Chapter 15
"Cursed?”
Like in the fairytales I had scoffed at as a kid?
Those types of things didn’t exist in my world.
But here? I studied Rhydian’s face, looking for any sign that he was trying to fool me, but he wasn’t fidgeting or avoiding my gaze like I’d have expected if he were lying.
In fact, with the way his shoulders drooped, he almost looked… resigned.
“Cursed how?” I asked.
At first, he didn’t say anything at all. Those gold-ringed eyes bored into mine, and sweat trickled down my spine. Then, he let out a long-suffering sigh and stood to his feet. “It’s probably easier if I show you.”
Without waiting for me to follow, he crossed the room and left, heading back down the hall. I barely had time to scamper over to my boots and rush out the door before he disappeared around the corner.
My too-large boots clunked loudly on the marble floor as I ran after him, trying to keep up with his long strides.
I muttered beneath my breath, annoyed at his speed.
He could have at least slowed down enough for me to catch up, but of course he ignored my struggling legs and kept right on walking down countless hallways until I no longer knew where we were.
Out of breath and legs trembling, we finally stopped at a door. The door. The one he had stopped me from trying to snoop in. Curiosity roared to life inside me. Was he really going to show me what was in there that he hadn’t wanted me to see before?
My imagination went wild picturing all the things that might be waiting behind that door.
Was it all the dead bodies of people he’d brought here to die before?
Or maybe he came here to plot his future kidnappings.
Or perhaps it was his parents’ room back when they were still alive, and he was protective of it.
Nerves prickled along my skin, and my heart stuttered in anticipation.
My brain went silent as he opened the giant wooden door and stood aside for me to go inside.
The breath caught in my throat to find…nothing.
There were no rotting bodies, no stench, not even a desk for him to sit and plot his cruelty.
No, the only notable thing in the room was a pedestal in the very center, a brightly glowing flower tucked beneath a dome of glass.
The back wall of the room was entirely made of windows, giving a picturesque view of a large volcano drooling lava down the mountain.
I cautiously took a step into the room, waiting to see if Rhydian would change his mind and stop me. When he didn’t, I tiptoed over to the pedestal and peeked at the flower.
At least, I thought it was a flower.
It had a long stem and something resembling petals, but they were made of flames, or lava, or a strange combination of the two.
Lava slowly dripped down onto the stone pedestal before spreading out into glowing petals that quickly dimmed, losing their color before they appeared nothing more than a pile of ash on stone.
It was mesmerizing and breathtaking and terrifying all at the same time.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, at which Rhydian scoffed.
“You would think otherwise if your life was tied to it.”
I met his gaze above the flower, cocking my head. “Care to explain?”
It was several heartbeats before he spoke in a low, quiet voice.
“A long time ago, a curse was placed on me, and subsequently on Eroth. I had to meet certain conditions before the final petal fell from the Magmara”—he nodded at the flower—“or I would forfeit my life, and Eroth would crumble into dust.”
I blinked, first at him, then at the flaming petals beneath the glass. “What were the conditions?”
It took him a long time to answer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “It doesn’t matter. My time is almost up.”
“But…why were you cursed? Who would do that?” A thought occurred to me as flashes of his conversation with Carrow reentered my mind. “Wait, was it Prince Carrow?”
Rhydian scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Carrow doesn’t have that kind of power, at least not on me. But he played a role in it, yes.”
“That was a very vague answer.”
“The details aren’t important.”
“It sounds like they’re very important if they affect your life and your kingdom’s.” Realization struck. “Is that why everyone has left Eroth? The curse?”
He gave a single nod.
“Does the curse prevent you from leaving?”
Again, another nod.
Pieces were slowly starting to fit into place, and yet there were still so many missing ones. He was giving me answers, but not enough, not the ones that really mattered.
“And there’s no way to save Eroth?” I purposely didn’t ask if there was a way to save him. He didn’t really seem like he deserved to be redeemed at this point, but it was saddening to know an entire kingdom would cease to exist.
This had once been a home to someone other than Rhydian and Nico.
Nico…
Before Rhydian could answer, I blurted, “What about Nico? Is he cursed too?”
At my question, a deep sadness entered Rhydian’s eyes, an emotion so human I almost forgot he was a Dark Fae.
“No, Nico isn’t cursed…not like I am. But he’s been here with me since he was very young, and he refuses to leave now.”
“Is he your brother or something?” I asked, unsure what their relationship was.
There was a tiny lift to the corner of his mouth as he said, “He might as well be.”
“If he’s not your sibling, where are his parents?”
That infinitesimal smile instantly disappeared, his brows lowering over his eyes as he looked back at the fiery flower.
“They’re gone.”
“Dead?”
His shoulders lifted. “I don’t know. They left several years ago to search for a way to end the curse, like so many others have, and they never returned.”
My heart throbbed at the thought of Nico growing up without his parents and instead having this kidnapper and murderer as a parental figure.
Rhydian lifted his chin. “I’ve taken care of him the best I can. I may not be his family, but I consider him mine. I’d do anything for him. That’s why I—”
He slammed his mouth shut.
“Why you what?”
“Nothing.”
I huffed out a frustrated breath. “And here you were doing so well actually talking to me.”
“Nico is the reason why I’ve done the terrible things I’ve done, all right?” he snapped, then turned away to stalk over to the windows. He kept his back to me, though I could feel his anger radiating all the way over here.
Was he upset because he felt remorse and wanted to save Nico, or was it because I had reminded him of what he was deep down?
“The others that you’ve brought here…” I began, unsure how to ask the question. “Carrow mentioned them too. Who were they?”
Rhydian sighed. “They were the last vestiges of hope I had left.”
“What happened to them?” When he didn’t answer, I added, “Carrow made a comment about them preferring him over you. What did he mean?”
His gaze was furious as it snapped to mine. “It means Carrow is a monster.”
That didn’t really answer my question, but I feared I was pressing too many buttons. Maybe I could ask him more about this later when he wasn’t so on edge about the Prince of Nefaroth being here.
I didn’t really want to get to know him, didn’t want to find a reason to care about him, but I needed to know. I told myself it was for Nico and my sakes, not for Rhydian’s.
I stepped to his side, staring out the window as I asked, “Is this curse something that can be broken?”
Surprise lit his face in the reflection of the glass for a split second before he masterfully hid it away.
“Why would you care anyway?” he asked in return, derision lacing his voice. “You clearly don’t care what my fate is. You wouldn’t mind seeing me dead.”
I glared at him. “Stay out of my head.”
“I don’t need to be in your head to know that’s what you were thinking.”
Our gazes held in the reflection of the glass for a beat too long, but I refused to look away first. Finally, he broke and stomped back to the pedestal, resting his hands on the stone and fixing a glare on the flower.
“Can you blame me?” I asked softly. “You ripped me away from my family that needed me. It’s only natural to hate you.
” Rhydian snorted, but for some reason I felt bad having said the words aloud.
I tried to change direction. “Nico is nice. I might have an issue with you, but I have none with him. He’s so young. He doesn’t deserve your fate.”
“You don’t think I know that?” he spat, taking a step toward me. His gold-ringed eyes flared with barely restrained fury.
I lifted my chin, though my hands were trembling at my sides.
“Then answer my question, Rhydian. Can the curse be broken or not?”
“Why do you care?”
“If there was a way to save him, wouldn’t you do whatever it takes?” I asked and something flashed in his eyes at my words.
“Yes,” was all he said.
I clapped my hands together, the sound too loud in the quiet of the castle. “Great. How do we break it?”
He arched a brow. “We?”
I waited for him to answer. When he didn’t deign to respond, I cleared my throat and tapped my foot.
“Why?” he asked, shaking his head as though he were dumbfounded by this question.
“I’m going to help you break it.”
For a moment, Rhydian went utterly still. More still than any human I’d ever seen, and that was enough to remind me that he was not human, and was in fact very, very dangerous.
Did I really want to help him? Not really, but I would always choose to help the young who couldn’t save themselves. That was the whole reason why I stayed at home so I could shield Lila and Joey as much as possible.
Lila and Joey.
My heart panged, my gut twisting into knots. Were they okay without me there to be a buffer? I had no idea how much time had passed at this point. I missed my siblings, my mom, and I hated the thought of them thinking I’d abandoned them.
I needed to get home.
“I’ll make you a deal, Rhydian,” I declared, to which his brows rose up his forehead. He waited for me to continue.
“I will help you break this curse so that Nico has a fighting chance.”
I thought I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
“Let’s say I even thought you could break an Avalean curse.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you wanting in return?”
That was a good point…Could I even help him break it? What if it was something that required magic? Something I obviously was lacking. Or what if it required me to sacrifice myself, to die, for it to be broken? Would I still be willing to help if that were the case?
Cross that road when you come to it. Get as far as you can so that you can get home, Maren.
I let out a shaky breath. “In exchange, you will tell me how to get home.”