Cursed by Darkness (Once Upon A Curse)

25. Juniper

TWENTY-FIVE

Juniper

Devastated by such tremendous loss and consumed by grief, Ronna gave in. She ordered her army to Valétoi to stand beside that of Mesairla. At her side, Eryx promised her vengeance. He vowed to fight to the death if that was what it took to defeat Theran.

And he kept that vow.

J uniper pulled her blanket up around her, shifting to find a more comfortable position as she continued reading Bodin’s journal. She hadn’t wanted to intrude on his private thoughts, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself either. A tiny voice inside had told her that this was important, this was what they needed.

That was last night. She had brought it to her room with the promise to get some sleep, and instead, she had curled up in bed with a lantern on the small table next to her and read until she fell asleep mid-sentence as the sky began to lighten. When Nadine came in to ready her for the day, Juniper claimed she needed to rest. Nadine, Richard, and Samuel knew the truth, but to anyone else, she would simply seem tired from worry. She also had Nadine tell people she had a horrible headache and wasn’t feeling well so that no one would expect her downstairs or bother her here.

Nadine had asked if she found anything that could help, but Juniper hadn’t been ready to discuss what she’d read. It was a lot to take in, and honestly, she still didn’t have the answers entirely. She’d needed to read it again when she wasn’t fighting to keep her eyes open.

So, that was how she spent the entire day.

At first, she had just skimmed through the pages. She was only searching for information on his father and the war, not his private thoughts. But she soon realized it was all entwined. There was no separating one from the other.

He wrote about his family a lot in the beginning. And to her surprise, the entries started before the war broke out. Before his brother was killed.

Elias has no idea that our parents are arranging his marriage already at nine years old. They have made a deal with the King of Forosse. Elias is to marry the youngest of the king’s children, their only princess—Juniper.

That had nearly stopped her heart the first time. She traced a finger over her name now. It was so strange to see it here.

Bodin went on to talk about how guilty he felt that the arrangement wasn’t for himself. But his parents had insisted the only reason why they were doing this was to help the other kingdom. Forosse had been struggling then too, and it seemed her father had offered the same deal. His daughter and an army in exchange for riches. Mesairla hadn’t needed extra soldiers at the time, but knowing how often fighting broke out in the valley, Bodin’s parents agreed it would be a good idea to have them in case history repeated itself in their lifetime.

Bodin’s parents knew he had already set his sights on Camille, so they didn’t want to force him to marry a different person. Not to mention a princess so much younger than him.

Their plan is to bring Juniper here right away, raise her so they grow up together and hopefully become friends. Then, when they are of age, getting married shouldn’t seem like such an imposition. It still feels wrong to me though, taking away their choices.

Of course, he felt that way. Bodin cared about others with his whole being. It pained Juniper to know that most of his people didn’t see that. They didn’t know how everything he did was for them.

She skimmed through until she reached his brother’s death. The words scribbled here made her chest physically hurt. Her heart ached for Bodin.

He’d just been playing outside with his new friend. They were so innocent, so young. It’s not fair. It should have been me. The assassin was looking for me when they saw him sneaking into the palace that day.

I don’t even know what happened to the sweet little girl…

She disappeared, and I can only hope it’s because she was rushed back to Forosse with the rest of their envoy. I saw her playing with her light magic with Elias in the gardens that day, so it will be safer for her there.

While being interrogated, the assassin finally admitted he was from Gilarn. My father is outlawing Lumen magic. I think he’s going to declare war.

Juniper stared at the page in confusion. She vaguely remembered playing with the prince—not that she knew who he was—and they had shown each other their magic, but something strange kept standing out to her about that.

She had told Bodin that Richard had been with her because he always was, and that even he hadn’t been able to stop the assassin. But the more she thought about it, she didn’t remember her guard being around. If he had been there, she wouldn’t have shared her magic. She’d been told since she was a toddler to keep it a secret, even from the guards and castle staff.

Richard didn’t know about her magic, so he couldn’t have been with them. So, where was he? Why was she alone with the prince? Where were his guards?

Something wasn’t adding up. She thought about needing to talk to Richard while skimming through more, drawn toward the last filled pages that had haunted the little sleep she managed to get last night.

The rest in between talked about the war, but it wasn’t anything that could help. Most were details she already knew. Then, there were entries about Camille. She had to skip past the parts regarding her traumatic death. The first time she read it, Juniper had cried so hard she nearly made herself sick.

Then, there were a few pages on Beatrice. He hadn’t loved her, that much was clear, but he cared for her and considered her a friend. It had been heartbreaking to him when they struggled to get pregnant, but the idea of succeeding also terrified him.

All of it was dark and painful after his brother’s death. But nothing compared to the last dozen pages. With a shaking hand, she turned to the part about Beatrice’s death. His parents’ deaths. The horrifying monster that had attacked Bodin, Beatrice, and their guards in the woods and then found its way to the palace, killing dozens of people along the way.

Bodin had witnessed their gruesome ends. He’d failed to save them. But in his attempt to capture the beast, he discovered the magic to create new worlds. Worlds only accessible by a door that could be locked and reinforced by his magic. Worlds that didn’t include people who could be hurt.

Many of the pages regarding this period were impossible to read. Ink crossed out various lines, others seemed to be written over one another. It was often illegible, as if he’d poured his grief and anger out through the words.

Every bit of it broke Juniper’s heart. He’d gone through so much in a relatively short amount of time, and he’d lost nearly everything.

I used one of the old cellars that had been abandoned long ago. A large round room with twelve doors—prison cells, my father once told me, from before they built the new dungeon. This strange new power let me create a forest in which to trap the monster. No one knows but Laurent, for it would not have been possible without his help.

I owe him my life.

He saved me, and then had my back when I needed him most. Not once did he flinch from the danger. Even when I urged him to run far away, insisting I was cursed to lose everyone I loved.

Laurent stayed. He has never left my side, and for that, I owe him so much more.

Juniper set the journal down and swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew they were close, but this… Sniffling, she made a silent vow to thank Laurent when they returned. She would gratefully endure all of his ridiculous antics for the rest of her days.

Drying her hands on the blankets, she picked up the journal and resumed. After trapping the monster, Bodin continued practicing with his newfound magic. The rest was filled with sketches. Beautiful landscapes she’d visited through the portals were illustrated across several pages, as if he’d needed to plan them here first. They were almost as breathtaking as the real thing. She’d had no idea he was artistic in this way.

Except, following them, it grew darker and darker. There were eerie forests, foggy lakes. She stopped on a drawing that chilled her to the bone. A terrifying creature stared at her from the book, surrounded by dead trees. The monster he and Laurent had trapped.

It was difficult to determine what she was looking at precisely; it wasn’t like any animal she’d ever seen. It seemed to be made of shadows, with eyes that stood out against the darkness and extra-long, sharp fangs.

Juniper swallowed and turned the page, not wanting to see it anymore. But the next few were only about the monster, as if he couldn’t stop thinking about it, and then there was nothing. Just as she’d seen the night before. She kept hoping there was more information that could help them.

Flipping toward the beginning, she stilled on one of pages marred by a lot of ink. She turned it over, looking at it from the back. Through the black spots and lines scribbling across everything, she noticed one word repeated over and over.

She hadn’t even noticed before. It was nearly impossible to see unless holding it at the right angle. The letters were backward looking at it this way, but there wasn’t any doubt in her mind what they were. The one word written over and over, crossed out, covered, and written again in Bodin’s pain and agony.

One word that sent a shiver down her spine.

Umbra .

The rebel group who wanted this war because they believed those with Noxian power were superior. But why had her husband written their name so many times?

This journal wasn’t giving her any answers. All it did was leave her with more questions than ever. Groaning, she slammed the book shut and tossed it onto the nightstand. It hit the corner, and she quickly reached out to stop it from tumbling, but something fell out of it, clinking against the floor. Juniper’s forehead creased as she tried to see what it was.

Making sure the journal was steady, she climbed out of bed and knelt.

With shaking fingers, she held the small object up into the sunlight. Her heart raced as she examined the ornate iron key.

The key designed to match the twelfth and final portal door.

Which she now knew was actually the first.

The one he created to contain that vicious monster.