Cursed by the Phantom Prince (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 8

8

RHAN

I have to try.

The words haunted my dreams as I navigated through them while my body tossed and turned restlessly. I’d asked Rea once what her dreams were like, curious if hers were similar to mine. Her dark eyes looked at me with confusion. The Fae didn’t dream, they closed their eyes and rested without interrupting and intrusive thoughts. Just another thing that pointed out my differences in this world. Dreaming was a human thing, something that the Fae despised mostly because they’d never experienced it before.

‘Rhan?’ Lady’s voice asked, no doubt feeling my mind stirring.

‘I’m here,’ I told her, groggily.

‘What do you remember?’ Her question made my heart ache.

‘Everything.’ That was the usual response because I’d been gifted with a mind that remembered everything, even the bad things. ‘I passed out at dinner.’

‘In front of everyone!’ she exclaimed, wondering why I wasn’t more upset about what happened.

In all honesty I was deeply concerned. Ever since I was born I’d been hyper aware of my surroundings, being able to comprehend like a full grown adult. It made my childhood complicated. I could reason more effectively than other human children. Thankfully, I’d had Flora to teach me how to act like a normal human child. Once I figured out that the adults around me didn’t expect me to understand anything they said it became easier to navigate. Then Tomalen came along, following me around like I was the center of his universe.

‘That’s concerning.’ I’d been dealing with this ability for years but never had a touch caused such a reaction. Lady was right to be upset about it.

‘The Black Guard caught you before you could hit the floor. The queen was distraught and ushered Lir and you away. Fionn seemed upset, but who knows with him. Larek was extremely intrigued by the situation and observed as much as he could from afar.’

‘Sounds eventful,’ I grumbled, feeling embarrassed that this had happened in front of people that I had just met.

‘You’re okay, right?’ Lady asked, clearly concerned about me.

‘I’m alright,’ I assured her while doing my best to hide just how shaken I was.

I felt the bed dip as Lady climbed onto the bed and snuggled close to me, whining softly. My hand moved without conscious thought until it was buried in her wiry hair while my mind spun with implications. The queen knew about this gift and found it remarkable, but Fionn, on the other hand, saw it as a weapon. However, I couldn’t control what the minds of others showed me, plus I had no idea what any of it meant. Inner thoughts were sacred. I hated that I invaded their privacy with just a touch but it wasn’t something I could control.

Breathing deeply, I did my best to center myself before my emotions got out of control. The magic around me would react and would just make the situation worse.

Dawn was approaching. I could feel it in my chest like I did every morning. I concentrated on that feeling. Letting it wash over me as I banished my emotions, intending to deal with them in a safe environment, unlike last time when I unintentionally set fire to the stables. Thankfully, Rea had been there and was able to douse the flames before they got out of hand.

Dozing, I concentrated on the impending dawn, readying to feel the exact moment when the sun broke through the night's restraints and rose into the sky. Light banishing darkness just like it did at the start of each new day. There was beauty in the fresh start. Time to leave what happened in the shadows behind and start anew.

The sun was just about to rise over the horizon when I heard a raised voice outside my chamber door. I recognized the one that had started the argument which didn’t surprise me in the least. Rea was back and I couldn’t wait to update her on everything that had happened.

Lady bounded off the bed, obviously recognizing Rea’s voice like I had, and trotted to the door. She scratched the door and barked loudly, a clear command in the sound. I giggled as Lady continued to bark, becoming increasingly annoying. The door swung open and banged against the wall. Standing in the doorway was Rea, my personal guard, friend, and distant cousin.

“What in the cursed moon above has been going on?” Rea fumed, looking from Lady, who was wagging her tail and growling, to me still laying in bed.

Rea entered, her yellow-green eyes flashing with murderous intent as she inspected the room. She was dressed in the bright green uniform of the Flare Guard, the Sun Court’s warriors that protected royalty. Her long black and white hair hung in thick twisted ropes from her scalp while her skin was the color of the darkest moment of twilight, before true darkness engulfed the sky.

I chuckled, earning me a glare from my longtime friend.

“Every time I’m away something happens!” She exclaimed, her glare morphing into a glower when her gaze shifted from me to Lady. “Is this your fault?”

Lady snorted, like the mere thought that she may have something to do with my bedridden state was preposterous.

“Can someone with a voice tell me what's going on?” It was a generalized question making me snicker as I thought about egging her on until she started breathing fire.

Before I could a shadow shifted behind her and I realized that Lir was standing behind Rea. His presence sucked all the humor out of the room. His cowl was covering the lower half of his face while a hood hid the remaining parts. He looked exactly like a shadow and I wondered why the Moon Court had chosen the name Black Guard instead of Shadow. It was more fitting.

‘You’re pale,” Rea observed, rushing to the double doors that opened onto the balcony and throwing them open. “Let's get you outside.”

Rea bustled to the bed and threw back the covers, revealing my body to the room. My cheeks heated but, thankfully, I was wearing my sleep dress. I had no idea what happened after I passed out, but I knew the queen would never allow a guard to undress me. Lua must have been waiting for me.

Without warning, Rea bent and scooped me up into her arms. I yelped at the sudden movement but gave no protest as my faithful, loyal, sometimes forceful, guard carried me out onto the balcony.

The morning rays hit my exposed skin, making me shiver. My skin felt clammy like I’d had some sort of sickness that had sapped all of my strength. The sun would help revive me, but I’d need rest in order to fully recover.

“Black,” Rea called over her shoulder at Lir. “There's a lounge in the sitting room through the door opposite the bed. Bring it out here so the princess can rest while basking in the sunlight.”

I heard footsteps and assumed that Lir was following Rea’s orders. We heard the door to the sitting area open and then close behind him.

“Explain. Quickly,” Rea commanded, sharply.

“I tripped on my dress and Lir caught me,” I said, keeping my explanation simple and brief.

“Uh huh, then?”

“Then what?” I asked innocently.

“What happened after that?” she growled, her arms tightening and I wondered if she was debating shaking me until I told her the truth. “Did his skin touch yours?”

The sound of a door opening and closing stopped any further conversation. I managed a nod before Lir appeared carrying the lounge under his arm like it was a book. He maneuvered himself and the furniture through the door and out onto the balcony. He placed it on the stone floor facing the rising sun.

“About time,” Rea muttered, annoyed before carefully placing me on the lounge.

After I was settled, Rea sat on the end near my feet pushing up my night dress so more of my legs were exposed to the sunlight. “Nothing like a bit of sunshine to start the day.”

I sighed, enjoying the warmth that the sun provided which helped me push away the lingering cold I couldn’t seem to shake. Lady sprawled on the floor in front of the lounge also enjoying the heat of the early morning rays.

Rea leaned back as best she could, tilting her face upward. I watched, fascinated as always as my skin went from ghostly pale to a light bronze that made me look kissed by the sun. The darker tone of my skin made my weirdly violet eyes more prominent. The queen insisted that I get as much sunshine as I needed.

Rea was from the Sun Court and she needed the sunlight like a human needed water. The light was life, revitalizing her in a way that I would never understand since I wasn’t fully Fae. In the beginning I’d been envious, but my heritage was something I had no control over.

“How's Fiskh?” I asked, fidgeting with the laces of my sleep dress.

“Insufferable as ever,” Rea replied, a smirk on her face.

“Wonderful,” I chuckled, glad that he hadn’t changed since the last time I’d seen him.

“Black. Fetch the Princess some breakfast,” Rea ordered, making me flinch.

“Please,” I added, jabbing Rea with my toes.

“Nah, he has to earn manners from me.”

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to start an argument that wouldn’t lead anywhere. I knew why Rea was being standoffish toward Lir. He was new, for one thing, but the worst part, in her eyes, was that he was from the Moon Court. They were the sworn enemies of the Sun Court. At first I expected them to be rivals since they were the two biggest courts in the realm but after learning the histories of each court it was clear that they hated each other. I’d researched extensively, trying to find the root cause, but as far as anyone knew there wasn’t one. They were opposites, which was a good enough reason for the Fae to hate each other.

Being a superior species they were awfully archaic.

I couldn’t blame them for their prejudices because humans had them as well. I believed that people were people and Fae were Fae, regardless of their social status or what court they belonged to. I had a feeling that this was the exact issue that my mother and father had fought so hard against. A noble cause to die for, I supposed.

Lir bowed his head at me before retreating back into my chamber and out the main door.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Rea turned toward me, her eyes flashing with suppressed news.

“I take it you have news?” I asked, smiling at her exasperated look.

“I want to hear yours first.”

I nodded, then quickly told her everything that had transpired the previous evening at dinner ending with the accidental touch and subsequent fall into unconsciousness.

“The Moon Court is in negotiations with the Queen for your hand in marriage?” Rea looked taken aback by that revelation, followed quickly by anger. “That explains what Black is doing here.”

“His name is Lir,” I corrected.

“I don’t care.” Rea flicked her hand, not caring that he had a name. “This isn’t good, Rhan.”

“How is it not?” I wondered, feeling slightly annoyed by her stoic attitude.

“I mean the timing of it. It's suspicious.”

“How so?”

“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” she shrugged.

“What is?” I asked, exasperated.

Rea turned to me fully, her face twisted with worry. “That the Moon Court would choose now to re-enter society. Right when black rot was discovered on the coastal islands of the Sun Court.”