AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So Talin was the name of the prince in the cage. “Three witches?” I said. Okay, now that worried me, and I sat across from Ash. “Tell me everything you know about the dark magic used onTalin.”
He leaned forward, elbows pressed into his thighs, and the light hitting the side of his face showed the slight bend in his nose. He’d probably broken it in a fight. But something about Ash epitomized regal, more than Leven and Raze had. Even covered in soil and shoveling dirt, he exuded a striking majestic quality. Maybe it was the way he held my gaze, his facial expression neutral. When he spoke of Talin, he didn’t lose himself to emotions and stayed composed. I could take some lessons fromAsh.
“That’s the tricky part,” he said. “We don’t know. Over three weeks ago, Talin started shifting in and out of his bear form, unable to stop, then he halted mid-transformation, frozen in that form overnight. Neither bear nor man. Problem is that in that state, the body is fighting itself, trying to tear him in two, literally.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down, and his voice carried a panicked undertone. “He’sdying.”
I inched to the edge of my seat and reached over, placing my hand on his. “Fuck!” My throat dried, and I cringed on the inside. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to swear in front of you. I’ll do everything I can to helphim.”
“It’s okay.” Shadows crowded under his eyes. “But the last witch promised the samething.”
Sitting back, I laced my fingers in my lap. “There must be something else you know. How can you be sure it’s acurse?”
He nodded, and his eyes narrowed. “At first, we thought he was sick. It started the night we arrived home from attending court at our cousin’s mansion deeper in the woods. Talin had eaten a feast, like we all did, and he never left ourside.”
“So these cousins of yours,” I said, “they’ve practiced charms and spells in the past and wanted Talinhurt?”
With a sigh, he reclined in his seat. “It’s a long story. As the eldest, Talin cannot take the throne as king until he gets married, but he refuses until he finds the right person, insisting these things shouldn’t be rushed. But we were summoned to the duke’s court as a special invite to meet a prospective new wife for Talin. Ever since our parents passed ten years ago, our cousin, Rek has demanded we merge houses and duchies. He’s had his eye on the other two estates in White Peak as well to grow in strength, insistent other realms in the south are looking to take over ourland.”
“Let me guess, he offered his daughter,” Isaid.
He shook his head. “The duke presented his granddaughter, as he has no daughters of his own. But Talin refused the offer.” Ash ran a hand over his mouth, his brow creasing. “The poor girl was a child of fourteen. Talin was furious, and we left halfway through the meal.” He scowled. “Ever since, Talin has beenill.”
I shifted in my seat. “And you think your cousin cursed him? Have you gone back to the manor and confronted him?” A horrible churning swirled in the pit of mygut.
Ash grimaced. “We tried several times? Once, we got caught in the woods during the night and Talin’s change kicked in and stuck again mid-transformation. A madness he can’t control takes him over and feels an urgency to return to the castle.” Ash exhaled a long breath. “He almost killed me when I tried to stop him. The other times we reached the manor, Rek feigned surprise and even offered to help us find the witch responsible. He’s undermining us and has no plans on admitting the truth or helping. We all know he wants Talin to die as payback for not accepting his granddaughter’s hand.” Ash lowered his eyes, breathing heavily. “Our only choice now is to find a way to break the curse ourselves, or we lose my brother.” His voice darkened, and he sounded like a man whose spirit was on the verge ofshattering.
He cleared his throat. “And Talin’s condition has worsened, his episodes now extend for full nights, instead of short periods. Every witch we hired confirmed he’d been cursed by an enchantment so dark, they couldn’t undo it. One said even if she could, she’d never touchit.”
That was exactly as I feared, and that meddling with such a spell could unbalance my energies. I didn’t need the darker side to take me over. It had happened once when I was younger, and I’d almost killed someone. The memory never left me and it reminded me why I worked so hard to keep my magicleveled.
“What we know,” Ash continued, “is his episodes happen at night. And the last witch warned us to prepare for the worst, insisting his hex used the moon cycle and on the next full moon, he’d lose hisbattle.”
“That’s in two days!” My mind whirling with what I’d learned and the fact that Talin would die. When a spell involved the moon, the power came from the goddess. That lent itself to not requiring a sacrifice to reverse the spell, and my knees bounced from the exciting news.I might be able to pull this off.Mom always told me my power was stronger than any she’d ever encountered, including hers, and she’d traveled to all realms in Haven.Anything was possible if you accept who you are and carry the right intent, she’dsay.
“So can you do this?” Ash asked, watching me with an expectation where the only right answer would beyes. The complete opposite of the despair I’d seen in Leven and Raze’s gaze when I’d tried to discussTalin.
My body tightened, and it terrified me to poke at such a curse. “I’ll try my hardest. If it’s linked to the moon, there might be a way to utilize its power for Talin.” Even as the words left my lips, I regretted showing confidence, especially with Ash now grinning at me. But the full moon wasn’t for another two days, so I had time to perfect this. Whatever it took, I’d assist Talin. I hadn’t been able to save Mom, but this was my chance to make adifference.
The three brothers might have put on a tough act, but on the inside, it must have killed them to watch Talin perishing before their eyes. That helplessness lingered in my chest. Mom in bed and coughing, growing frailer by the day. Every single damn spell I’d created had fizzled. Nothing had worked, as if the universe had blocked my efforts. And it had torn me to shreds to know I had the ability but couldn’t useit.
So, despite my earlier trepidation, I couldn’t walk away if I had the power to prevent Talin’s death. I wanted to believe my ability could create extraordinarythings.
What was the use of wielding magic if not to set wrongsright?
