Page 11 of The Prince's Curse

Haldric jerked awake with a startled gasp. The raw fear squeezing his chest intensified when he realized he was in an unfamiliar bed chamber, entombed by heavy stone walls reminiscent of the stone chamber he’d seen in his dreams.

Peering about in an attempt to regain his bearings, he realized another figure stood right beside his bed, leaning over. His gaze locked on Benjin’s face. An echo of that final vision flickered before him, and he instinctively scrambled back, shoving off his sheets as he struggled to put some distance between them.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his pulse racing.

Only after the words left his lips and he saw Benjin’s crestfallen expression did he realize how harsh he must have sounded.

Benjin averted his eyes, staring down at the rumpled sheets. “Rescuing you…or so I thought.”

Haldric winced at Benjin’s hurt tone. “Sorry.” Struggling to calm his pounding heart, he shifted closer until he perched on the edge of the bed near Benjin, forcing his tensed posture to relax. “You startled me. I…I was having a bad dream.”

“I can imagine, after the day you’ve had.” Benjin fixed him with a strained grin. “But everything’s okay now. We’ll figure this out—together.”

He moved to embrace Haldric. Haldric resisted the gut impulse to lean away, wrapping his arms around Benjin. Part of him was relieved to feel Benjin’s familiar weight against him and drew comfort from their shared touch, even as another part of him struggled to let go of his nightmares. Duchess Janelle’s and Grand Magus Dexil’s warnings from the previous day chipped away at his resolve.

Was this really the same Benjin he’d fallen in love with? Had they even fallen in love—was any of their shared history actually true?

Even if it’s not, he likely believes the lie, too.The thought did little to ease the doubt twisting up Haldric’s insides.

Benjin broke the embrace first, jarring Haldric from his brooding. He squeezed Haldric’s shoulder, offering another brief smile before moving toward the door…or at least, what was left of it.

“What happened to the door?” Haldric asked, staring at the shattered latch.

“We had a minor disagreement.” Benjin paused in the doorway, leaning out to quickly scan the hall in both directions. “We can discuss everything that’s happened once we escape. Even if no one heard the racket I made getting through that door, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes to check on you.”

Giving a dazed nod, Haldric pulled himself from bed and tugged on the clothes he’d discarded the night before. As he buttoned up his shirt, hesitation slowed his fingers.

“I truly wish that were so, Your Highness. But deep down, we both know it’s not.”

That was what the Grand Magus had told him, right after he’d called Haldric out on his fleeting moments of déjà vu. Perhaps this reallywasall a big misunderstanding, as Haldric hoped. But if he fled now with Benjin, he might never know for certain.

Over by the doorway, Benjin shifted impatiently. Tight bands of runeflame curled around his fingers. “What are you doing? We need togo!”

“Maybe…” Haldric licked his lips. “Maybe we should stay. At least, until we have a better idea of what’s going on.”

Benjin’s runeflame winked out as his concentration snapped. His eyes seared holes into Haldric. “Have you lost your Void-cursed mind? These peoplekidnappedyou and tried to murder me! On my way to you, I heard all about their deluded fantasythat you’re some long-lost prince. And you want tostayhere with these lunatics?”

“They were trying to capture you,” Haldric noted, sidestepping Benjin’s comment about his alleged royal lineage. He still found that part difficult to accept himself, no matter how certain everyone else seemed. “They said they needed you to break the spell.”

Benjin threw his hands in the air. Little sparks of runeflame flicked from his fingertips. “Oh, capture instead of murder—all the better!” He started to shake his head, then paused, his eyes narrowing. “Hold on. What spell?”

Wondering if perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned it, Haldric did his best to relate what the Grand Magus had told him. “They said I’m under the effects of a magical curse—that we both are. It erased our real memories and replaced them with this fake life together. To break the spell and restore our memories, they need to perform a ritual with the spell’s original caster.”

It took Benjin a moment to realize what Haldric was implying. When it clicked, Benjin gave a dark chuckle that set Haldric even more on edge.

“Sothat’swhy they want me alive, huh? They think thatIcursed you. Goddess have mercy, what a load of nonsense.”

Haldric had protested much the same earlier during his discussion with Duchess Janelle, reassured himself of it while falling asleep. Now, however, he remained silent. After hours spent wallowing in uncertainty coupled with the lingering effect of his nightmares, the idea that he was cursed no longer seemed quite so far-fetched.

Even if the implications tore at his heart.

Benjin caught Haldric’s expression, his amusement fading. “Hold on—you don’t actuallybelieveany of that rubbish, do you, Hal?”

Haldric’s gut roiled as the vision of Benjin enveloped by swirling runeflame flashed before his eyes. He looked away, staring down at the shadowed floor.

“I’m not surewhatI believe anymore. Since yesterday morning, everything’s been so confusing. I keep having these strange flashes of memory…”

Benjin drew in a sharp breath. Haldric looked up in time to catch Benjin’s expression of recognition before he could mask it.

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