Cursed by the Phantom Prince (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 14

14

RHAN

M y armor was tight across my chest, making my movements a bit stiff. I’d recently gotten my breast plate resized but hadn’t had an opportunity to wear it so I could break it in. Now was as good a time as any.

Lir had left my closet after our confrontation, cursing as he left the small room, allowing Lua to enter and help me dress. My wardrobe contained mostly dresses but with Lua and Rea’s help, I was able to commission clothing suited for a warrior. Soft leather encased my legs, making movement easier, plus they were incredibly comfortable. My boots were black and cushioned for comfort and stability. I wore a simple tunic that was thin but was made with special material to help regulate my body heat and it was my favorite. I remembered the cold winters and blistering summers back on earth, wishing I’d had a Fae made tunic to combat the ever changing temperature.

I wore a black cloak, its hood casting my face in shadow so I wouldn’t be easily recognized, not that I was planning to run into anyone. My main objection was information and while I trusted Rea there were just some things you had to witness for yourself.

“Does the queen know about your sneaking out habit?” Larek asked, clearly amused by the situation he readily agreed to accompany me on.

“To a certain extent,” I answered, keeping my response as close to the truth as possible without giving too much away.

The truth was the queen knew about this habit of mine and while she understood why I did it she also wasn’t thrilled. She’d given her permission as long as certain parameters were met. I couldn’t do anything on my own. I needed Rea and Lady with me at all times, under no circumstances were we allowed to split up, and the more people the better. Fortunately I didn’t trust many people so my excursions remained Rea, me, and Lady.

We were outside of the castle walls and I was leading Lir and Larek to our designated rendezvous point, which was a small clearing a couple hundred feet into the forest. Besides Larek’s earlier question about the queen there hadn’t been any talking, which was a relief. The last thing I wanted to do was answer questions.

The path through the trees was narrow and well worn. I’d found this game trail when I was exploring the land around the castle when I first arrived here. I convinced Rea that this was the perfect place to meet up when we needed to leave the court.

I entered the clearing then paused to search the area. Lady had gone ahead to scout and since she hadn’t alerted me to anything I assumed that all was well. Lir led Larek into the clearing, Ithildin perched on the latter’s shoulder, his golden eyes observing everything.

Lady yipped from the trees opposite where we’d entered a second before she bounded into the open space, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she panted.

‘All clear?’ I asked her with my thoughts.

‘Yes. Rea will be here any minute,’ Lady responded, her tail wagging with excitement. ‘It’s been a while since we’ve left our court.’

‘Yes it has.’

I was actually really looking forward to getting out of the Court of Dawn. The life of a princess was stifling, which was why the queen agreed to allow these excursions. While most of these quests were for the safety of my court it was also a way for me to get to know the people. I believed the queen thought that these outings consisted of me staying within the court’s boundaries, but she would be incorrect. I’d been to the Sun Court multiple times and had gone to the Court of Stars a handful of times as well.

“What is your plan?” Lir asked condescendingly and I did my best not to snap at him.

Ever since our whatever on the balcony and follow up conversation in my closet, his attitude had turned frosty. He stayed by Larek’s side, no doubt filling him in on every development that led to us being here. The easygoing Fae had just smiled and insisted on coming even though he wouldn’t be much use, but I got the feeling that he felt stifled sometimes too, so letting him accompany us was my way of helping him.

“Go to the Sun Court, meet up with my cousin then examine the infected Fae.” It was a simple plan and I kept them that way because I’d gone on enough of these to know that the more complicated the plan, the faster everything went to hell.

“Got it,” Rea announced, jogging through the trees, her yellow-green eyes nearly glowing from excitement.

“Fabulous! Let’s go.”

Lady wagged her tail so hard her butt was swaying side to side. Seemed like everyone was excited except for Lir, who looked anxious and ready to put a stop to what we were doing.

Rea took a brightly colored mushroom from her pocket. Using her fingernails, she tore the fungi in half. She slipped one of the halves back into her pocket before tearing the other half into equal bite sized pieces. She handed a piece to everyone in the group, then positioned everyone in a semicircle around her with Lady tucked between my legs.

“What’s this?” Larek asked, fingering his mushroom piece before bringing it to his nose for a sniff.

“It’s a portal mushroom,” I replied, rolling my own mushroom portion between my fingers.

“Truly?” Larek asked, his eyes widening in surprise. “I’d heard about these. The Sun Court has been experimenting with fungus for centuries.”

“It’s a recent development that has come in quite handy over the past few years,” Rea replied, smiling proudly at the invention from the court she’d grown up in.

“What do we do with it?” Lir wondered, the only one who didn’t seem impressed by the Sun Court’s innovations.

“We eat our portion, then we join hands and the spore carrier will guide us,” I explained, popping the mushroom into my mouth. I wasn’t a fan of the flavor or texture of mushrooms, but this was the most convenient and effective way to travel, so I chewed it then quickly swallowed it.

Rea tossed a piece into Lady’s mouth, who promptly swallowed it without chewing it. One day she was going to choke if she didn’t chew her food properly. She rolled her eyes like she knew what I was thinking and didn’t appreciate me critiquing her manners.

Rea was the last one to eat her portion since she was the spore carrier and would guide the rest of us through to the other side. She swallowed then held her hands out toward us. I grabbed her left hand with my right then used my left hand to grab Larek’s, who was between Lir and myself. No way was I going to touch him if I didn’t have to. I got the feeling that if I did, something would happen and I wasn’t ready for whatever it could be.

“What happens now?” Larek asked excitedly.

“The spore we just ingested will seek out its own, which in this case is where we’re needing to go. When it finds it’s like we’ll all be transported there. The same will happen in reverse,” Rea explained, tossing a portion of the mushroom onto the ground in front of us. “This will be our return point.”

“Fascinating,” Larek whispered, his milky white eyes bright with interest.

I grinned, enjoying watching Larek as he experienced this new way to travel long distances. It truly was an ingenious discovery. My cousin was a problem solver both in his position and in his experiments.

Rea grunted, followed by similar grunts from the rest of us as a tugging sensation began in my stomach then migrated to the middle of my spine. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling but something I’d had to get used to if I wanted to use this way of travel.

I watched as a soft golden glow began to emanate from Lady’s skin, making her fur light up like a wheat field in the morning sun. I glanced to my left and saw that Larek and Lir’s skin was glowing like they’d somehow swallowed a sunbeam.

The husky tone of Rea’s laugh filled the space and I couldn’t help but join her. Being so close to shining like the sun was a dream to someone from the Sun Court.

I felt eyes on me drawing my attention away from the brightness. Black irises clashed with my own over Larek’s head, sucking in the light until it disappeared into dark oblivion. My heart increased its tempo as the feeling of wings fluttered in my stomach. My breath caught as I tried to make sense of my body’s reaction to Lir’s dark gaze. I shivered, drawn to the pull of darkness as if it were sunlight.

The glow grew until it was impossible to keep my eyes open. I closed my eyes just as the tugging sensation turned into an irresistible force that propelled me forward.

Rea’s hand squeezed mine, her laugh still filling my ears as we traveled, the brightness nearly singing my soul.

Within seconds my feet felt solid ground beneath them once more. I kept my eyes shut, allowing my equilibrium to adjust to my new location. The first time I’d traveled like this I’d gotten sick and had to lay down to allow my mind to catch up with my body. It had gotten easier the more I traveled. The Fae, however, did not have the same issue and handled mushroom travel like they’d been doing it they’re whole lives.

I cracked my eyes open warily, not wanting to be blinded by the brightness. Darkness greeted me along with Rea’s smiling face as she still held my hand. I took a deep breath then exhaled until there was nothing left in my lungs. The exercise helped to center myself and shake off any lingering unease that might follow.

“That was…incredible,” Larek whispered in awe. “I can hardly believe that we’ve just traveled to a new location, but the air smells different here.”

“I’m glad that mushroom travel didn’t have any adverse effects on you,” a deep gruff voice said, coming from the shadows behind Rea. “This is the first time such a number has traveled through the light portal at once.”

“You mean this light portal hasn’t been thoroughly tested?” Lir asked through gritted teeth.

“It has been thoroughly tested, I can assure you,” Fiskh replied, coolly ignoring what the Black Guard was implying. “We’ve just never attempted so many in one jump.”

“Well, I’m happy to say that it was a complete success,” I interrupted, dropping the hands I was still holding and strolling to the dark skinned Fae that stood in the shadows. “Nice to see you again, cousin.”

“Indeed,” he replied, a wide smile spreading across his face as he grabbed my hand and brought the back of it to his lips. “I regret the circumstances of your visit.”

“As do I.”

Lady chose that moment to shove her large body between us, obviously upset that Fiskh hadn’t immediately greeted her.

“Mighty hunter, welcome.” Fiskh greeted my needy canine, scratching her behind the ears and making her tail wag. “I see you brought visitors,” Fiskh observed, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, I thought their insight would be invaluable,” I said, choosing my words carefully. Surely he’d figured out which courts Lir and Larek were from. The Court of Stars had always supported the Moon Court and while the former had proclaimed their neutrality, memories ran deep in this world.

“Apologies, this is Prince Larek from the Court of Stars,” I gestured to the blind Fae whose milky eyes watched us with a sharpness that I’d never noticed before. “And this is Lir, a member of the Black Guard from the Moon Court.”

“The company you keep is…diverse,” Fiskh remarked flippantly and I could tell that one of my male companions didn’t appreciate the dig.

“Thank you, Cousin.” My words were clipped, a clear sign that I wouldn’t tolerate any prejudices when it came to my guests.

“What is the nature of your visit?” Fiskh queried, and I opened my mouth to respond but Larek answered before I could interrupt.

“I am mediating negotiations between an alliance between the Moon Court and the Court of Dawn,” Larek answered, proudly.

“Ah, what sort of alliance?”

“A marital one,” Rea answered before anyone else could.

Fiskh tensed while I shot Rea an exasperated look. I hadn’t wanted to mention the proposal or the negotiations to my cousin for obvious reasons, but most importantly, it was not what we had come here for.

“Enough,” I commanded, shooting my friend and protector a withering glare. “We are not discussing this. We have more pressing matters to deal with.”

Fiskh was glaring at Lir, who was watching the Sun Court Prince warily. There was bad blood between the two courts, I knew that, which was exactly why I didn’t want to mention any of it. The Moon Court was attempting something unprecedented but I doubted the Sun Court would see it that way. At best they would accept the alliance with their own conditions and at worst forbid it and possibly start another war over it.

“Very true, cousin,” Fiskh replied, his tone was drenched in anger and annoyance, but I knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t going to drop the subject. He’d wait until we were alone and grill me about everything or wring Rea for all the information. Rea was my loyal guardian but she answered to the Sun Court King and his heir. “Let us proceed.” Fiskh turned and started walking, his footsteps sure and deliberate as he led the way through the darkness.

The landscape couldn’t be more different here than it was in the Court of Dawn. While forests and rolling hills made up the court I loved, something about the land in the Sun Court called to me. We were walking on sand, our boots sinking into the shifting grit as a strong breeze blew through where they walked. Heat radiated from the ground, making the temperature manageable instead of the blistering heat of the day. Most business was conducted in the several hours after sunset, allowing for more level headed thinking. I was warned constantly by the queen to never enter into negotiations with a Fae from the Sun Court during the day. They could tell when inhibitions were down and took full advantage of their situation.

It was a cloudless night but not much moonlight touched the land this far north, instead remaining to the south where the Moon Court lay. Some nights you could make out the brightness from the southern horizon but for the most part the moon didn’t shine on this court. I’d found it strange when I first came here. My studies had taught me that this world resembled the human realm but there were things that were inherently different. The sun and moon did not touch every bit of land. The land masses were split, the northern half got the full force of the sun while the south got the soft brightness from the moon.

Like humans, the Fae had learned to adapt to their world and thrive in it.

The crunch of gravel shook me from my thoughts as golden light lit the path in front of us, easing the tension in my chest. We’d arrived.