Page 5 of Lost Starlight
I believed him, but for some reason, I pictured him, instead of as the Ancient from the story battling with the sword, and switching hands, I imagined Prince Peter holding two swords, one in each of his hands, using them at the same time. It was hard to hold back my smile at that ridiculous image in my mind. My behavior would have mortified my mother. I tried to control myself.
“Sorry, Your Highness. I do not mean—” I let out a laugh and clapped a hand over my mouth to smother it.
“My, Lady Darling, you have a pleasant laugh. Do not hide it,” he said, and I looked right at him. My laughter ended right then.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“But you should know, while I am no Torren knight nor Ancient warrior like the great Ancient in your book, I am talented with a blade,” he said as some of his wavy locks covered his forehead.
“I truly believe in Your Highness. I meant no offense.”
“No offense taken. I only must defend my honor here against your lack of faith in me.”
I looked directly into his brown eyes as I spoke next, and I watched as he grew a smile from my words. “I do not doubt you. I have all confidence in Your Highness, that if you were on top of the same Haleston peak as the Ancient, Draken, was in this tale, you would have been able to putthe traitor, King Falcon, inside that mountain yourself.May he rot in the mountain.”
“May he rot in the mountain,” Prince Peter echoed. “Thank you.” He gave a pleasant nod. “I have always been ashamed that Walden did not stand with the Ancients in The Great War,” he said with his lips turning downward. It was rare to see the prince frown. I did not like it.
“You need not be ashamed. That was so long ago.”
It was, in fact, hundreds of years earlier when the traitor, King Falcon chose to lead the divide between the magical beings and humans. After Ancient Draken defeated King Falcon and imprisoned him inside the mountain, Draken swore to curse all of the royals who had sided with the Traitor King. And he did just that. Generation after generation of royals had been cursed from all of the kingdoms that fought against the magical creatures. Walden was one of the kingdoms that sided with the traitor. I did not know much about the curses, but I knew there were ways to break them. I had heard that a few had already been broken in other kingdoms. Rumors of that spread far and wide. Curseswerebreaking. While how to break curses seemed unique to the individual curses, I hoped that one day Prince Peter would discover how to break his own curse, whatever it was.
“Yes, and yet we are all still cursed,” he said, looking from me to the wall. He lay back down with a huff upon the blue settee.
“I am sorry, Your Highness. I do not think it is right.”
“Is it not?” he asked softly, a vulnerability in his tone.
“No, you have done nothing against the Ancients. I believe the cursings should be over.”
“Thank you. I assure you, my hope is that someday they will end. Perhaps, if not in my lifetime, in my children’s lifetime.”
I nodded, but he could not see me because he had already closed his eyes.
“Shall I continue?”
“Wait—” Prince Peter said, sitting up, his eyes bright, and his brown hair a mess atop his head, causing me to smile at the pleasing boyish look, making him appear so casually handsome.
“Yes?” I asked.
His eyes danced with glee.
“Do you know what my curse is?” he asked, wiggling his brows, causing a smile to fall over my lips.
It was a rather heavy question. There had, of course, been so many rumors of what the last prince’s curse was. Prince Peter was the only royal heir still living in Walden. I did not know what his curse was. Some thought it was that he would die on his twenty-first birthday, while others said he could speak with ocean animals.
“I do not know, Your Highness.”
“Come on, you have to have a guess,” he said, sitting up straighter, excitement in those deep eyes of his.
The light in his eyes was so focused on me that it sent my heart fluttering. He was too handsome for his own good. For my good, as well. I could not embarrass my family with an infatuation for His Royal Highness.
“I heard that you might speak with the creatures from the sea?” I asked timidly.
He laughed, slapping his knee with his enthusiasm.
“No, although that would be a fine curse. That must have come about because I like to yell at the ocean.”
“Yell at the ocean?” Of course, I knew what he was referencing. Most had whispered about it, and yes, that was where I imagined the idea stemmed from.
