learned about that from books too, as well as whispers from the maids back home. On the way here, Rafe had asked her if their mother informed her of what was to occur, and when she’d told him no, he’d looked like he wanted to jump out of the moving carriage. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to explain it, but Juniper had cut him off with a laugh and said she’d already learned about the basics.

Please stop. I’ve read the anatomy books and understand the mechanics of it , she’d said, grinning through the underlying fear. His embarrassment and panic had been enough to make her relax for a little while at least.

“Juniper,” Rafe said, taking her hand and squeezing. “Take a deep breath.”

She followed his instructions and focused on the present. After a couple minutes, Nadine asked, “Are you ready?”

Juniper nodded, unable to speak, and let the maid lower her veil in front of her face. Then, she and Rafe followed her out through the corridor toward the courtyard.

Two of their guards stood just outside. Meeting the eyes of the older one standing nearest to her gave her a semblance of comfort. Richard had been with her most of her life, watching over her and stepping in like a parent when hers avoided her. She spent more time with him than her own family, and she was grateful for his presence here. Even if it was temporary.

“Princess,” he said with a smile.

When she reached for him, he broke protocol to wrap her in a cautious hug.

“You look incredible.” Richard gently pushed her back and tilted her chin up with calloused fingers. He had his own blond hair smoothed back, and his uniform was pristine. But the circles under his dark blue eyes betrayed the exhaustion she also felt from traveling nearly a week to get here and not having much time to rest before the ceremony. She knew, however, that even when this weary, he was still the most capable guard she knew. The only one she fully trusted. He gave a small, understanding nod. “Congratulations, Your Highness. I… met the king earlier, and I think this will be a good match.”

The other guard, who she only barely recognized from their travels, cleared his throat.

Richard rolled his eyes. “Not that it’s my place to tell you such things.”

Juniper chuckled softly and hugged him once more. “Thank you.”

She released him and stepped back, hooking her arm through her brother’s again. Then, she nodded, indicating it was time. She was ready for them to open the doors to the courtyard.

To the man on the other side waiting to become her husband.