CHAPTER 19 #3
He turns and the gravel crunches under his boots, the loose curls that have escaped from his bun bounce lightly with each step. As he walks away from me, he takes one last glance over his shoulder. His eyes sparkle from the sun, and he gives me a playful wink that sends a heatwave through my veins.
He hit me over the head and threw me in the dungeon with dragons, I remind myself. I will never feel what I just felt again.
But as I watch Koen stride toward the dark narrow bridge, an arm suddenly wraps around me, causing my heart to race wildly. My hand instinctively soars to my chest, only to see Kaine with a shocked expression written along his face.
“I've never seen Koen look at anyone the way he looks at you,” he murmurs, fueling the flames that swarm through my veins.
“It’s nothing.” I elbow him in the ribs, and he lets out a shaky laugh.
“That was definitely not nothing.” He side-eyes me, and I roll mine.
My arms cross, lifting my chin as I narrow my eyes. “Why do the people of the Realms give their lives to the games? I have only heard about the Royals who are cursed. Why would the people risk their lives for them… when you all can control it?”
“The Realms are dying, slowing the death of the curses will consume us all.” He glances down towards the rocks. “One day, the darkness will completely rip apart any remaining light our Realm has.”
My nostrils flare. “Tell me what is going on with the Realms, give me something, anything, to understand why this is all so important to the people here.”
Kaine crosses his arms, taking a step forward.
“Realm Yelas, our Sea Realm, has been hurting for centuries. Those who have been born on the full moon eventually turn into sea monsters over time. Sometimes the full moon is hidden, so we never know who will turn. We have tried everything to capture them so we can save them when the curse is broken, but there are others out there killing them off.”
“Those who fight the sea?” I question him.
“Yes, they don’t care if there might be a chance to save them. They slaughter them.”
“And these curses started when…”
His lips roll between his teeth, re-living the painful memories he has gone through. “As soon as the daughters of the last King and Queen Deskyiara were killed. Everything leads back to the bloodline of the Deskyiara’s.”
My fingers press firmly against my temple. “The bloodline must have been important.”
“They were the only Royals to ever bring peace to all the Realms. Now, Realm Ekane, our Sky Realm, have lost their healers. The toxin in the air is slowly killing their bloodlines.”
“The air quality there keeps their magic alive.”
“How do you know that?”
My brows pull together. “I’m not sure.” My eyes flutter as my mind tries to cling onto anything that would have made me say that.
“Interesting.” He forms a gentle grin before exhaling a deep breath. “The light of their Realm is fading into darkness, and if that happens, the darklings will have the ability to roam our lands during the day and attack. The magic from their world will not be able to protect us.”
“And we should worry about the darklings because?”
“They are consumed by dark magic, they are monsters. Killers.” His head shakes as he takes a braid and shoves it behind his pointed ear. “You already know what is happening with Eekaita, but with Realm Nilak, our Ice Realm…”
“The air is impossible to live in, that’s why the castle walls protect them.”
Kaine nods. “If you stay outside the palace walls for too long, you can freeze. It’s too cold for anyone to survive.”
“Yet Florian and Koen—”
“Florian has the blood of a dragon, his body is warm enough to withstand it.”
“Makes sense.” I cross my arms, glancing at the men who stare at us.
“But Koen…” His brows pull together. “No way… is he—”
“Is he what?” I hiss, locking eye contact with him.
Kaine’s lips curl as he thinks, rubbing his head so firmly the veins along his hands begin to bulge. “No. No way.” His head shakes. “Nothing. I am wrong.”
“But why the games, though?”
“There is only one Light Stone.” Kaine locks eyes with me.
“Which means, only one Realm could be curse free if we never started the games. The Royals of each Realm got together and decided the Realms shall fight and whoever is victorious, their Realm will be curse free for a year with the protection of the Light Stone. The people believe the stone is from the heart of our Gods, the true protection for us.”
“And people die for the chance to have it.”
He nods. “The people believe death will always be the key in order for our survival. Blood for blood. They feed off of these games and after centuries, it's become an obsession to some. The games will never end unless the curses vanish.”
I shift my body, facing him before I ask. “You have never told me what yours and Theon’s curses are?”
“You’ve never asked us.”
“I’ve had so much going on, trying to just survive in this place.” I pause. “I had forgotten about the curses.”
“We normally don’t discuss them with anyone.
It's somewhat forbidden to talk about, especially to those who don’t bear a curse.
” He sighs, crossing his arms over his broad chest, the arrow strapped to his back moving as he rolls his shoulders.
“But I suppose you are not just anyone, now are you, Ren?”
I gesture for him to continue with an innocent smirk across my lips.
He hesitates for a split moment, weighing the risk of telling me.
“I wield the darkness, the shadows ripping out the most sinister pieces of my soul from within, and I command them. These shadows are…” his jaw ticks, avoiding my gaze as if he feels I should fear him, “a reflection of a wickedness that sits inside my soul and is torn from within me to be a part of this world. They are a part of me, even if I don’t want them to be. ”
“Does it hurt?” My gaze softens. “When you wield them from within you?”
“Yes and no.” He sucks in a breath. “I just vowed myself to never wield them unless a war breaks out against my Realm. Or, if I must fight for Azure alongside the Queen. The Royals are thankful we can control the curse, just imagine if we couldn’t.
But the Royals have forbidden us to use them.
They believe a dark magic cursed all the Royals for the war and the destruction to the Deskyiara bloodline. ”
He is right. The Realms would be in chaos if the curses had control over them.
He turns, pulling up his long, raven hair, revealing the back of his neck, and markings of burnt-looking veins run down his spine. As if fire scorched his skin in this specific pattern.
“My Realm, the Realm of Ekane, is considered the sky of peace. I am now the opposite as I hold a darkness inside me.” He lets his hair fall, shifting back towards me. “I am forbidden to ever return, Queen Antivianna took me in. Theon is like a brother to me.”
“I’m so sorry.” I grab his shoulder, staring into those forest-green eyes with a halo of fire. “I am glad you have Theon. As I am glad to have both of you here. I wouldn’t have survived this far without the two of you.”
The corner of his lips tug into a smile, and his hand rests against mine. “And I am glad to have met you, Ren.”
“I suppose I am pretty amazing now, aren’t I?”
He shoves my shoulder before pulling me in under his arm. “Don’t die on us tomorrow.”
My throat tightens. “I’ll try not to.” I deeply exhale. “Are the Royals allowed to use their curses for the battle games?”
“No. It’s forbidden.” We both begin to walk up the wooden stairs, the wood chips breaking under our boots as I let Kaine walk in front.
“It would be unfair for those who aren’t cursed.
Most find our curses a blessing, the ability to use what we have as weapons, but they don’t realize the truth.
The Gods will never accept us now, and I fear a darkness is coming soon to punish us for the wickedness the Royals carry. ”
He halts, turning towards me as he holds out his trembling palms, staring at them as if they aren’t a part of him. His brows deepen, lines creasing between them as his lips tighten.
“My hands used to heal, now they are weapons of death.” His eyes glisten with tears as he meets my weary eyes. My heart aches for him. I wish I could ease his pain, but I know I can’t. The Royals are all fighting a darkness inside them that I cannot help with.
“Does Florian… heal?”
Kaine’s brows raise, tilting his chin towards me with a slow ease. “He offered healing to you?”
“He did, yes.” I cross my arms, my braid gliding along my chest as I tilt my head. The men that are left in the training pit begin to clean up and I know, soon, I will have to sneak past the guards with Koen.
“I’m shocked.” He clears his throat, rubbing his chin before crossing his arms in a deep thought. “Did he touch you? Heal you?”
My shoulders jolt backwards with his questions, curious as to why this even matters. “No. Why?”
“Two more heals is all he has left. Then he’s dead.”
I lean forward, my eyes wide with disbelief at Kaine's words. He could die, if he heals? Why would he risk his life to heal the small wounds and scrapes along my body?
“I’m sorry… what?” My voice trembles.
“As healers, the curse forbids us to use our hands for good. Each time we heal, it weakens us, slowly killing us. Florian’s mother was a healer, from my Realm, which is how he was gifted the beauty to heal. But only the Royals of my Realm are gifted with the hands to mend.”
He pauses, looking around to make sure no one hears.
“He is half Ekane, half Nilak—the Ice Nation. He is weaker than me when it comes to the curse due to not being a full-blooded Ekane, which means the more he uses his gift, the sooner the curse will destroy him. Florian and I are the only Royals with the gift of healing. We are the only two left who have the power to do so. And now, the curse prevents us.”