Chapter 24
Lisette
The carriage that had been racing as quickly as the horses could travel along the winding dirt road through the heavily forested area rattled to a stop when the twisty path grew too narrow to safely navigate. Similar to the other mining areas, the village was accessed by a path just wide enough for single-horse mining carts, forcing us to continue the last short way on foot. The driver steered the horses a little ways off the path to a grassy patch where they could graze while we were gone.
Lucien took a moment to close his eyes, as if to brace his resolve. His respite was brief before he squared his shoulders and determinedly exited the carriage. I followed close behind; my invisible form now tangible enough I could no longer go through solid objects on a whim, my only victory against the curse these past several days. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I smiled as Lucien helped me down the steps, my not-quite-as-ethereal hand resting on his.
Evelyn led the way, following the magical trail left behind like invisible footprints. Lucien sucked in a harsh breath as the path opened up to the destruction that awaited us—manifested not in piles of rubble but a vacant landscape where a thriving town used to reside, the only evidence of its existence being occasional ruins that marred the landscape like scattered corpses. Despite the familiarity of the sight, my heart sank with dread.
“We were too late.” His breathless tone was weak with disbelief.
Heavy silence was his only response; we’d long since run out of empty condolences that did nothing to soothe the despair that deepened with each vanished village we encountered.
Lucien looked around with wide, vacant eyes before the rigid posture he’d been maintaining throughout the rushed journey drooped with a sigh.
“I’d hoped that this village farther from the vanishing devastation rendered upon the others would have a chance of being preserved…but it appears the curse’s reach has tainted every corner of the kingdom, leaving nothing untouched. I knew the curse had gotten worse, but it’s one thing to read the official reports and quite another to witness the destruction firsthand.”
He continued to stare, as if by looking long enough he could dispel the curse-tainted illusion and restore his kingdom through sheer will…but the vanishing effects remained, leaving nothing to salvage. I had no words to offer comfort, so I pushed through the reservation threatening to hold me back to rest my hand on his arm.
I’d been unable to offer more than a steadying presence during our tour of the destruction marring his kingdom, but by the way some of his tension relaxed at my touch, perhaps it was enough. Our fingers laced together in a now well-practiced movement no longer bound by the curse and our gazes met; though no words were exchanged, I sensed his unspoken gratitude.
Shortly after our arranged engagement, I’d begun imagining my future not only as his wife but embodying my new role as the crown princess of Brimoire, fantasies that not only offered me an escape from my dreary and lonely existence but reflected my desperation to find some sort of purpose…even if I had to make up the promise of obtaining one far into the future.
Part of these imaginings included one day accompanying my husband while we traveled my new kingdom to visit the people and places we would rule together, but I’d never thought those fancies would play out by journeying from one gravesite to another.
Despite the depressing nature of our tour, sharing in our mutual pain drew us closer, helping me realize that my quiet nature and my struggle to produce words for each situation was not a weakness in these situations in which idle chatter or even the sharing of deep thoughts was unhelpful. Perhaps I had more to offer to Lucien than I thought.
It was our usual pattern whenever we came upon a consumed village to search for survivors—efforts that always proved in vain, and this time was no exception. Lucien and I continued to hold hands as we wandered the barren landscape, drawing strength from each other while Evelyn searched for any potential lingering magical traces.
Ryland accompanied her, his worry not lessened by the protective shield she’d cast upon herself and their unborn child. Though her magic guarded her against the curse’s effects, it couldn’t protect her from the exhaustion from spending the past several days in constant travel, nor the emotional toil from witnessing the devastation rendered by the disappearing force; the constant drain of magic from sustaining the shield also rapidly depleted her. Even while leaning on her husband’s support her strength was quickly fading, only kept from falling with Ryland’s steadying arm around her waist.
Concern filled his soft gaze. “You should rest.”
She shook her head. “This is far more important than my own comfort.”
Tender admiration marred his exasperation, an emotion I shared—Evelyn was the crown princess of the Estorian throne, and though I would one day possess a similar title, she embodied hers in ways my previous insecurities had constantly prevented me from exploring.
Though Evelyn’s magic had offered invaluable support in each vanished village we investigated, her still underdeveloped powers caused her protective shield to consume most of her magical energy, resulting in her struggling to locate the places where the curse’s patches were thickest. Ryland was able to help by pointing out a cluster of mineral chips and recognizing the various types of stones to help track down the phanite in order to narrow down her search so she could conserve energy.
Lucien and I had completed what research we could, yielding no clues to further our understanding, and now stood near the edge of the village; he surveyed the destruction with a look of deep grief while I watched as Ryland attempted to keep a close eye on his wife while curiously examining a rock for any traces of the vanishing curse.
Lucien noticed my diverted attention and followed my gaze before casting me a questioning glance. I answered his unspoken question. “I want a relationship like theirs.”
“A husband knowledgeable about rocks?” He tried to sound teasing, but I recognized the vulnerability he tried to suppress.
“You don’t need a particular hobby to be interesting. I’m happy so long as I’m with you.” I studied the couple, trying to pinpoint the aspect of their relationship that had captured me. “I admire Evelyn’s dedication; she doesn’t allow anything to stop her, not even a tiring pregnancy or the fact that she’s still learning how to use her magic. Even with her limitations she’s able to contribute, and her husband works well with her, using his own strengths to compensate for her weaknesses.” Just as Lucien was beginning to do for me.
He smiled wryly. “It wasn’t always that way between them; in many ways their relationship began even more roughly than ours.” At my show of surprise, he lowered his voice, as if afraid the sound would drift across the empty landscape. “He married her for the sole purpose of exploiting her for her magic in an effort to save our cursed kingdom.”
I gasped and glanced over at the happy couple, but their loving interaction did nothing to betray such a dark history between them.
“While there is no excuse for it, desperation can lead one to make dishonorable choices that end only in regret. I’m no better—I treated you with an indifference I didn’t feel and failed to cherish you as you deserve. Both he and I are failures in love; I suppose we’re brothers after all.” His laugh was self-condemning, a hollow sound reflected in his bitter expression.
Once more I studied the couple, yet I could see no evidence of the painful mistakes he recounted. I didn’t have the words to describe the joy and adoration on plain display between them, emotions that must have grown through steadfast dedication despite the trials they’d undoubtedly endured together.
“That is anything but a failed relationship. They’ve created beauty from what might have been solely ashes to build something truly beautiful.” It nourished the hope I harbored that Lucien and I could still create something lasting and even more real.
“Ryland’s original intentions crumbled when he thought he’d mistakenly married a decoy instead,” Lucien continued. “But it was only when he believed Evelyn didn’t possess the magic he thought he needed that he was able to fall in love with her for who she was rather than what he hoped she could provide.”
Despite the difference in our own situation I recognized the truth of his observation—I’d only been able to draw closer to Lucien when I allowed the defenses I’d placed around my heart to crumble, my insecurities and vulnerabilities no longer an obstacle to falling in love.
I wanted to continue to explore this revelation, but with the end of the week marking Lucien’s deadline to break the invisibility upon me looming ever closer, time was too pressing to delay our investigations any further. Yet it was difficult knowing where to begin with the vast nothingness stretching around us. Even though we had yet to discover anything actionable, we began to wander across the vanished village again, accompanying Evelyn as she followed the fading traces of magic like a trail of enchanted bread crumbs in search of lingering pockets where the curse was thickest.
As we ventured farther from the road, I began to notice something different than the other villages we’d explored. Those locations had turned up nothing promising about the phanite mineral we were researching or additional information about the curse, but here I sensed something different.
The sensation was similar to what I’d experienced in the palace the first time I’d noticed Aira’s presence—as if something lay just beyond my line of sight, something I’d be able to see if I could just push aside the fluttering veil blocking my vision. At first I only detected the hint of a presence, but the deeper we ventured within the boundaries where the village had once resided, the more I sensed someone else—words I could almost make out that seemed to carry almost inaudibly to me.
I tugged Lucien to a stop and glanced around. “Do you hear that?”
His brow furrowed as he tilted his head to listen, but by his passive response he couldn’t hear the faint, ghostly whispers drifting through the air, the only evidence of the life that used to fill this village.
“Someone is here,” I said. “I can hear them.”
“My subjects? Does that mean they’re alive?” Desperate hope caused Lucien’s hand to tighten painfully around mine, a sensation my gradually reemerging body welcomed.
“I’m not sure.” I squinted through the fading light in a feeble attempt to part the invisible curtain dividing us, searching for any shimmery trace of their presence.
Though I didn’t see anyone, I felt a caress against my cheek, as if kissed by a nonexistent breeze. Even with no way to prove it, I was certain a person stood beside me who wanted us to know that they still existed, even if we couldn’t see them. The strangest sense of familiarity stole over me, as though I’d received such a touch from that person before.
“Someone is here.” The invisible touch toyed with the ends of my hair, lending confidence to my words.
“Did you sense them in any of the other villages we visited?”
I shook my head. “I wonder why I can feel them here when I couldn’t before.”
At the conclusion of their own appraisal Evelyn and Ryland drew near to join our conversation. “There are more magical traces left behind here than in any of the other villages we investigated. Though my findings aren’t conclusive, I believe the difference is that this village has vanished quite recently, possibly mere moments before our arrival.”
Perhaps the boundary between the visible and unseen world was thinner, a divide that lengthened the more time that passed. I reached out to search the surrounding air with my touch in hopes that the residents of this village lay just beyond my outstretched hand. My fingertips tingled, as if making contact with something I couldn’t see in the world beyond.
I continued to listen in hopes that more exposure would help me make sense of the indiscernible murmurs. At first they seemed to gradually grow louder, accompanied by a frantic note, as though someone shouted a distant warning. Oddly, the sound was accompanied by horse hooves in the distance, steadily escalating until the voices were completely muffled…and I realized that this wasn’t the land of the vanished I was hearing, but intruders in the land of the living.
We glanced towards the approaching entourage; through the thick trees masking them from view we glimpsed a the all too familiar blood-red royal crest adorning their uniforms. Horror seized my breath. “Thorndale!”
There was no time to impart the knowledge Castiel had given me concerning Thorndale’s involvement in the curse, and I lamented that in the rush to begin our research I’d failed to share what little I knew. If my kingdom’s soldiers were as ruthless as its ruler, our small entourage was likely in greater danger than the threat of the curse hovering nearby.
My fingers dug into Lucien’s arm. “We have to hide!”
Without hesitation Lucien motioned to the others, trusting me enough to act on my advice even without explanation. We hurried as soundlessly as we could to take refuge in the trees and had no sooner taken cover when the soldiers entered the empty clearing we’d so recently occupied. Even at a distance, their uniforms confirmed their affiliation. Questions whirled, but my voice froze in my throat.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evelyn making frantic motions and turned to find her casting…or attempting to cast. The shimmery bubble that surrounded her to keep her and her tiny child safe from the curse expanded as if to stretch across the rest of us. Sweat beaded her brow as she concentrated, but the bubble shuddered and popped. She gasped and quickly recast, but the shield once more only covered her body.
She turned to her husband with a look of dismay but he simply shook his head, squeezing her trembling hand and motioning for her to stop trying; it was clear her magic was not strong enough to extend to all of us.
Lucien turned back to watch the soldiers, eyes wide with shock, and bent close to my ear. “What are your kingdom’s soldiers doing here?” His quiet inquiry did little to mask his confusion and suspicion.
He had every right to be wary after discovering another nation’s solders infringing on territory that didn’t belong to them without an invitation; had we been close to the Thorndale border my kingdom’s presence could possibly be explained as mere coincidence, but considering we were at least a full day’s journey from the border, nefarious intent seemed clear. The others cast me questioning glances, silently seeking their own answers, but unfortunately I was as lost concerning this unexpected development as they were.
I didn’t recognize the soldiers, but their familiar accents drifted across the distance separating us, transporting me back to my Father’s oppressive court and all the painful memories that had transpired there. I hadn’t realized I’d started shaking or that my visibility wavered until Lucien wound his arms around me to draw me close.
“It’s alright,” he murmured into my ear. “They won’t be able to see you if you don’t choose to show yourself to them.”
I burrowed myself against his chest, finding solace in his heartbeat beating in tune with my own fearful pulse. Remembering the last time he’d helped me when my anxiety overwhelmed me, I was able to relax and regulate my breathing more quickly.
I wanted nothing more than to remain hidden, but their forbidden presence warranted investigation. I peered tentatively out from the safety of Lucien’s comforting embrace. The soldiers were too far away to overhear, but we were able to monitor their movements through the foliage—they appeared to be excavating something, even though the consuming curse should have left nothing behind.
We needed to find what they were doing, as this could be a rare chance to learn about the curse. I could see that Lucien was likewise focused on discovering their intent and was beginning to edge around the tree he crouched behind, but I shook my head and gestured to myself; only my invisibility would allow me to get close enough to discover information we wouldn’t be able to otherwise when hidden so far away and out of sight. Though I knew my duty, the emblems adorning their uniforms momentarily held me in place, the fears that had haunted me back in Father’s court trapping me in the prison of my past I thought I’d escaped.
With great effort I managed to suppress them just enough to slink from our hiding place, but Lucien’s firm hold jerked me back. He frantically shook his head, the desperation widening his eyes enough to convey his adamant refusal to my plan.
“I need to do this.” I kept my voice lowered even though the curse should muffle my voice from the nearby soldiers.
He searched my earnest expression a long moment before slowly loosening his hold, evidence of his trust in me. His protectiveness compelled him to accompany me, but I motioned for him to stay behind…a command he obeyed with evident reluctance.
I didn’t need to exert any effort to remain invisible to soldiers from the kingdom who’d brought me nothing but pain, making it impossible for me to want to be seen by them. Even so I crept forward quietly, pausing the moment I was within earshot but still far enough away that should the curse unexpectedly wear off, they wouldn’t immediately notice my presence.
My proximity allowed me to better watch them—they appeared to be mining the barren earth, even though at first glance there didn’t appear to be anything to findThey seemed to be following a magical device that had likely also been stolen; it reacted to areas of high concentration, allowing them to occasionally excavate a chunk of the reddish-orange mineral that matched the stone in my pendant and put it in the mine cart they’d brought with them. Each also carried a shimmery shield bearing the Estorian crest that cast a similar protective force around them similar to Evelyn’s current spell. By her flash of fury upon seeing them, the artifacts had likely been stolen from the magical kingdom.
One paused to stretch his aching limbs. “There isn’t much to find,” he grumbled. “The curse has taken nearly everything. All this effort for just a small amount of phanite.”
Another soldier sighed. “What a troublesome resource—causing itself and everything around it to disappear when taken by force, only leaving behind traces to mine.”
“This troublesome resource is worth more than its weight in gold; vast magical power resides in a single ounce. The more we mine for our king, the greater Thorndale’s influence. Soon nothing will stop our nation from taking over the surrounding kingdoms as is His Majesty’s ambition.”
Trepidation knotted my stomach, making me ill—a sensation I might have welcomed as evidence of the curse’s lessening hold over me if not for this appalling discovery. Now it was clear why Thorndale was going to great lengths to obtain such a precious mineral—even illegal means that resulted in such a devastating curse for the kingdom they were exploiting with no thought for the myriads they were so horrifically affecting.
I listened longer, but the soldiers didn’t seem inclined to discuss anything else pertinent to the curse amongst themselves, as if they subconsciously sensed their conversation was being overheard. When they finished excavating whatever they could find and packed up their supplies to make the long trek back to Thorndale along with their stolen materials, I crept back to where the others waited.
Dread filled my every step and choked the air after I returned to wait for the soldiers to depart. The moment the last soldier disappeared beneath the cover of trees on the other side of the empty clearing, everyone spun on me for the findings of my espionage.
Despite the importance of my discovery, I hesitated. The closer Lucien and I became, the more I had to lose should he ever break the engagement. However, this unexpected development helped me realize that there were matters far more important than my insecurities, meaning I needed to give him all the information I could.
I took a wavering breath. “Castiel informed me that Thorndale is responsible for the curse.” I imparted everything my brother had confided to me in a hasty whisper, as if to make up for lost time when I should have told Lucien something this important much sooner. “I’m so sorry. I planned on telling you, but hadn’t yet found the courage to…”
My voice trailed off and I braced himself for his disappointment, but he simply squeezed my hand. “Thank you for telling me, Lisette.” No hint of condemnation filled his tone.
I gaped at him in disbelief, ashamed of the part of me still accustoming myself to the idea that Lucien’s love was too sincere to hold this delayed conversation or my nation’s actions against me. This knowledge gave me the courage to tentatively share every detail of the conversation I’d overheard from the soldiers.
Tension riddled the silence following my conclusion, broken first by Evelyn. “I’ve studied many magical elements that contain enchantments to protect their power, but I’ve never heard of one that makes itself and all it touches disappear; it seems contradictory to a typical safeguard and seems much too dangerous to be mined as a resource.”
We all considered the puzzle before an idea that had been half-formed throughout my sojourn with my invisibility began to gradually take shape in my mind. “What if it isn’t contradictory? Not only have I been trapped in what feels like a realm in between the seen and unseen worlds, I’ve interacted with my handmaiden even after she vanished and often sense people beyond my sight. Perhaps the curse doesn’t erase anyone from existence…but merely hides them.”
Lucien considered my theory. “The fact that Thorndale is excavating phanite even after its vanishing effects have done their work means there must be a way to harvest the magic. If only we could uncover more information so we better understand how to break the curse.”
I bit my lips as I stared in the direction the soldiers had ridden, wondering what information they concealed. I slowly turned back to gaze at the barren village, my eyes resting on the unsightly gashes where the soldiers had carelessly gathered the mineral-laden earth.
As urgently as we needed to learn more, there seemed to be nothing else for us to find here, leaving me to wonder if all the clues on how to fight against the curse had been consumed along with everything else and now resided beyond our reach.
The thought caused me to move closer for a better look. To my surprise I noticed something strange: at the last place the soldiers had mined, the air seemed to vibrate with silent energy, as though the magic there was stronger. I moved closer; the nearer I drew, the more I felt an odd tugging sensation, as though the magic was luring me towards it.
I reached a hand experimentally towards the ground and gasped as I was jerked forward. I heard a shout of alarm and Lucien’s hand closed over my other wrist, yanking me back.
We stared at one another, wide-eyed and speechless, for a moment before I turned my head back to look at the area that still shimmered, though it seemed to be slowly shrinking. An unexpected idea grazed my mind—if there was no evidence to be found in the visible world, then perhaps the only solution would be to purposefully allow the curse to pull me into the unseen world to uncover the secrets the disappearing force was desperate to keep hidden.