Page 38 of Beneath the Flames
For a long, long moment, Rhydian stared at me.His eyes flicked back and forth over my features, and I desperately wished I knew what he was thinking.What was he looking for?I tried not to fidget in my seat, but I had never been good at staying still—at least not when someone was studying me so intently.
Finally, he inhaled, his nostrils flaring, before he braced his hands on his knees.
“Because…”
I waited, holding my breath.
“Because Eroth is cursed.Iam cursed.”
"Cursed?”
Like in the fairytales I had scoffed at as a kid?Those types of things didn’t exist in my world.But here?I studied Rhydian’s face, looking for any sign that he was trying to fool me, but he wasn’t fidgeting or avoiding my gaze like I’d have expected if he were lying.In fact, with the way his shoulders drooped, he almost looked…resigned.
“Cursed how?”I asked.
At first, he didn’t say anything at all.Those gold-ringed eyes bored into mine, and sweat trickled down my spine.Then, he let out a long-suffering sigh and stood to his feet.“It’s probably easier if I show you.”
Without waiting for me to follow, he crossed the room and left, heading back down the hall.I barely had time to scamper over to my boots and rush out the door before he disappeared around the corner.
My too-large boots clunked loudly on the marble floor as I ran after him, trying to keep up with his long strides.I muttered beneath my breath, annoyed at his speed.He could have at least slowed down enough for me to catch up, but of course he ignored my struggling legs and kept right on walking down countless hallways until I no longer knew where we were.
Out of breath and legs trembling, we finally stopped at a door.Thedoor.The one he had stopped me from trying to snoop in.Curiosity roared to life inside me.Was he really going to show me what was in there that he hadn’t wanted me to see before?
My imagination went wild picturing all the things that might be waiting behind that door.Was it all the dead bodies of people he’d brought here to die before?Or maybe he came here to plot his future kidnappings.Or perhaps it was his parents’ room back when they were still alive, and he was protective of it.Nerves prickled along my skin, and my heart stuttered in anticipation.
My brain went silent as he opened the giant wooden door and stood aside for me to go inside.The breath caught in my throat to find…nothing.There were no rotting bodies, no stench, not even a desk for him to sit and plot his cruelty.No, the only notable thing in the room was a pedestal in the very center, a brightly glowing flower tucked beneath a dome of glass.The back wall of the room was entirely made of windows, giving a picturesque view of a large volcano drooling lava down the mountain.
I cautiously took a step into the room, waiting to see if Rhydian would change his mind and stop me.When he didn’t, I tiptoed over to the pedestal and peeked at the flower.
At least, I thought it was a flower.
It had a long stem and something resembling petals, but they were made of flames, or lava, or a strange combination of the two.Lava slowly dripped down onto the stone pedestal before spreading out into glowing petals that quickly dimmed, losing their color before they appeared nothing more than a pile of ash on stone.
It was mesmerizing and breathtaking and terrifying all at the same time.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, at which Rhydian scoffed.
“You would think otherwise if your life was tied to it.”
I met his gaze above the flower, cocking my head.“Care to explain?”
It was several heartbeats before he spoke in a low, quiet voice.
“A long time ago, a curse was placed on me, and subsequently on Eroth.I had to meet certain conditions before the final petal fell from the Magmara”—he nodded at the flower—“or I would forfeit my life, and Eroth would crumble into dust.”
I blinked, first at him, then at the flaming petals beneath the glass.“What were the conditions?”
It took him a long time to answer, his voice dropping to a whisper.“It doesn’t matter.My time is almost up.”
“But…why were you cursed?Who would do that?”A thought occurred to me as flashes of his conversation with Carrow reentered my mind.“Wait, was it Prince Carrow?”
Rhydian scoffed and rolled his eyes.“Carrow doesn’t have that kind of power, at least not on me.But he played a role in it, yes.”
“That was a very vague answer.”
“The details aren’t important.”
“It sounds like they’reveryimportant if they affect your life and your kingdom’s.”Realization struck.“Is that why everyonehas left Eroth?The curse?”
