The Cursed Kingdom | Book 1 in The Cursed series

5

It feels like hours, but only a split second later my body catches up to what is happening. I want to crawl to my father, cradle his body and make it all okay again, but the man is still there. He strides towards me, his eyes almost as dark as his raven-wing hair. I try to run but he raises his hand to me. As soon as he does I feel my body become rigid. No matter how hard I try to fight it, my body is no longer under my own control.

The man begins to close his fist, sending an excruciating pain through my body. I fall to my knees in agony. My body feels as if it is burning from the inside out. I claw at my skin, praying for some form of relief, but the pain only worsens. No longer able to hold myself up I let myself fall forward. I will myself to move my hand, desperately reaching for my father, but it is to no avail. He's too far and I have grown too weak.

I let out a strangled yelp as the pain suddenly subsides, gasping for air as if I'd never had it before. Looking up I see Tolas on top of the man. With one swift hit from a candlestick Tolas must have taken from the table, he knocks the enchanter out cold.

"You need to get out of here." Tolas says. Pulling me to my feet as he wipes a trickle of blood from his chin with the back of his hand. All around us chaos has broken out. Short leathery creatures hobble around the room, their spear piercing anyone that crosses their path. Other guests are enchanted by pixies, forced to dance and twirl until their heart gives out. I don't know how they got in but it hardly matters now.

"We have to help them." I cry desperately, not sure how I would manage it.

"You can't help them if you're dead." He grunts, pushing me through the thick crowd. "Let your guards do their job. You need to get as far away from here as you can."

He's right of course. Certainly now that I am the last remaining member of the royal family. My survival is vital for the future of my kingdom. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a horse-like creature. Its sharp teeth sink down in Iliyana's flesh, who lies motionless beneath it. At the horrifying sight I pull my hand from Tolas' grip. I snatch a steak knife from a nearby table, running as fast as I can. With a swing of my arm I jam the blade into the creature's neck. The beast–which I assume is a kelpie–roars around in anger. I bury my knife in its neck again and again, ignoring the pain as its teeth sink down in the flesh of my arm. I stab it a final time right between its eyes. This time the kelpie crumples to the ground, thick black blood squirting from various wounds.

I gag at the sight before me. Half of her face has been ripped off, a mix of ripped muscles and broken bones peak out from the gaping hole. On her left hand, only three fingers remain, but it's her right arm that caught my attention. Danika is curled up at her side. Even in the agonizing pain she must have felt, Iliyana had still hopelessly tried to protect her child, though it was in vain. The little girl still takes shallow breaths, but blood leaks from her mouth. The kelpie had ripped into her stomach, causing various organs to spill out of the open wound. One of her arms had been bitten so far into it only remained attached by a thin sliver of flesh.

Tears blur my vision as I take the dying girl into my lap. I stroke her hair as her mother would have done, whispering sweet nothings as if they can heal her wounds. She cries silently, the sobs clearly hurt. Screams echo around us. The sound of blades sinking into skin sends a shiver down my spine, but I refuse to divert my focus.

"Just look at me, Dani." I say, miserably trying to keep her from witnessing more than what she already had. "You look so pretty tonight, my sweet. Such a pretty princess. You can wear my tiaras all the time from now on, okay? Just stay with me, Dani."

The little girl smiles lightly at the promise, but it soon falters. She turns her wet eyes to me, regarding me with a look far beyond her years.

"I'm so very scared." She says with a last ragged breath before she grows limp.

Violent sobs rack my body. By now the blood has stopped flowing, it pools around us in a dark mess. Her eyes once lively and curious, now stare past me, glazed over with the veil of death. My hands shake as I cradle her to my chest. I will her to wake, command her to come back to me, order her to live. But she stays perfectly still, joining her mother in an everlasting sleep.

(A/N) Definitely going to hell for this one. Anyway, vote to make my trip down worth it