Cursed by the Phantom Prince (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 5

5

RHAN

“ M y beautiful daughter,” the Queen said, clasping her hands together and looking at me with adoration in her eyes. “The Rose of Dawn.”

My cheeks heated when I heard the title the queen had chosen for me. I didn’t think the name suited me, but I wasn’t about to protest. “Thank you, Mother.” I bowed again while fixing a contented smile on my face.

“Come, I’ll introduce you to our guests.” The queen gestured to the two Fae males that were standing behind her.

Lady stood and began walking toward the queen, almost like she was eager to greet the guests. I suspected that Lady putting herself between me and the newcomers was her subtle way of saying that she didn’t trust them. I couldn’t blame her; trusting the Fae wasn’t something I’d advise anyone.

Ignoring the consort who stood beside her, the queen turned and followed Lady while I trailed behind them, smoothing my red skirts as I went.

“Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Rhan.” I bent my knees slightly while bowing my head in greeting to both of them. “Rhan, this is Larek, a representative from the Court of Stars.”

“It’s lovely to finally meet you, Princess Rhan,” one of the men said, stepping forward and offering his hand to me.

His hair was pure white and long enough that it brushed his slender hips. He had a bird, a falcon maybe, perched on his shoulder, its head swiveling as it regarded me with green beady eyes. Larek’s eyes were milky white and unfocused and I suspected he was blind.

My mind turned to my lessons and his name registered, Larek was the heir to the Court of Stars throne. He was born blind and was considered a gift from the Star Goddess. She was also blind, which gave her extraordinary senses that rivaled the others.

The Court of Stars was the most religious out of the four courts. When it came to conflict they would normally side with the Moon Court, up until eight years ago when they announced their neutral status. They withdrew from all politics and instead offered their services as mediators to the other courts. I learned that this drastic change hadn’t sat well with the other courts, mostly because they didn’t like change, but after a while the idea of a neutral court was accepted.

I knew that for a time the queen had considered also going with a neutral status but ultimately felt that it wasn’t the right time. The Court of Stars and The Court of Dawn were smaller in comparison to the Sun and Moon Courts. For centuries Dawn and Stars would side with the bigger courts if there was ever a conflict. Slowly our courts were withdrawing more from the larger courts in order to concentrate more within our borders. It wasn’t a bad thing, but I felt that there needed to be representation for the entire realm and not their individual territories, which was what my mother and father had proposed.

“And you, Prince Larek,” I said, placing my hand into his palm.

Feelings and sensations bombarded my mind, but after years of training I was able to keep my focus on the present while absorbing all of the new information. Normally visions would accompany this awareness, but because Larek had been born blind, there weren’t any visions, which was refreshing.

Since I was very young I had the ability to read a person from just a single touch. My instructors had speculated that this was a human talent that was being amplified by my Fae side. The humans called this empathy, I called it frustrating, but since I was part of a handful of human Fae offspring much of my skills were unknown. It did give me an edge over others, but the Fae weren’t emotional by design so it could be difficult at times.

Larek smiled kindly, his eyes looking somewhere over my shoulder. I had a suspicion that he and I were kindred spirits.

“Did I hear another is present as well?” Larek asked, turning his face so his falcon could rub his head against his cheek.

“Yes, my canine companion Lady,” I replied, nodding to Lady who stepped forward and bumped his hand with her snout.

“Oh, hello,” Larek greeted Lady with a smile on his face. “What a magnificent creature.”

Fionn snorted derisively from somewhere off to my right. My jaw tightened but I decided to ignore his jab.

“Thank you. You have a companion as well.”

“Yes, this is Ithildin. He helps me navigate the world around me,” Larek explained, while the falcon eyed Lady with curiosity.

“Incredible.” I’d never seen a bird of prey tamed for this purpose. I wondered if the falcon could also hunt? Like the humans who trained falcons back on earth to hunt small game and other birds. “He’s quite handsome.”

“Is he? I wouldn’t know,” Larek responded with a chuckle that warmed my insides. For being a Fae prince he was surprisingly easy to talk to.

Movement over Larek’s right shoulder drew my attention, the smile slipping from my face as I took in the black garbed Fae. His black hair was short, the shortest I’d ever seen a Fae wear their hair. It was close to the scalp on the sides and longer on top. He wore a black cowl around his neck that he’d pulled up to hide the bottom half of his face. Pointed ears were visible, both were pierced with black jewelry.

He was a Fae contradiction. The complete opposite of every Fae I’d ever encountered, which was intriguing.

My eyes moved to the part of his face that was visible, which was beautiful like all of his kind were, but there was something different, something hard, dangerous. Gooseflesh erupted on my neck and arms, making me shiver. His eyes were just as black as his clothes, depthless pools that called to a dark place inside myself.

“This is Lir,” I heard the Queen but I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from the Fae who seemed more shadow than flesh and bone. “He’s from… oh, looks like dinner is served.

That drew all of our attention.

“Splendid,” Larek exclaimed, clapping his hands. “I’m famished.

I smiled at him, then remembered that he couldn’t see it and quickly relaxed my face. Lady nipped at my hand, a clear sign that she’d smelled the arrival of food and was impatient to reenter the dining room. I shooed her ahead, taking a moment to gather my thoughts and to steal a glance at the Fae in black.

Like he’d read my mind, our eyes clashed in the growing darkness. The air in my lungs disappeared and it felt like time had come to a halt. I didn’t know what was happening. A part of me was alarmed that I’d been rendered breathless by just a look, but another more defiant part didn’t care. His black irises drew me in with dark promises that made my heartbeat faster.

Somehow I was able to muster up enough strength to blink, which broke whatever spell had come over me. Lir also blinked and for a moment I thought I saw his black irises turn red. My heart lurched but then I heard murmuring coming from the open dining room and realized I’d forgotten about the dinner.

I took a breath and smoothed my skirts with my palms before stepping toward the door. The more distance I put between us, the easier it was to think. There was something about him that was intriguing but at the same time I couldn’t shake the feeling that his presence here wasn’t a good omen.

Once inside, I hurried to my seat, which was on the queen’s right side while she sat at the head of the table. Fionn was across from me, sitting on the queen’s left, which always irritated him. He may be the Queen’s Consort but I was her heir, the next in line.

I settled onto the cushioned chair and took a moment to collect myself. Larek was seated beside me, his falcon, Ithildin, perched on the back of the chair. Lady took up her position between the Queen and me while doing her version of a smirk as she stared at Fionn. Oh how she loved rubbing his face in her position.

The first course was served when the Black Guard entered the room, making the warm atmosphere cool considerably. I shiver ran down my spine but I ignored it while the Fae took a seat next to Fionn. I thought he might remove his cowl in order to eat but he didn’t, leaving it in place even when food was set in front of him.

Lady stood and went around the table smelling everyone’s food starting with the Queen’s. She made the round then sat down beside me, which was the cue that the food was safe. Larek sat patiently listening to everyone at the table.

“Apologies, Prince Larek,” I said, turning to the blind Fae. “Lady has inspected the food and deemed it safe.”

“Was that what she was doing? Brilliant,” he praised, beaming at the table.

Lady silently preened at the compliment, so I leaned over and rubbed her neck while letting her know in my thoughts that I was proud of her.

The dinner continued in much the same way. With each course that was brought out, Lady would inspect it, we would eat then move onto the next course. I lost count of plates at nine, my stomach filled with delicious food. The Black Guard didn’t eat anything that was presented to him, just stayed sitting observing everyone else at the table. I’d felt his gaze land on me periodically but it shifted before I could react.

“I’m sure you’re wondering what Prince Larek is doing here with a member of the Black Guard,” the Queen said, turning to me as the plates were cleared away, making room for the final course.

Ah, so he was part of the Black Guard. Interesting.

The Black Guard belonged to the Moon Court and served their king with loyalty and devotion. My tutors had speculated that the Prince of the Moon Court was just as tyrannical as the king though no one had seen or heard from the Prince for nearly a decade. There were rumors that he’d died years ago but the king refused to acknowledge this and continued like nothing had happened. Others were convinced that there had never been a Moon Court heir, just the king’s claim. No one knew for certain because ten years ago the Moon Court had sealed its borders and remained isolated from the rest of the realm. So, seeing Lir here of all places was astonishing.

“I am curious,” I replied, truthfully. “It's not everyday you see a member of the Black Guard.”

“Larek is here on behalf of the Moon Court king,” the queen revealed, shooting a glance at Lir. “He brings a proposal of sorts.”

“Oh?” I queried, finding myself even more intrigued. What could the Moon Court be proposing?

“From your studies I’m sure that you are aware of the other court’s and their heirs. Larek is next in line for the Court of Stars throne while you are the heir to our court.” I nodded, very aware of who was the heir to which court. When I became queen they were most likely the Fae I would be dealing with. It was hard to tell whether it would be as friends or as enemies. “Seeing as you are the only female heir out of the four courts, the topic of your marriage has been something I’ve given much thought to.”

My eyes widened at the mention of marriage. I knew it was a possibility, but I’d expected to be paired with a Fae male from our court. A contractual alliance for the betterment of the court, much like Fionn and the queen’s relationship.

“The Moon Court king sent Larek to facilitate a union with our court,” the Queen said gently, her eyes watching me intently.

“I don’t understand. What sort of union?”

“A marital one.”

“To the Moon Court King?” I asked, stunned. The king’s wife had died many years ago. It was suspicious that he would now want to marry after his court had all but withdrawn from the rest of the world.

“No, to his son.”