The Prince Of Curses h.s.

Forty

The darkness that engulf me was silent and heavy. 

It was a monster that had been waiting to swallow me whole. It blinded my senses. Hollowing my hearing and blurring my vision. I surrendered myself to it and let it eat any light left inside me. I set myself adrift to the rage of madness, forgetting who I was and becoming something that was neither alive nor dead.

Darkness was no longer my enemy— it was now my friend.

I felt the silver chain shatter off me, dropping into a million tiny shards on the ground below. A sound came from me, one that crawled from my soul and shook every bone in my body. Magic rippled off me in a sonic wave, one so powerful that it became a physical force. 

The ground shook as power palpitated off me and blew through my surroundings. Torches blew out and the remaining fire from our house swayed against it. Darkness is what I was bringing. It would be as unforgiving and cruel as nature itself. The crowd stepped back, some staggering at the sight before them. The only light around us was the silver glow that was radiating from me. 

I felt horse hooves clack against the ground, vibrating against my feet and assuming they belonged to the rest of the royal guard.

I willed my magic, lifting my arms and watching the cobblestone crack and break beneath us. People screamed. They were frightened by me— and for once that thought didn't completely terrify me. 

I set my sights on Meccus, the leader of all of this. I wanted him dead. I wanted him more than dead— I wanted him to suffer an irremissible fate. I wanted all his bones to break and riddle him with agonizing pain. I wanted his soul, the very thing that cursed his poor fleshy body. 

My head snapped in his direction. The light emitting from me reflected in his glossy wide eyes. I could see myself, violet irises, white hair that floated off my shoulders, and a silver glow that radiated from my skin. He should be terrified— I would be too. 

My hand lifted and my magic found its way to his neck. He tried to move, tried to grab his sword, but I paralyzed his body before he could do so. 

I tightened my magic against his neck like a noose, imagining a snake twisting around him and pulling his windpipe close. He gasped, making a disgruntled sound. I felt his body twitch, struggling to keep itself alive. I could feel fear engulf him. I grabbed onto it, pulling and feeding on it. It was purely euphoric.

The cobblestone rumbled as it continued to break. Loose stones around me floated upwards. The ground split in places as if the earth were pulling itself apart, shifting and gutting upward. 

There were distant shouts and yells, but I didn't care. I had no time to look or care about anything else. I squeezed his neck tighter, hearing him gurgle on the spit that pooled in his mouth. His eyes began to bulge from his head, blood oozing from the corners of his sockets and dripping down his face. 

I couldn't help the smile that pulled on my lips. 

The ground shook so hard that I swear we were in the middle of an earthquake. 

I twitched my fingers, loosening my grip on his neck to let in a small amount of air. Killing him now would be too soon— too fast for the death he deserves. My magic moved to his arms, coursing through every bone and joint and breaking them. He screamed as his arms twisted outward, in a way that definitely wasn't natural. I want to make sure he'll never be able to use them again. 

"No, no, no. Please," he pleaded.

"No?" I questioned, my voice sounding far from its normal self, "where was this sympathy when you were commanding my parents to be killed? When you set fire to our house? When you tied my sister and I to the stake?"