“Don’t fret, little Prince,” Nolan cooed. “You’ll find that Eris is more than she appears. All you have to do is promise me your amulet, and I’ll tell you two how to break the curse once and for all.”
Knox took a deep breath. He reminded himself to slow down. He was so desperate to break the curse that he was too willing to believe Nolan. He could see some points of his curse aligning well with Nolan’s words, but he would be a fool to trust anything the man said easily. “How could I possibly trust you?”
“Oh, my Prince, your time is quickly running out. In three months’ time, if you haven’t broken the curse, you’ll meet that amulet’s real owner, and trust me, she’s not very pleasant. If I were you, I’d quickly hand that necklace over and be done with it. But if you think you can figure all this out yourself, by all means try.”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth about the curse’s origins?” Knox asked.
Nolan laughed. “Didn’t I mention that I’m the Prince of Darkness?”
“Then the Queen is…”
“Correct. She’s my mother.”
“Prove it,” Knox said, though he instantly regretted that, too.
Nolan smiled as his eyes turned completely black. The library’s familiar walls fell away, and the two men were suddenly wrapped in blackness. Nolan’s throne vanished, and he grew twenty times bigger, and as he did, Knox could feel the Dark magic radiating off him in heavy waves.
Nolan clapped his hands together, and two dozen hellbeasts encircled them. Their open jaws dripped black goo that sizzled as it hit the floor. Nolan clapped his hands again, and the hellbeasts disappeared, only to be replaced by spirits crying in agony. They were begging Nolan to release them, but he just laughed. He clapped his hands one last time, and Knox felt all the air in his lungs disappear. Knox reached up and grabbed his throat, gasping for air.
“Do you believe me now, or should we keep going, Princeling?”
Chapter 18
Eris
Eris and Darren walked slowly towards the castle looming in front of them. Nervousness churned in Eris’ stomach. Even under the moonlight, the servants were still busily hurrying in and out of the castle grounds, carrying baskets full of fruits, vegetables, and clothes. It seemed that life in the castle was a busy one, and she wondered if the servants ever got to rest.
A group of gardeners passed in front of them carrying burlap sacks, hoes, and rakes. Eris could feel her magic reaching out towards them, curious about the strength of the magic the others possessed. No other magic user she knew could tell how powerful someone else was simply from standing near them, but it was often the first thing she noticed about a person.
“Are you sure about this?” Darren asked. “There are other ways to find them.”
“If that were true, you would have found her by now.”
Despite her nerves, Eris walked towards the tall front doors of the castle. Ever since she had learned that his betrothed had disappeared in Jara City just like Soraya, she’d understood why Darren was being over-protective. Still, it was more likely some wayward spell that had backfired, taking Soraya and his betrothed with it, rather than the Prince of Erila being evil. Whatever the reason for their disappearances, together they would find them.
A group of hearty soldiers stood in lines, evenly spaced, on either side of the door, with the two largest soldiers standing directly in front of it.
“What is your business here?” the soldier to her left grumbled. He was a tall man with blond hair and a big nose. He had an air about him that marked him as the one in charge. Her magic swirled wildly in the pit of her stomach, telling her the person standing in front of her was an extremely powerful magic user. Not that she was surprised. He had been given the job of protecting Erila’s future king.
“I believe Prince Knox is expecting me,” she replied.
The head guard looked at Darren.
“This is Eris of Uwen. Prince Knox instructed me to bring her to the palace.” Darren offered him a royal scroll from his pack.
The head guard turned to the shorter guard behind him and nodded once. The shorter guard nodded back and disappeared around the side of the castle.
“Wait here,” the head guard grunted.
Eris nodded and continued to look around. The castle sat on a tall hill, and from there she could see the lights from homes speckled throughout the darkness of the night. She imagined the people each light belonged to. In the farthest one, she thought, is a girl my age studying for an exam. And the one behind Darren’s left shoulder belongs to a family just sitting down to dinner. She wondered what her own parents were doing. Were they sitting down to dinner? Was her mother sewing on a last-minute dress for a party? Were they worrying about her? A twinge of guilt erupted inside her stomach.
Darren leaned down. “I hope your plan works.”
“Of course it will work. Why wouldn’t it?” Eris whispered back.
Darren shook his head.
The shorter guard returned, murmuring something in the head guard’s ear. Then he turned to them and said, “Welcome to the palace. Prince Knox will see you now.” The guards closest to the doors pulled them open, and Eris and Darren walked inside.
Immediately an older, well-dressed man appeared. He bowed to them. Eris bowed back, unsure if it was proper etiquette to do so or not.
“I’m Master Toran. Welcome to the palace.” Toran looked at least as old as her father with his light brown hair graying on the sides. “Prince Knox asks that you wait in the throne room. This way.” He gestured for them to follow.
They walked down shiny white marbled hallways, taking turn after turn. Each hallway had portraits taller than her lining the walls and chandeliers as big as open carriages. Heavy gold curtains hung over the darkened windows, and the walls were a calm blue. Though the castle was large and the decorations were lavish, Eris didn’t feel quite as nervous as she had before. Rather she felt that she had finally come to the right place. Surely this place had what she needed most.
Toran showed them to the throne room and excused himself. As soon as the door shut behind Toran, Darren began pacing back and forth across the room.
“Will you stop it? You’re making me nervous,” Eris said.
“This is a bad idea. No matter what way you look at it, Eris, this isn’t going to end well.” Darren looked around the room, then shook his head. “Let’s go ask Master Garren. He has so many connections in the magic world — surely he can help us.”
“Did you forget he was the one who sent me here?”
Reluctance flashed across Darren’s face. Eris knew he wasn’t convinced, but she wasn’t leaving until she found what she had come for.
“I don’t think we should be here. Can’t you just trust me on this? Something about this place is off.”
“We don’t have a better way to find them.”
“What if you end up like them? So far, all we know is that women keep disappearing. Eris, I can’t lose you, too.”
“We don’t know where they’ve gone, or why. But we can’t do nothing. We can’t hope they will just come home on their own. They need us,” Eris said.
“This is dangerous,” Darren said.