The Deadly Curse

17 | Miserable Magic

//miserable magic// 

King Hadeth was a close imitation of the sun, if the sun were made of brass. His skin looked like gold, catching flicks of light. Bronze hair coiffed into a regal part glinted as he walked. Every feature on his face was proud: his browbone, his nose, his chin. Deeply gold eyes sat above high cheekbones and beneath bronze eyebrows. His thin mouth hosted an ear-to-ear smile. He was a statue come to life.

My hands clapped to my lips. My heart scrambled from its hole by my stomach. The King looked exactly as his personality suggested: jubilant, loud, sunny.

However, it was difficult to find anything Rune had inherited from his father. Perhaps the closest was the mouth. But as King Hadeth grinned and Prince Rune scowled, it was hard to tell.

And the King was quite handsome. Beautiful, even. With his charming personality and matching looks, it was easy to understand the loyalty given him when he first ascended the throne. It probably made the Queen's betrayal even more painful.

I glanced at Prince Rune. He was neither handsome nor charming. And after his mother's rampage, regaining the blind loyalty of Eternity's people would prove no easy feat. Without an attractive personality or good looks, he would have nothing to fall back on except acumen.

Maybe that was why my future coronation was heralded with such joy. I was fairly pretty, but I certainly could never compete with the King. But compared to my skeletal and serious partner, I probably shone as bright as King Hadeth who was, indeed, a piece of the sun.

Pity encouraged my hand toward Prince Rune. He may not have been classically handsome or possess a magnetic personality, but he was good. Selfless. His soul was beautiful. And it broke through the cracks of his mask until all I could see was his beauty. I wanted him to know that.

But Prince Rune stepped just beyond my reach. My eyebrows pulled down and my lips pursed. Something was definitely off, and it wasn't just the color of his facial diamonds.

King Hadeth outstretched his arms in a beckoning embrace. His hands had the same gold complexion. He looked between Rune and me, quite literally glowing. "My son. Belline Paris. Oh, sweet, sweet Belline."

The Prince stared. It'd been years since he'd seen his father's face. Had he forgotten it? Perhaps he was now committing the details to memory.

Meanwhile, his father pulled me into a tight embrace. He breathed a deep sigh into my hair, and I felt his shoulders and back relax. As pressure built behind my eyes, he pushed back to smile at me, then at his son. "I had accepted facelessness. I didn't mind it. But to have my face back . . . I didn't think I had missed it this much. Or that I would rejoice its return so much. And all because of you, my beautiful, stubborn daughter."

Heat flooded my face. Normally, he included "future" or "in-law" whenever he referred to me as his daughter. To be upgraded to simply his daughter was an honor, albeit an embarrassing one.

The King squeezed my biceps. "You willingly placed yourself in danger's way, prostrated yourself before Fate, for the sake of me and my son. We are humbled to have you in our lives." King Hadeth bowed a full ninety degrees.

I scrambled to return the bow. From the corner of my eye, I saw Prince Rune dip into a bow as well. When I straightened, I said, "Oh, no, don't do that. It's what you do for your loved ones."

King Hadeth's smile turned blinding. "You are certainly well-loved, Belline Paris. I hope you know that."

I grinned at the Prince, expecting his eyes to smolder in confirmation of his father's words. Instead, the flames in his eyes simply fought. Chaos burned there. Only fear met my gaze. A frown replaced my smile.