Page 24 of Heirs of the Cursed

Darcia had arrived at her dressing room earlier than usual. Not because she needed much time to dress up, but because she had to practice her show behind the tall, red curtains. After Harg had seen her in the cabin, her stepbrother had decided that she wouldn’t be the star of the evening, which complicated things even more.

Controlling the minds of people she couldn’t see was an incomplete riddle, like a puzzle without enough pieces. Darcia needed to be perfect if she didn’t want to face Conrad’s wrath for embarrassing him in front of the king’s men.

It had been two nights since she’d discovered that the Dark Twins of Ro’i Rajya had never been where they belonged. Her stepbrother hadn’t brought the subject up again, nor had Darcia ventured to find out. Her father’s dedicated permanence in the common room, however, revealed that he hadn’t given up. For long hours, Gion would sit in the armchair, studying the history of the Boreaalinen family—one of the few books left in the kingdom.

Darcia shook her head. She had a new show to orchestrate, one that would break the ordinary and impress the world. She’d worry about the lost princesses when her life wasn’t in danger.

She studied her illusions in silence, until someone knocked at the door.

“Yes?” she asked, wielding her magic to cover the bruises on her skin.

The door opened, and Darcia grinned at the sight of those dark eyes she loved so much.

Her girlfriend’s olive skin glowed under the light of the oil lamps that illuminated the tiny dressing room. Darcia was captivated by the sheer white silk gown, with two wide slits running down each leg. The neckline daringly descended to her navel, while gold rhinestones elegantly adorned her waist. CaeliNdiaye’s smile lit up her slightly slanted eyes with irresistible charm.

“May I come in?”

“Always, Cally.”

Caeli smiled even wider and closed the door behind her. It took her only five seconds to reach out to Darcia and cup her face in her hands and gently caress her lips with her own. Her closeness, her caresses and her kisses were something Darcia had become familiar with and something she didn’t plan to give up so easily. Not when her arms were the only ones that could soothe her and intoxicate her with the only feeling of peace she knew.

Darcia relaxed under her girlfriend’s touch and laughed against her mouth.

“I’ve missed you,” she said when mere inches separated them.

“As have I.” Caeli stroked her hair. “Your bastard brother does it on purpose. He doesn’t want us to see each other and does everything he can to change our shifts . . .”

“Stepbrother,” Darcia corrected her. Her hands descended to her hips before kissing her again. “I’m aware of that, but I always find a way to see you, don’t I?”

Darcia had navigated loneliness for most of her life. Every sigh was an empty echo in a vast world of desolation, where her heart beat without purpose. Yet, things had changed when Caeli appeared in her life like a glimmer of light in the darkness. She became different, someonebetter.

With every smile from Caeli, she discovered a new version of herself—one not so broken. In her girlfriend’s eyes, she found the promise of a love that transcended all the shadows of the past. And in that love, Darcia found the certainty of her own worth, the certainty that she deserved to be loved.

They had met in the splendor of their youth, when they were fifteen years old. On a cool morning, while Darcia was cleaningthe stables, the circus came to life upon Caeli’s arrival. Bassel had shown her every corner of the magical place, every trace of the wonder that awaited under the big tent.

In that fleeting instant, their eyes met, like two stars crossing each other in the vastness of the sky. It was a single and ephemeral encounter, but it was enough to ignite a spark of desire in Darcia’s soul. A spark that danced like butterflies in her chest and made her yearn to know more about the girl who had captivated her with a single glance.

She hadn’t stopped looking for her since then.

“You do,” Caeli said with a loving gleam in her eyes. “Have you been eating the last couple of days?”

Darcia nodded, as she fiddled with her girlfriend’s bracelet made of black and white braided leather.

“And sleeping?”

She wasn’t able to be honest. The nightmares had returned after several peaceful days. The shows had worn her out, and her exhausted mind had driven Darcia to the point of falling asleep without recalling her dreams. Yet, during the last couple of nights, she hadn’t been able to rest for more than two hours.

“That too,” she lied. “I’m fine, Cally. You know I deal with it.”

“That’s what worries me. I don’t like that you must deal with it.”

Darcia quickly changed the subject. “How’s your mother?”

Caeli let go of her girlfriend’s hands and walked toward one of the small armchairs at the back of the dressing room before answering, “She’s upset because you don’t come to visit her anymore. She asked me to tell you that if you don’t show signs of life soon, she’ll come to the circus herself.”

Darcia burst out laughing. There was no one in the world that Caeli loved more than Ghana Ndiaye, her mother. She was the woman who had raised her and who, after her husband’s death, had worked hard to make sure Caeli lacked nothing.

The illusionist also cared for her girlfriend’s mother deeply. One of the memories Darcia treasured the most was the first meeting she had with Caeli in the forest, where they both searched for flowers and herbs to prepare medicines to relieve the wounds on her mother’s hands after forging metals and gems to create jewelry. Caeli also used her flower and nature magic to create tonics to soothe Darcia’s headaches.

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