Page 76 of The Prince's Curse

As soon as his eyes settled on Benjin’s slumped form chained to the back wall, he rushed to him. “Benjin!”

Benjin looked up blearily, his eyes widening when he saw Haldric. “No!” He strained against his chains. “Get out of here! The Grand Magus—he’sthe one behind this!”

Haldric froze, struggling to process Benjin’s words.The Grand Magus? But that would mean—

A cry echoed behind them. Haldric whirled to see his aunt collapsing at Dexil’s feet, twitching in the throes of some spell. An empty glass vial glistened in Dexil’s hand. The Grand Magus met his gaze, his violet eyes soft with sorrow. “I’m sorry, Haldric. I do only what I must for the future of Ilthabard.”

Dexil reached for the door, and Haldric suddenly snapped to his senses. “No!” he cried, rushing forward.

But he was too slow.

With a resoundingclang, the door slammed shut, sealing both him and Benjin inside. Haldric pounded on the thick wood, desperation squeezing his chest. “Dexil, please! Don’t do this!”

“It’s too late, Haldric,” the muffled reply came from the other side. “Nothing can stop the tides of progress now. Ilthabard’s age of princes and kings must come to an end.” His words grew shaky, barely audible through the thick wood. “I’ll return as soon as I can. I…I don’t want you to suffer any longer than necessary.”

Alarm rippled down Haldric’s spine, and he slammed a fist against the door. “It doesn’t have to be this way! Stop this madness, and I swear I will sit down with you and listen to whatever you have to say. Dexil? Dexil!”

No response except silence. The Grand Magus was already gone.

twenty-nine

Benjin

Benjin slumped in hischains against the back wall, watching Haldric pound on the door. “It’s no use, Hal. This cell’s built as solidly as anything else in Ilthabard, the wards airtight. Trust me—I’ve tried.”

Pausing in his hammering, Haldric looked up at him with a pained grin. A dark strand of hair tumbled over his bright green eyes, so familiar and yet so strange at the same time. “I suppose I ought to work on my rescue skills, huh?”

Benjin didn’t answer, merely drinking in the sight of Haldric. Seeing the prince again in the flesh flooded him with so many emotions, he felt like his chest was about to explode. Perhaps he should have been furious with Haldric after everything that had happened. Yet, looking at him now, all he felt was a deep, all-encompassing sorrow.

Haldric’s smile faded as the silence stretched between them. He shuffled his feet on the dank stone. “Look Benjin. I’m…I’m sorry. I know I owe you an apology. Not only for not trustingyou after our memories were altered, but for trying to run away in the first place. If anything,I’mthe one who’s proved they shouldn’t be trusted. Not with the kingdom…and not with your heart.”

Righteous anger bubbled in Benjin’s core. For a moment, he considered ripping into Haldric—spewing out a stream of vitriol and accusations. The instinct died almost as quickly as it had arisen.

Staring into Haldric’s broken expression, Benjin sighed and said, “I can understand why you did it.” That earned him a surprised look from Haldric. “I might not be a noble myself, but I’ve seen how hard you’ve struggled beneath the weight of your responsibilities. I suppose it’s not easy being a prince.”

Haldric’s lips twisted into a pained grimace. “Or a king.” He reached up, fingers playing with the simple silver band he still wore in his hair. “I guess I’m due for a replacement now.”

It took Benjin a few heartbeats to process what Haldric meant. “Your father…”

“Passed in the night,” Haldric confirmed. He glared at the sealed door of the cell. “Though, now that I’m aware of Dexil’s involvement, I wonder at the timing. It seems an awfully large coincidence that my father’s health should suddenly fail just as our memories returned to us.”

Recalling the fervent look in Dexil’s eyes and his parting words pleading for forgiveness, Benjin wondered himself. Though even now, after all the terrible things the Grand Magus had done, he didn’t want to believe him capable of such a betrayal.

“There’s more.” Benjin squirmed uncomfortably, and not just because of the manacles chaffing his wrists. “You’re not the only one bearing blame. I knew Dexil sympathized with the rebels, but I didn’t realize how much until we returned from Khordan. That memory curse he used on you was what he sent me to Luxem to retrieve. He intended to use it on you to get you out ofthe way once your father passed. I…I tried to warn you, but he locked me in a cupboard in his lab. That was where I was before I broke free and confronted you.”

Haldric met his eyes. Instead of the accusation Benjin expected to find there, he saw only compassion. “Thank you for trying to warn me. You’ve always looked after me—even when you were protecting me from myself.”

Benjin shook his head, regret tearing him raw. “I should have done more. I should have warned you about the Grand Magus sooner.”

“Perhaps. But when it truly mattered, you stepped up.”

Benjin snorted, glancing pointedly about the cell. “Yeah, for all the good it’s done us. Even after my interference, Dexil got his ‘glorious revolution,’ just a bit ahead of schedule.”

Haldric smiled grimly. “Well, with any luck, that means he’s less prepared than he’d have liked. If our return to the palace was what prompted his coup, he couldn’t have had more than a week or two’s warning from when the royal guard found us.” He scowled, resting a hand over the empty scabbard on his belt. “Not that it matters. He probably left to fetch more men, and without my sword or magic, I won’t stand a chance in a fight.”

Benjin raised his shackled wrists as best he could. “I don’t suppose your princely training included how to pick a lock?”

“If only. I probably could’ve managed it with runeflame, but without my magic, I have no way to get you out of those chains. And even if I did, we’d just be two helpless captives instead of one.” Groaning, Haldric clasped a hand to his forehead. “I can’t believe I let Dexil convince me to take off my sword without so much as a protest. Yet more evidence of how I’m unfit to be king.”

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