Cursed by Darkness (Once Upon A Curse)

27. Bodin

TWENTY-SEVEN

Bodin

When it became clear to the people that their gods no longer cared for them, most stopped fighting. The war faded into smaller and smaller battles until only the three siblings were left facing one another in the Valley of Stars.

There, day and night had their final battle.

B odin let out a frustrated groan and threw a stick into the crackling fire. Hugo had shown up earlier in the evening, and after a quick confirmation that Juniper was fine, they all made their plans to continue toward Valétoi first thing in the morning.

Except for Bodin. Everyone agreed that he should go home and rest for a few days before rejoining them.

Because apparently, being the king meant nothing here. None of them cared, regardless of how hard he tried to explain that he needed to return to the camp. He wanted to see June, but now that he knew she was fine, he was contemplating how to steal a horse and ride north with Rafe’s men without them noticing.

“Go to Juniper,” Laurent said, tossing a twig at him. They sat around a fire between the Forrossan army’s tents and the small town.

Hugo took a seat next to Laurent with two flasks. He handed one to his brother on his other side and took a swig before saying, “She misses you and is worried sick. When I got there, she was wallowing in bed and hadn’t left it all day, from what I’d been told. We stayed there talking for a while, but by the time I was leaving, she was up and ready to carry on.”

Laurent grabbed the flask out of Hugo’s hand and gulped whatever it contained, ignoring the way the man glared at him. The prince snatched it back, making some drip down Laurent’s chin in the process.

“Juni isn’t one to do that,” Delroy said, rolling his eyes at the two acting like children. “Even I know that.”

Bodin sighed but couldn’t deny it was true. She wasn’t the type of woman to lie around in bed because she was upset. She was too fierce for that.

In the back of Bodin’s mind, he felt a faint presence—Juniper entering the room of portals. He realized she hadn’t been visiting them much since he’d left. Having her in his mind calmed him, letting him take the first deep breath in days, and reminding him that he actually did want to go home. It just wasn’t the right time. He would write to her, explain the situation, and then travel north with the others. He had to.

They needed to turn the tides of this war so that she was safe, along with the rest of their kingdom.

His attention was so narrowed onto what he was going to do that he didn’t catch it at first. The air left his lungs in a sudden whoosh, making him topple forward to his knees. A piercing pain shot through his skull. He ground his teeth and held his head in his hands.

At first, he thought he’d been hit again, but no. This pain was so much worse.

Realization struck, and he looked up at the blanket of stars above them. Why was she visiting a portal this late in the evening?

“What’s wrong?” Laurent shouted as he appeared next to him, sword drawn, looking for an invisible enemy.

A hand landed on his shoulder, then two people were hauling him up and back onto the log he’d been occupying. He didn’t try to deny the help. Not when he could barely see. Not when Juniper’s fear consumed his entire being.

Forcing them to release him, he bent over and heaved the little food he’d managed to get down earlier. Wave after wave of worry, terror, and grief washed over him. By the time one of them was shoving a waterskin to his lips, he was grabbing at his hair, trying to stop the agony long enough to do something about it. He couldn’t speak though.

Something was very, very wrong.

“Bodin,” a deep voice said. “Is it your head?”

“Bodin!” Another man knelt in front of him, snapping his fingers near Bodin’s face. “So help me, if you make my sister a widow at?—”

His eyes jerked up to the Crown Prince of Forosse. “Rafe, I?—”

An invisible band tightened around his chest, and he gasped, rubbing the spot over his heart. Darkness encroached on his mind. It pushed and prodded, trying to take control. No!

He met his best friend’s eyes. Laurent looked as horrified as he felt. Bodin wondered if he could see him losing this internal battle.

Let go, King , a deep voice whispered.

But Laurent was louder. “Stay with me.”

Grinding his teeth, Bodin managed to get to his feet. He needed to get out of here. Beside Laurent and Rafe, Hugo reached out to steady Bodin, but there wasn’t time to get reoriented. There wasn’t time for anything. Focusing on Juniper, on the feel of her in that forbidden place, he pushed past the princes.

“Someone bring me a fucking horse!” he shouted at no one in particular. A soldier took off toward the makeshift stables.

“Two!” Laurent yelled after him, to which Rafe added, “Four!”

“Four?” Bodin asked, already following the boy. He staggered, and Laurent put a hand on his shoulder.

Rafe kept pace with them. “Something is clearly wrong. I’m not letting you traipse off on your own. My sister would never forgive me, for one.”

“None of us are,” Hugo added, and then with a sigh, “and he’s right, Juni would probably disown us as brothers.”

They reached the stables and found the young soldier preparing one of the horses. Bodin didn’t have time to wait for him to saddle more on his own, so he jumped in to help. As did the other men.

He was distantly aware of Rafe giving Delroy instructions to continue tomorrow as planned, and that they would join him after making sure that Juniper and everything in the capital was fine. Bodin didn’t have time to worry about that. He took half a second to thank the gods that his friend had made him head home when injured. If he’d been near the valley still, there was no way they would have made it in time—he wasn’t sure they would make it even from here. But instead of focusing on that, he focused on how he was also grateful they were going with him. If what he feared was true, it would take all of them to stop the impending travesty. Even if that meant sharing his secrets. He would do it.

For Juniper, he was beginning to think he would do just about anything—actually, he knew he would. There was no point in denying it anymore.

It wasn’t until they were leading the horses away from the stables that Rafe asked, “Will you at least tell us where we’re racing off to?”

Bodin’s jaw clenched, and he mounted his mare. “Kehlir.”

“I don’t understand,” Hugo said. “You were just arguing that you didn’t want to go home yet—which, you better hope Juni doesn’t learn about that. Why are you rushing back now?”

“Because something is wrong. I… I can feel it.” He waited for them to get on their horses.

Concern filled their gazes. Laurent’s eyes held more understanding as realization dawned. “You think she…”

“Yes,” Bodin said without hesitation.

“Fuck,” Laurent hissed. Only he knew just how bad this was.

“One of you tell me what in the burning hells is going on.” Rafe guided his horse closer, the urgency starting to truly register with Juniper’s oldest brother, judging by the look on his face, but Bodin was ready to leave.

He had to get home. There was no time to waste. That damn woman had found a way to open the Ombrete’s portal. Doing so posed a threat to everyone in that palace and in the village beyond. But none more than Juniper herself.

She was there, in the one place he never wanted her to see.

Preparing to dig his heels into his horse’s sides, he said, “We’re going to save my wife.”

Who better live long enough for me to throttle. His boiling blood rivaled the dread coursing through him as the four men raced south toward his home. Toward the love of his life, his soulmate, and the doom she faced because of him.