Page 2 of Vanish

My breath hitched. I broke my rigid posture as I scrambled across the seat to peer out the opposite window, but not only was the guard absent atop his horse, but the one who had straddled the carriage’s opposite side was also missing. I had barely registered his absence when the carriage jolted to a sudden stop and the whinny of the horses abruptly cut off, leaving behind only silence.

It settled around me, thicker than anything I’d ever before experienced. I sensed I was now entirely alone with this ominous presence, but fear prevented me from turning around to confirm it. Slowly I glanced behind me…only to discover the half-translucent form of my handmaiden, staring at her fading body in abject terror.

“What’s happening? I’m—” But her words ceased the moment she vanished, leaving behind the once occupied seat.

For a long moment I could only stare at the place she’d just been, my mind failing to comprehend her disappearance. I anxiously called her name and reached out a tentative hand to feel for her in case my eyes were deceiving me, but my hand only grasped air.

Horror threatened to swallow me whole, but there was no time to dwell on the unspeakable fate that had befallen my companions; I had moments to act if I had any hope of escaping the same future.

Panic surged as I lifted my own hands—still visible—and felt my body to reassure myself I was still here…for now. Though I was inexperienced in all matters of magic, I had expected the curse would consume us like a storm—for the wind to shift, clouds to obstruct the sun, and darkness to descend. Yet instead it had approached as stealthily as a thief in the night, as if the curse erased not just anything it stained, but all evidence of its presence as it extinguished everyone around me like a shadow snuffing out a flame.

I looked wildly around for any sign of the curse, but I only felt unsettling coldness seeping over me despite the summer day. Even though I couldn’t see the all-consuming force, I knew it lurked nearby, awaiting the opportunity to strike again.

I frantically scrambled free of the invisible fingers I sensed reaching for me even with my inability to see their sinister presence. The weight of my body against the door caused it to tumble open, as if the bolts holding it in place had been eroded away.

I stumbled from the carriage to fall painfully to the ground; by the time I regained my footing, the carriage and its horses had also disappeared, leaving me entirely alone in the vast landscape. I slowly took in my surroundings shrouded in a sheen of mist, beneath which everything had been erased save for an empty stretch of land and the churning grey sky; even the paths had vanished, leaving me nowhere to run and no idea of which way led to safety.

That didn’t prevent me from trying, but I hadn’t ventured far when my formidable enemy that I had been expecting ever since I entered Brimoire descended around me to swallow both my footsteps and any further movement, making it impossible to escape. I felt myself losing consciousness as the fog slowly engulfed me.

My last awareness was how tangible my body felt before this feeling slipped away, erased by the curse as it engulfed me. Heat suddenly emanated from the brooch I still clutched within my white-knuckled fist, my final memory before I became trapped in a prison ofnothingness.

CHAPTER2

Lucien

No matter how many times I’d witnessed the destruction slowly consuming my kingdom, I never grew used to the sickening horror that gradually engulfed me to seep into my heart. I forced myself to breathe deeply in order to steady my shallow breaths, but it did little to alleviate the pressure squeezing my chest.

Despite my desire to close my eyes and shut out the devastating scene, I forced myself to slowly take in the barren landscape entirely void of life, comparing the empty surroundings against my memories of what had once been a small but thriving village filled with hardworking mining families. Every detail from my recollections had been erased, as if they’d never existed to begin with…the same fate that had befallen most of the kingdom.

“Any survivors?” I braced myself for the dreaded answer that never altered. Tension choked the silence that followed before the courtier delivering the news lowered his eyes.

“None that we could find. Everyone has disappeared.”

It was everything I could do to maintain my composure. I struggled to wrangle my faltering emotions into submission enough to tuck them firmly behind a façade of calm so that when the guards’ frantic gazes sought me out, I remained a steady force, just as I’d been taught a crown prince should be.

No matter what happened we couldn’t lose hope, our only defense against the merciless curse encroaching on our land. Yet the emotion was meaningless—what little I’d managed to cling to had done nothing to protect this village or any of the others, nor did it illuminate the solution I desperately sought.

If only…my fists tightened and it took every ounce of discipline not to glare at the wife at my brother’s side, a constant reminder of our most recent failure.It’s not Evelyn’s fault.

Yet no matter how often I reminded myself of this, I couldn’t help but mourn my crumbled hopes. If only our plan to utilize the neighboring kingdom’s magic to fight against the curse had worked, then we wouldn’t be facing the inescapable destruction befalling us now, a fate that seemed all the more devastating after the brief hope we’d harbored.

I lost the battle over my emotions; Evelyn flinched beneath the force of my stare before lifting her chin and meeting my gaze. “I’m sorry Estoria couldn’t give your kingdom what it needs.”

“I understand.” Deep down I believed her sincere apology, but that didn’t lessen the lingering resentment festering in my heart like poison, impossible to extract with the curse continuing to slowly destroy the land.

At my hardened tone, Ryland’s arm wound protectively around her. “Remember: it is not your role to break the curse.” He accompanied his placating words with a tender kiss against her temple before sending me a warning glare, evidence he had yet to forgive me for my previous role in encouraging him to exploit the woman he loved when they’d first married.

Guilt prickled my conscience before I forced the emotion away. I had nothing to be ashamed of. I’d chosen the best option at the time for the greater good of the kingdom. Deep down I knew this, even as the responsibility weighing upon me forced me to lose more of myself with each passing day.

Even after all these months Ryland’s glower still felt foreign. I yearned to smile or lightly punch his shoulder in the good-natured way that used to define our relationship, before I’d slowly eroded along with my kingdom, becoming a shadow of my former self in order to do what was necessary for the sake of our people. Yet despite the intensity of my efforts, so far the cost of each piece of my soul had yielded nothing.

Instead I gave him a look of indifference before turning my back to him, but he didn’t let the issue go so easily. Evelyn grew restless and left to examine a nearby area, using her magic to search for clues pertaining to this most recent disappearance. Ryland immediately seized the opportunity to sidle closer.

“No amount of wishing will coerce her into sharing power that isn’t hers to freely give. You need to stop pressuring her.”

Though his scolding was thoroughly deserved, I couldn’t back down. “Knowing something is out of reach doesn’t prevent me from longing for the only solution currently within our grasp. You once agreed with me enough to marry her with the full intention of using her magic for Brimoire. Love has blinded you to the needs of our kingdom. People are disappearing, Ryland.”

“You don’t need to remind me, especially after I narrowly avoided succumbing to such a fate myself.” He cast an anxious look towards his wife, eyes probing the vicinity to make sure the curse was not creeping up on her.

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