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Cursed by the Phantom Prince (Once Upon A Curse) Chapter 7 27%
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Chapter 7

7

TOREN

T he princess’s body went slack and I gathered her against me to keep her from falling onto the stone floor. The greyhound bellowed in alarm as I shifted my hold so I could get my arm under her knees in order to lift her.

The queen was the first one on the balcony, a wicked dagger in her hand with a curved blade, her face an emotionless mask as she quickly assessed the situation.

“What’s happened?” Larek asked from the doorway, his white eyes wide with alarm.

“The princess has collapsed,” I announced, my attention trained on the queen, who was the greatest threat.

Queen Ríona may have evolved in her diplomatic views but she hadn’t always been that way. I’d read about her prowess on the battlefield that was only seconded by her beauty. They had called her the Rose of the Battlefield, drenched in red with twin daggers in her hands; she resembled the very plant she was named for.

Now she looked menacing, like she’d filet me without a second thought and damn the consequences. She’d done a good job of showing off her adopted daughter but she couldn’t hide her admiration of the girl. It had been written all over her face since the princess arrived.

However, calling the princess the Rose of Dawn was more than a little suspicious. Was it given because of her beauty or did she have blood thirsty tendencies like her mother?

“Did you touch her?” the Queen asked pointedly, her shrewd eyes studying my face.

“She slipped on her dress. I caught her,” I answered truthfully.

The canine huffed like she was agreeing with my statement, making me curious about what sort of animal could understand language. Ithildin, Larek’s falcon, had moments where I swore he could follow a conversation. I had chalked it up to being domesticated but maybe it was something more? Maybe these creatures were unique in ways that I wasn’t aware of.

“Ah,” the Queen said, slipping her dagger back where it came from. “It’s been so long I’d thought we were past this reaction.”

“She’s done this before?” Larek wondered, drawing closer to where I stood.

“She’s… unique.” The queen’s voice had gone tender and I knew that she had grown to love the girl.

Unique indeed.

“We must return her to her room so she can recover.” Taking a step back, the queen gestured for me to follow.

“Will she be alright?” I asked, failing to keep the concern from my voice.

“Yes, she just needs rest now.”

Questions circulated in my mind and I desperately wanted to ask about her. How had my touch caused her to collapse? Was this an illness or something magic induced?

“Forgive me, your highness, but what happened? She was absolutely fine then moments later she was like this. Does this happen often? Is she sick? Does the king know about her ailment? To protect her I should know…”

The queen whirled around, her hand slicing through the air cutting off my words. She gave me a pointed look, then glanced around the empty hallway. I got the hint. We wouldn’t be discussing this until we were in a secure location. Much like my court, it would seem the Court of Dawn had eyes and ears everywhere. It was clear that the Queen didn’t want her daughter’s condition spoken about in the open.

I respected that so the rest of our journey through the palace was made in silence.

The princess’s head rested against my shoulder and I had to make a conscious effort to watch where I was going when all I wanted to do was stare at her face. The moment she had stepped onto the balcony it felt like all the air had been sucked from my lungs. My heart was racing so fast I was surprised I hadn’t collapsed myself.

I’d been briefed about the princess and told about her beauty that some said rivaled the queen’s, but I’d thought that unlikely. I was wrong. So very wrong. The queen was beautiful in a regal sort of way, but the princess was on another level. She was breathtaking and almost painfully gorgeous. Looking at her was like looking at the sun. She brightened every room, making it hard to look away but knowing that you should or you’d get burned. For the first time in my life I’d encountered a being that could scorch my soul. I’d willingly rip out my own heart and present it to her to bask in her glow for just a moment.

An errant breeze filtered down the hallway, filling my nose with her scent, and I fought not to gasp. She smelled like flowers, something floral with a touch of a fruit like citrus. No, more like an apple, a winter apple. Like the blooms on the apple trees that grew in the palace gardens. My mother’s favorite.

The queen veered to the left then turned down a short hallway that had two sentries stationed at the entrance. They eyed me with barely contained contempt and distrust. It was expected. I smirked, looking forward to putting them all in their places since the only one qualified to protect the princess was me.

Returning my attention forward, I saw that the queen had opened a door and was walking into what appeared to be a bedchamber. A blast of cool air hit me, jolting my senses as I quickly assessed the room, finding no immediate threat. A nicely made bed sat opposite the door covered in a deep burgundy comforter. The covers were turned down, the sheets shimmered like liquid and I couldn’t get the image of her tanned skin cocooned by luxury out of my mind.

Focus, damnit!

Drawing closer to the bed, I couldn’t help the inhale filling my lungs with her scent accompanied with the smell of clean linens.

With reluctance that bothered me more than I cared to admit, I placed the princess gently on the mattress. It took conscious effort to withdraw my hands when all I wanted to do was keep her in my arms.

“Thank you for carrying her,” the queen spoke softly, smoothing her daughter's midnight hair out on the pillow. “You may leave. I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes, your majesty.” I took a step backwards intending to turn around, to leave the room but something in my chest clenched.

My fingers curled into my palm and I forced my body to leave the room and close the door behind me.

The click echoed through the hallway, making my stomach muscle tense in worry, but I knew that the princess wasn’t in imminent danger. Regardless, I’d stand watch even though I knew that the guards at the mouth of the hall were more than capable.

I relaxed my stance, ready to spend the rest of the night guarding the door. There was something cathartic about standing watch. As long as I stayed alert I could let my thoughts wander.

“Guard,” the queen called from within the room. I glanced around but the others didn’t move so I wasn’t sure they’d heard the request.

Turning, I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. The queen stood by the side of the bed looking down at the slumbering princess, whose dress had been switched with a night dress. Her face was relaxed, looking very innocent, making me second guess this plan for the first time since leaving the Moon Court.

How could I think of using her as a pawn? Everything suddenly felt wrong and guilt ate at my conscience. Maybe Larek was right and this wasn’t the time. With more time maybe the problem would resolve without any further involvement on her part.

“The princess has…a strange ability that I’ve never encountered before,” the queen began, glancing at me then back to the sleeping girl. “When she touches another person her magic commands the other’s to reveal the person’s secrets. It's her magic’s way of protecting her by showing her visions or feelings from the specific person. In doing this her magic is quickly depleted and she falls unconscious. I’ve ordered everyone not to touch her unless given her explicit consent.”

“I’ve never heard of such an ability,” I replied, intrigued by her even more now.

“Her magic is wild and unpredictable, making her an easy target.”

I could see how this ability could be a liability. Overwhelm her with natural magical reactions to others and she could quickly be subdued, then taken.

“Thankfully, this only happens to new people. Usually she can control it but sometimes it happens too fast.”

“Who else knows of her ability?” If this was common knowledge my spies would have told me. This was a safely guarded secret, which made me curious why the queen would trust me with the truth.

“Very few,” she said, stroking her daughter's arm like any mother would do. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m telling you all this,” she continued. “After centuries of being queen I’ve learned to read people.” Her head turned to me, her light green eyes meeting mine. “I don’t trust you, Lir of the Moon Court, but I can tell you don’t mean my daughter any harm. However, if you prove me wrong I will not hesitate to remove your head from your body.”

“Understood,” I said, fighting a smile knowing that deep down the rose of the battlefield was still very much alive and ready for violence.

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