Page 18 of Ruin
“You know I speak truth. I hid the pain from you, taking it myself, but no more. Not today.” I looked my sisters up and down before turning the corner. I’d never been close to Primrose or Selena, but I had been once to Zalia.
I couldn’t look back. Instead, I pushed forward, forcing one foot in front of the other. Nervousness buzzed on my lips, or perhaps it was the kiss from Caspian that lingered.
I was certain I was falling in love. I couldn’t explain the feeling in me; although things were moving fast, he was all I saw when I looked to the future. A hope… a chance for happiness. He was everything I wanted in a man, a love requited.
***
I shivered as I walked up to the king’s office. Pulling the hood of my cloak over my head, I hurried past two guards. The flames from the torches on the wall danced, their shadows rippled.
I held my breath.
“I swear these passages are haunted.” The guard let out a shaky breath. “The princess is coming for an audience with the king. Have you seen her?”
“No,” the other said.
Avoiding them both, I turned the corner and took the long way around. Their voices faded, their conversation unintelligible. My heels clicked against the ancient stone. I blinked twice, then the voice thundered into my mind.
“DO NOT SHUT ME OUT.”
I pressed my hands against my temples, squeezing him out. “Get out!” I begged. “Leave me.”
“DO NOT DEFY ME.”
I focused on my kiss with Caspian and was consumed by fluttering in my stomach. After a few moments, he fizzled away, leaving my head clear. I needed that if I was going to best my father, a man known to rule with an iron fist and always chose head over heart.
I reached the double doors and emerged from blackness. The guards looked me up and down, along with four nobles and three highborn girls. A servant stared from behind them, unnoticed by the rest, carrying a tray.
“Princess Evangeline,” a guard announced. A man sounded a trumpet, and the other guard opened the door. I’d never been announced before. I hated all the eyes on me. I was uncertain why the king was allowing such a public meeting. He’d hidden me away for so long, I had forgotten what the main rooms in the castle looked like.
I spotted a noble and his son. I rolled my eyes at his court-trained, charming smile. They’d stoop to any lengths for favor, even smiling at an ugly princess.
Those around me, their scandalous, wanting eyes regarding me, saved me embarrassment. Not one looked disgusted. Father must have warned them not to, a kindness that put guilt in my conscience.
Cautiously, I walked into the large office, which was a crescent shape. A desk ran along the far wall, polished and covered with ornate boxes, a cigar tray, parchment, ink, quills, and other trinkets. The man behind it stared at me with eyes of steel, his expression hardened. His youthful curls had flattened a little under the weight of his crown. I flitted my stare down to the Ring of Immortalem. The object delayed his death, until he relinquished its power willingly.
“Daughter.”
“No need for niceties.”
His eyes rounded. “You dare talk to me with such brashness?”
“Yes.” I twirled my fingers, and black magic fizzled midair.
His thin lips downturned. “What did you do?”
“You will release the fae in the dungeons to my care and hand over the Sword of Impervius. If you do not comply, I will rain down a hell on this castle unlike any you have ever seen. You will suffer, your heirs will scream, and your people will lose everything.”
He laughed mockingly. “I do not bow to my lesser.”
“I feared you for so long, and I see now I was wrong to do so. I have more power than you, and with it, I will take everything from you as you took from me. Tell me the truth. Did you place this curse on me?”
His eyes narrowed, his lip twitching at the corner. “Yes.” His nostrils flared. “You had something evil in you. My seer saw visions of murder and blood in your future. The only way to stop it was to place the curse of the beast on you. I did it to save my other children, but your mother hated me for it before she died.” He picked up a paperweight and weighed it in his hand. “Nevertheless, you killed Charleston.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “I never hurt him. I stopped Zalia.”
“What fairytales you tell yourself.” He slammed the paperweight onto his desk, cracking the wood. “You do not remember, but something lives inside you, and it destroys anything good.” The words were hissed through his teeth. Cold shivered down my spine.
“I wouldn’t—”
