Page 47 of Vanish

I lowered my eyes. “Your half sister.”

He was silent a beat. “Does that matter? It doesn’t to me.”

I shyly peered up at him, desperately searching for the sincerity I didn’t expect to find midst his usual stoicism. To my surprise his expression had softened, looking at me in a way no one in my family ever had…as ifImattered.

“I…don’t understand. I thought your loyalty was to the king first, the kingdom second.” My well-being didn’t factor into either of those equations.

He was silent a long moment, his jaw taut. “I don’t deny that as the crown prince I’ve spent my entire life living by those dictates…but that was before duty collided with your welfare.”

My heart swelled, yearning to accept the caring he offered…yet I hesitated. I knew the act of trusting him was relatively small compared to the gravity of my circumstances, but the task felt insurmountable when the tentative trust I’d offered Lucien had so recently shattered.

For all Castiel’s honorable intentions, they didn’t solve the most pressing riddle nagging my thoughts. “I don’t understand. Based on our knowledge, the disappearing curse consumes all in its path. Yet despite my current existence going against those facts, you must have somehow known I hadn’t completely vanished, else you wouldn’t have traveled all this way.”

He didn’t immediately answer and I sensed a secret hidden in his hesitation. Foreboding pounded my heart as I leaned closer, searching his face.

“Do you possess information about the curse?”

He was silent a moment more before releasing a heavy sigh. “I know quite a bit about the curse, but didn’t share the knowledge with you before, not because I don’t trust you, but because I didn’t want to stain your hands with the corruption so rampant in the Thorndale court—especially when you possess conflicting interests due to your role as Brimoire’s future queen. But now that you’ve become intimately involved in the most dire way, it’s only right to inform you.”

He motioned to a nearby settee in invitation to sit for what promised to be a long conversation. As I settled to float several inches above the velvety cushions, he used his candle to light a nearby candelabra, bathing us in a pool of soft golden light. I watched him anxiously, my mind cycling through possibilities of what he might reveal, but unable to understand why he might know this information.

He sat beside me and angled his body towards mine, an openness that served as an unspoken promise that there would be no more secrets between us—a confidence I’d never expected to share with my elusive brother, but one I welcomed all the same.

He evenly met my gaze. “Your assumption is correct: I traveled to Brimoire because contrary to their belief, I was certain you hadn’t entirely vanished. I sought to find you in hopes of helping you return.”

I leaned forward. “How do you possess knowledge that extends beyond Brimoire’s own understanding of the curse?”

“You’re correct in assuming that the afflicted kingdom should possess the greater knowledge…but this situation is unique, considering the curse isn’t an unknown entity that originated via unknown means: Thorndale is responsible.”

Stunned silence followed his startling revelation, choking the air from the room. Disbelief seized any form of a response yet for all our distance, I knew my brother’s temperament well enough to know that he would never joke about such a grave matter.

Horror knotted my stomach. “Our kingdom is responsible for the curse?” I didn’t want to believe it, even as I had no reason to doubt that our king was the exact sort of man who would be behind such a devastating force.

But even as I understood thewho, I was at a loss as to thehowor thewhy. Thewhycould likely be easily discerned as one of my father’s plots to expand his power, but even in my limited education I knew our kingdom didn’t possess the magical means to accomplish such a feat, leaving thehowa mystery.

I seemed to have lost my voice, but my brother was able to read my myriad of unspoken questions midst my shock. Even with his grave nod of confirmation I still couldn’t fully understand.

I’d seen the devastation afflicting the kingdom through Lucien’s eyes, witnessed how much of himself and his time he’d tirelessly sacrificed on behalf of his people—so much so that he wasn’t even sure of who he was outside of his role. Though so much uncertainty still riddled our relationship, no force even as powerful as the curse could erase the concern I felt on his behalf, nor my love for him independent of his feelings towards me.

My shock shifted to anger. Since I couldn’t direct it towards my Father—nor would I have dared even if granted the opportunity—my brother made for a convenient scapegoat. I narrowed my eyes as my voice turned harsh. “How could our kingdom be responsible for something so horrible? For what purpose—”

He simply shrugged. “Power, what else?” He tone had grown detached, as if he was reading a report rather than detailing the sinister motives behind a magical invasion.

“Power?” For the first time I was glad I wasn’t involved in the intricacies of the Thorndale court; my own burdens were already too heavy to bear to have to also endure these crimes weighing upon my conscience.

The corner of his mouth lifted, but the hint of a smile didn’t reach his dark eyes. “Amazing how something with such a profound influence can be reduced to a single word.”

“Especially a word that can’t fully convey the devastation brought to the lives the curse claims. Why would Father—”

He lifted his hand, silencing the rest of my words. “It is not fair to lay the blame solely at his feet. Make no mistake: my role as the crown prince makes me an active participant in Father’s schemes. My title bears the responsibility of our kingdom’s welfare and only that of our kingdom; there’s no room for me to concern myself with anyone else.”

I blinked as I considered his callous admission, but quickly shook my head. “Despite that claim, Thorndale has dealings with other nations—as evidenced by my marriage agreement with Brimoire and your own recent trip in Eldenwood concerning foreign affairs.”

He nodded. “You are correct. I don’t claim my thinking isn’t flawed, only that it’s the course I’ve chosen up until this point.”

My brow furrowed. “Up until this point?”

“Indeed.” His emotionless countenance became fierce. “What began as a faraway curse for our kingdom’s benefit changed when my sister fell victim to it. The original plan was for you to marry after the curse had destroyed much of Brimoire’s land, but for whatever reason your arrangement took place earlier, putting you in danger. While you’re a casualty that I unfortunately doubt Father has any concern over, I cannot say the same for myself.”

---