Chapter 2
Lucien
No matter how many times I’d witnessed the destruction slowly consuming my kingdom, I never grew used to the sickening horror that gradually engulfed me to seep into my heart. I forced myself to breathe deeply in order to steady my shallow breaths, but it did little to alleviate the pressure squeezing my chest.
Despite my desire to close my eyes and shut out the devastating scene, I forced myself to slowly take in the barren landscape entirely void of life, comparing the empty surroundings against my memories of what had once been a small but thriving village filled with hardworking mining families. Every detail from my recollections had been erased, as if they’d never existed to begin with…the same fate that had befallen most of the kingdom.
“Any survivors?” I braced myself for the dreaded answer that never altered. Tension choked the silence that followed before the courtier delivering the news lowered his eyes.
“None that we could find. Everyone has disappeared.”
It was everything I could do to maintain my composure. I struggled to wrangle my faltering emotions into submission enough to tuck them firmly behind a fa?ade of calm so that when the guards’ frantic gazes sought me out, I remained a steady force, just as I’d been taught a crown prince should be.
No matter what happened we couldn’t lose hope, our only defense against the merciless curse encroaching on our land. Yet the emotion was meaningless—what little I’d managed to cling to had done nothing to protect this village or any of the others, nor did it illuminate the solution I desperately sought.
If only…my fists tightened and it took every ounce of discipline not to glare at the wife at my brother’s side, a constant reminder of our most recent failure. It’s not Evelyn’s fault.
Yet no matter how often I reminded myself of this, I couldn’t help but mourn my crumbled hopes. If only our plan to utilize the neighboring kingdom’s magic to fight against the curse had worked, then we wouldn’t be facing the inescapable destruction befalling us now, a fate that seemed all the more devastating after the brief hope we’d harbored.
I lost the battle over my emotions; Evelyn flinched beneath the force of my stare before lifting her chin and meeting my gaze. “I’m sorry Estoria couldn’t give your kingdom what it needs.”
“I understand.” Deep down I believed her sincere apology, but that didn’t lessen the lingering resentment festering in my heart like poison, impossible to extract with the curse continuing to slowly destroy the land.
At my hardened tone, Ryland’s arm wound protectively around her. “Remember: it is not your role to break the curse.” He accompanied his placating words with a tender kiss against her temple before sending me a warning glare, evidence he had yet to forgive me for my previous role in encouraging him to exploit the woman he loved when they’d first married.
Guilt prickled my conscience before I forced the emotion away. I had nothing to be ashamed of. I’d chosen the best option at the time for the greater good of the kingdom. Deep down I knew this, even as the responsibility weighing upon me forced me to lose more of myself with each passing day.
Even after all these months Ryland’s glower still felt foreign. I yearned to smile or lightly punch his shoulder in the good-natured way that used to define our relationship, before I’d slowly eroded along with my kingdom, becoming a shadow of my former self in order to do what was necessary for the sake of our people. Yet despite the intensity of my efforts, so far the cost of each piece of my soul had yielded nothing.
Instead I gave him a look of indifference before turning my back to him, but he didn’t let the issue go so easily. Evelyn grew restless and left to examine a nearby area, using her magic to search for clues pertaining to this most recent disappearance. Ryland immediately seized the opportunity to sidle closer.
“No amount of wishing will coerce her into sharing power that isn’t hers to freely give. You need to stop pressuring her.”
Though his scolding was thoroughly deserved, I couldn’t back down. “Knowing something is out of reach doesn’t prevent me from longing for the only solution currently within our grasp. You once agreed with me enough to marry her with the full intention of using her magic for Brimoire. Love has blinded you to the needs of our kingdom. People are disappearing, Ryland.”
“You don’t need to remind me, especially after I narrowly avoided succumbing to such a fate myself.” He cast an anxious look towards his wife, eyes probing the vicinity to make sure the curse was not creeping up on her.
“I shouldn’t have brought her,” he muttered. “Why did I let you talk me into risking her safety?”
I gave a shrug of equal parts shame at his accusation and disappointment—I’d known full well that Evelyn wouldn’t be able to help, but my desperation to save my vanishing kingdom had stirred up baseless hope; her own desire to help had led to her acquiesce, though both of us knew her presence was pointless.
I glanced to where she still crouched, scouring the ground for evidence I knew she wouldn’t find. The curse was too thorough, leaving no trace except the occasional taunting reminder as it obliterated everything in its path regardless of whether it was a weed or a member of the royal family.
Horror knotted my stomach at the memory of how close I’d come to losing my brother, who was still my best friend despite the difference of opinion that had divided us these past several months. My relief must have pierced the hardened mask I’d constantly worn since the disappearing curse had infringed the land, just enough for his expression to soften.
He rested a hand on my shoulder. “I understand the burden weighing upon you. I have never forgotten my own duty, only come to realize that there is always a higher path.”
“If it ever existed, surely it’s long since vanished, swallowed up with the rest of our kingdom.” My voice escalated as my fragile hold over my composure faltered.
Ryland sighed. “Evelyn and I didn’t accompany you to argue, but to do our best to offer our support. Even if Evelyn can’t provide the magic you need, we still want to help. You need not shoulder this burden alone.”
He looked like he wanted to say more, but at that moment his wife wandered over with her report. “From my examination, the curse that destroyed this village is the same disappearing blight that has affected the rest of Brimoire.”
I released the long breath I’d been holding. Though the news was unsurprising and could even be considered good considering it meant we didn’t have two enemies to battle, it still left me trapped in my prison of helplessness. “And you found no sign of weakness?”
She grimly shook her head.
Ryland frowned. “We shouldn’t have come. My understanding of the gravity of our kingdom’s circumstances and my love for our people isn’t enough to expose you to this dangerous situation, especially considering we’re not just risking your safety but also…” Worry furrowed his brow as he rested a tender hand on her stomach.
She placed hers over his. “I have enough magic to protect myself and the baby. If I can offer any assistance, no matter how small, I will. As I’ve already told you, I want to be here for you.” She laced their fingers together and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, which he returned with a small smile, even as the worry creasing his forehead remained.
I watched them with mixed feelings. While I was happy my brother had found love in the wife he’d initially married with insincere motives, envy mingled with longing twinged my breast at the tender scene. I turned away to stare down the long road stretching towards Thorndale, my thoughts drifting to their favorite place whenever my eclipsing worry granted me a rare reprieve.
Only a few more days. For all their power, my nerves couldn’t fully quench the excitement I constantly masked with all my other unproductive feelings. Even if nothing else changed, having my fiancée’s calm and steadying presence would make my overwhelming difficulties easier to bear…though not enough to regret thrusting her into a horrible situation she hadn’t asked for, one which her timid nature would only make more difficult.
Our accompanying guards’ uneasiness drew me reluctantly back to the situation at hand. “We shouldn’t linger.” It was unwise to remain in cursed territory too long, lest we risk not just our wellbeing but also those residing in the capital. Even with the palace’s protective charm that had been cast anciently back when magic still existed in the land, there was still so much we didn’t know about how the curse spread, leaving us uncertain whether it had the potential to follow us into the palace to wreak havoc there.
I turned to lead the way to the awaiting carriage, but paused when I spotted the frantic approach of men on horseback in the distance. When they drew closer, I recognized the livery of the curse specialty division in the royal guard.
My stomach sank. Even before they imparted their news I feared my legs would give out, unable to bear the force of yet another burden to what already crushed me beneath its relentless weight. They yanked their horses to a stop just short of us and the captain wasted no time sharing his dire report.
“The entourage from Thorndale has vanished.”
Horror seized my breath even as my mind scrambled to comprehend his words. The Thorndale entourage, the very one I’d been expecting in a few days. But…it couldn’t be. It was too soon for them to arrive.
My legs gave out and I stumbled, only spared from collapsing by Ryland’s steadying support propping me up. It was a struggle to regain enough composure to force a single word past the emotion clogging my throat. “Lisette?”
The captain’s grim expression confirmed the fate I most feared, one I refused to believe. My outward expression didn’t change, but within my heart a tumultuous storm raged. Without a word, I seized the reins of my horse and hoisted myself up.
My guard lurched forward. “Your Highness, where are you—”
I ignored him and kicked my horse into a gallop, leaving my brother and the others behind. Moments later, my guard had followed, accompanied by the captain who had delivered the crippling blow.
I slowed my horse just enough for my voice to rise above the sound of their hooves. “Explain,” I hissed. “My fiancée wasn’t due to arrive for several more days when we could arrange for an escort to meet them at the border to lead them along the safest route through the villages not yet touched by the curse to the palace.”
“We only just received word that they left early.”
I gritted my teeth. The King of Thorndale was mad to have ignored our precautions given to ensure his daughter’s safety. Was he so indifferent to her that he would send her directly into the fray of a cursed land without any regards to the fate that could potentially befall her?
The captain continued. “Upon learning of their early departure we went to meet them, only to discover the faint remains of horse tracks coming from the direction of Thorndale, and a small portion of the carriage that didn’t disappear bearing the Thorndale royal crest.”
My panic escalated so that I could barely remain upright on my horse. “And its occupants?”
“Gone without a trace.”
No!
Though a single carriage of people was nothing to the number of those who had already been swallowed into oblivion by the sinister vanishing force, this victim wasn’t some faceless stranger. Years of memories accompanied her name—most awkward and lacking any progression of our relationship, yet none meaningless.
I’d hoped my perceived indifference to her and her frequent visits would offer some form of protection, for the curse was a formidable foe that I often feared had invisible spies who targeted those closest to us…yet it had still attacked the victim I’d been most desperate to protect, leaving the years of effort in my charade utterly pointless.
The minutes dividing us from the location marking my fiancée’s gravesite were measured by my silent assaults against the Thorndale monarch, the sharp insults the only thing keeping me from going mad with worry. If I ceased the onslaught, I’d have no protection from the looming truth—that Lisette had only been in danger because of her arrangement with me, the crown prince to a doomed kingdom.
After what felt like an eternity we finally arrived at the location where the Thorndale carriage was said to have disappeared. Several soldiers remained to comb through the traces of magic left behind from the curse—though it caused everything it touched to vanish as if erased from existence, it sometimes left behind faint hints of what had previously existed, the only evidence to confirm that my fiancée had been here hours before.
I hadn’t been trained in this investigative art, so I could only look wildly around for any sign—not of a carriage, horses, or attendants, but of the shy, petite woman whom I had been expected to finally wed by month’s end. No matter how long I looked, I could find no trace of her. Even though I couldn’t see her with my eyes, part of me seemed to sense her lingering presence…yet I found nothing but the empty landscape that now served as a resting place for those who had just been erased.
“Prince Lucien?” The worry wrenching my guard’s voice compelled me to reluctantly meet his gaze, watching me in concern. Too late I realized that my usual stoic composure had faltered, just enough to betray a glimpse of the emotions I was desperate to keep hidden.
I clung to commands, my only order in the surrounding chaos threatening to drown me. “Finding the princess is our highest priority. There is a faint chance she somehow escaped the curse. Leave no stone unturned in trying to locate her.” Deep down I knew that no one who succumbed to the curse had ever been found, but I possessed so little hope that I didn’t want to give up the faint possibility that she was still alive.
The guards exchange dubious glances before they obediently bowed. “We will arrange for a search party.” The one who spoke held up a hand to prematurely silence my desire to join already burning my lips. “You’ve already spent too long in infected areas. In the meantime, you must get out of danger and return to His Majesty so that you can come up with another plan, now that it appears this one has failed.”
I couldn’t speak, my mind reeling. It made me sick to think that my sweet fiancée had been reduced to nothing more than a plan, despite that being how our relationship had all started. I reminded myself that marriage in the world of nobility was rarely arranged for love—even Ryland’s own union with Princess Evelyn of Estoria had begun as nothing more than a political contract between two nations. He was fortuitous that it had eventually developed into genuine affection, but with this development I now realized that despite my own hopes I would not be so lucky. Romantic love was not in my future, not with dutiful love for my people eclipsing everything else.
I clenched my fists and offered a rigid nod. “See to it. In the meantime, I will work to form a more beneficial alliance, anything to aid Brimoire.”
My tone was emotionless as I struggle to wrangle the last of the feelings I’d locked away in my heart into submission. I finally managed the difficult feat, but only barely, reminding myself they would only get in the way of the path before me that I must never waver from…lest the kingdom of Brimoire and all its inhabitants disappear forever.