Enchanted Damnation: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Accursed Saga Book 4)

by Eva Brandt

  When it was all over, we were both breathless, sweaty and covered in all kinds of fluids. Even so, we were content. “I don’t know about you, but I definitely needed that,” Halvar said.

  I snorted and reached for my satchel, hoping to find something we could use to clean up a little. “There will never come a day when you don’t need that,” I told him. “Luckily for you, I feel the same.”

  I would’ve also liked it if we could have gone a little further. Maybe if we managed to find a better place to take shelter sometime soon, I’d be able to pleasure him with my mouth. That was something to look forward to.

  “Yeah,” Halvar murmured behind me, his voice turning soft and fond, “I suppose I am lucky.”

  He stole the rag I had managed to unearth and pulled me back down, covering my body with his own. I opened my mouth to protest, but he didn’t give me the chance to say a word. He brushed another brief kiss over my mouth, and whispered, “So, in conclusion, we’ll be signing up for the tournament?”

  “We’ll be signing up for the tournament,” I agreed, “and we’ll use it to build a real home here.”

  Someone else would have perhaps wondered why he’d bring up the topic again, now of all times. I didn’t. I understood the true meaning of his words, and the reason for his insistence.

  He smiled against my lips, and even if the stables were dark, I could practically see it, see the way his eyes lit up when we spoke about our dream. It reminded me of the secret kisses we’d shared behind the stables of my family’s home, of the games we’d played as children in the fields, of the laughter we had shared and the tears we’d shed. I smiled back and wrapped my arms around him again. “Just like we’ve always wanted,” I finished.

  My path, the path I’d first stepped upon when I’d met Halvar, so many years ago, had led us here, to Kerys. I had no idea what was waiting for us in its mysterious capital city, but whatever it was, I was confident that, with Halvar by my side, I could handle it.

  * * *

  Mathias

  “Absolutely not! I refuse to allow this foolishness! You are not going to sign up for that tournament, and that is final.”

  I stared at my mother’s angry face, doing my best to control my temper. I had been prepared for this reaction when I’d made my decision, and while I hated hurting my mother, there was simply no other way. “Yes, so you’ve said, but I still need to go.”

  My mother threw her hands up in exasperation. “Say something, Ninian!” she shouted at my father. “Don’t just stand there and stare. Talk some sense into your son.”

  “There’s no need to be so extreme,” my father said with a shrug. “It isn’t that dangerous. The king has already said that the competitors won’t be allowed to inflict damage that is too serious. Every other young man Mathias’s age is going. You are only panicking because of your sister’s fairytales.”

  I narrowly managed not to flinch. That was probably not a good comment to make now of all times. The glare she shot him made me grateful for the fact that looks couldn’t actually kill. Otherwise, I would’ve been left an orphan on the spot. “Well, do pardon me for trusting the assessment of the one person in this village who met King Gradlon and Queen Malgven in person,” she hissed. “Why would Anna possibly know more about the situation than you?”

  “We’ve been over this, Bertha. Everybody knows that Queen Malgven is an enchantress, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s kept us safe and prosperous. Or do you deny it?”

  “I do not deny it, but I also know that such protection might cost us. Let us not forget how King Gradlon came to live here.”

  I could already see where this argument was going, and the last thing I wanted was for my parents to fight because of me, or for my aunt to get dragged into it, on top of everything else.

  “Mother, please. I understand your concern, but this is my choice. I know that Aunt Anna is wary of Their Royal Majesties, and I’m sure she has her reasons for it, but I must go, regardless.”

  As expected, my mother instantly turned her attention back to me. “But why, Mathias? You don’t have anything to prove. You can find a wonderful wife here. There are a lot of girls in the village who are comely. The people in Ys would never accept you. If anything, you’ll have a worse experience than Anna.”

  I knew that. My aunt had been a talented healer, and yet, she had been spurned. I had never found out what had happened to her, since the episode had taken place before my birth, but I knew it had been bad. A humble woodcutter making a bid for the princess’s hand would not go over well.

  It didn’t matter. Ever since I’d heard the news, I’d become absolutely certain that I needed to participate. This competition held the answers to the questions that had been haunting me for years, to the strange nightmares that plagued my nights and all the times I woke up feeling like I’d been scooped open and ripped apart.

  It was an irrational belief. Perhaps I was only setting myself up for disappointment. Just the same, I had to try, or I’d always be stuck wondering ‘what if’.

  “You could be right, Mother,” I said. “Maybe it is dangerous and a bad idea. But even so, you can’t make me change my mind.”

  With that, I turned on my heel and stalked out of the cottage, leaving my parents to settle their differences on their own. I needed to finish my packing anyway. I had to leave tomorrow morning if I wanted to get to Ys in time for the tournament. Hopefully, the rumors were true and we would be provided with some kind of accommodation, because I didn’t have enough coin to find a place to stay in the undoubtedly crowded and expensive city.

  I should have known better than to think my mother would let the issue go so easily. Less than an hour after my argument with her, as I was busy setting aside some food for the road, a knock sounded at my door. Upon going to welcome my visitor, I found my aunt waiting for me outside my small home.

  “Are you here to try to change my mind too?” I asked as I gestured for her to come inside.

  My aunt sat down at the table and shook her head. “I doubt I’d be able to make a difference if I did try. Your mother tells me you are very determined and I know for a fact that you are as stubborn as she is, if not more so.”

  I was glad that I wouldn’t have to defend my decision to her. I’d always respected her deeply, and she was the only reason why I wasn’t illiterate and had some knowledge of the world beyond our little village. I’d never had the courage to tell her about my problem, but she had still been there for me throughout my childhood, and for that, I was grateful.

  In fact, I regretted having to go against her opinion. But no matter how much I trusted her judgment, I couldn’t compromise. “It’s not just about stubbornness,” I told her as I tried to find something to welcome her with. “I’m not being reckless. I have my reasons for it.”

  I didn’t have much I could offer her as a host. I knew how to cook, but I’d packed most of my supplies already. By some kind of miracle, I managed to unearth some fruit that weren’t overripe and placed them on the table, along with a pitcher of spring water.

  She didn’t touch the fruit, but she did pour herself a glass of water. For a few seconds, she stared at the clear surface of the liquid, as if seeking answers inside. When she looked up at me again, her gaze held something dark and ancient. “You don’t need to defend your decision in front of me,” she said. “That’s not why I’m here. I want to offer you a word of warning. You need to avoid some things no matter the cost. At times, you might find that your actions have a perfectly good reason, but that the end result is not something you ever wanted. Be very careful, Mathias, because the royal family are not what they appear to be.”

  “So you’ve said, more than once.” I narrowed my eyes at my aunt and shot her a defiant look. “Cryptic warnings like that aren’t really helpful, you know.”

  “I’m aware, but unfortunately, there’s not much I can do.” A shadow swept over her face, and a quiet grief that I’d never seen in her before seemed to settle over her li
ke an invisible, overwhelming burden.

  “Aunt Anna?” I asked, now concerned. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes and no,” she answered with a weak smile. “Listen, Mathias. Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.

  “The king… He’s hiding many things, dark and dangerous things that I wish I had never gotten involved with. I cannot completely explain, but I want you to promise me to be very careful. Participate in the competition if you must. Claim some kind of secondary prize. But leave the princess be. She is not something you should touch.”

  The thick apprehension in her voice made shivers run down my spine, but it wasn’t enough to change my mind. There were a lot of dark and dangerous things in the world. That was exactly why I needed to do this, to see if there was some kind of connection between the king’s mysterious secret and my own.

  I might have shared that with my aunt, but I had a feeling that if I did, I would only worry her further. Instead, I shot her a quick smile and replied, “Give me some credit. I’ve never been reckless. You know that, Aunt Anna.”

  If my aunt noticed that I didn’t agree to the latter part of her little speech, she didn’t mention it. Instead, she took my hand and traced the lines in my palm with gentle fingers. I wondered if she could see something in them, mysteries only people like her could distinguish. Like the queen, she was skilled in the arts of magic, and on numerous occasions, the people of the village had turned to her and her wisdom.

  Despite that knowledge, I was still a little surprised when she retrieved a small dagger from her coat and pressed it over our entwined palms. “I’m not sure what is waiting for you in Ys, Mathias. I’m only a woman who made some huge mistakes. But even if you don’t agree with anything I had to say today, at the very least, grant me this one favor. It might not be something you’re comfortable with, but I assure you, I would not do anything that isn’t to keep you safe.”

  She was asking for permission, the permission to cast some kind of enchantment. I arched a brow at her and nodded. “As long as it doesn’t involve me staying in the village, of course. I trust you completely, Aunt Anna.”

  “You shouldn’t,” my aunt replied. “You shouldn’t trust anyone completely, not even yourself. That will only get you hurt, killed, or worse.”

  I didn’t get the chance to ask her about the meaning of her cryptic words, as she passed the sharp tip of her blade over my palm and her own. I let out a hiss of pain. I’d cut myself plenty of times. It came with the territory when one worked with sharp objects on a regular basis. Once, I’d come very close to chopping off a finger, and the only reason why I hadn’t lost it was sheer good fortune. Nothing had ever felt like this.

  Then again, maybe that wasn’t true. The burn that erupted in my palm, from my point of contact with my aunt reminded me of my nightmares, of the strange fire that was urging me onward, to Ys. It told me I was more than a woodcutter and that I needed to find my answers elsewhere.

  And so, when my aunt clenched her hand around my own, I didn’t pull away. Instead, I mimicked her, holding onto her palm just as tightly. Blood dripped over our arms in an almost hypnotizing display, and I watched it pool into the glass of water my aunt had left untouched.

  At first, there was no visible effect. It was just diluted blood, combining with simple spring water. But then, with her free hand, my aunt reached into her pocket for a second time and retrieved a tiny crystal the likes of which I’d never seen before.

  Midnight black in color, it seemed to glow from within, emitting sharp bursts of light, almost like it had a heartbeat. It reminded me a little of black moonstone, but the vibrancy of its glow went so much further. Was it even natural? My knowledge of gemology wasn’t very impressive, but somehow, I knew the answer to that question was a definite ‘no’.

  My aunt blew a gust of air over the mysterious stone and whispered a small incantation in a language I didn’t understand. She then dropped the black crystal into the glass, tore her other hand away from mine and shoved her still bloody dagger inside the receptacle.

  I expected the glass to shatter, as the dagger was too bulky to fit in it properly. Instead, what happened was entirely different. My aunt’s hands started to glow, and a dazzling light enveloped her, flashing in a myriad of colors that ranged from a fiery red, to a royal purple and a deep, verdant green. I had never been more grateful for the fact that I’d chosen to build my little cottage away from the rest of the village, because otherwise, the blinding intensity of the spell would have drawn far too much attention to what we were doing. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a feeling this was something best kept between me and my aunt.

  When the light enveloped me, I felt the cut in my hand burn, the pain even fiercer than before. I fell off my chair, clutching my palm and marginally managing to suppress a scream.

  It was only for a moment, and then, the agony died. The light dimmed, and in the aftermath, my little cottage and all the furniture inside it looked diminished, as if whatever enchantment my aunt had cast had sucked something out of every single item its power had touched.

  My aunt didn’t seem surprised by this development. She turned toward me and shot me a quick smile. “We’re finished here now. You did very well, Mathias.”

  I had? When? I didn’t remember doing anything special except holding my aunt’s hand. But then again, what did I know about magic? Perhaps that had been important too, in some way.

  Shrugging to myself, I got up, now curious what the purpose of this whole thing had been. “Finished with what?” I asked my aunt.

  Aunt Anna didn’t provide a vocal reply. Instead, she pointed at the table, wordlessly gesturing for me to look at the results of her enchantment. I did, and gaped in shock at the sight that met my eyes.

  Nestled among the remnants of melted glass was a small, white pendant, dangling from a chain that had not existed before. A myriad of colors flashed underneath its surface, like butterflies trapped in a jar. The black crystal had been beautiful in its original, unpolished state. This was just… surreal.

  My aunt retrieved the pendant from the table and explained, “This is a very powerful token of protection. It will keep you safe in case you ever have to face dark magic. I need you to wear it and never take it off.”

  My head was still spinning after everything I had witnessed in the past couple of minutes, so I didn’t question her further. Instead, I lowered my head and allowed her to tie the pendant around my neck.

  The moment the white jewel made contact with my skin, it flashed one last time. Then, its surface went opaque, the colors pulsing beneath the surface fading away. It must’ve been the desired result, because Aunt Anna beamed brightly at me. “There you go. You’re ready for your journey now.”

  “Err… Thanks,” I belatedly remembered to say. “Do you think this is really necessary, though?”

  My aunt’s expression darkened again. “I hope not, but when it comes to the royals of Kerys, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Promise me. Wear it and never take it off.”

  Her almost commanding tone should have taken me aback, but it didn’t. Having a safety net was a good idea, and if Aunt Anna thought such a token would help me, who was I to question her? Besides, the reason I was going to Ys involved finding out the meaning of my nightmares. I might definitely end up needing protection from dark magic.

  “All right, Aunt Anna,” I said. “I promise. I’ll wear it and never take it off.”

  My aunt’s smile reemerged as I made my vow. The pendant pulsed against my heart, almost as if it acknowledged my promise too. It was both comforting and a little unsettling. I focused on the former and studiously ignored the latter. No matter how magical, the pendant was an object and could not acknowledge anything. It was a tool and something meant to help me in my quest.

  This had to be a sign. I was finally on the right path, the path I had first stepped on the moment I’d had my first mysterious dream. I did not know what awaited me at the end of it, but whatever it was, I would
embrace it wholeheartedly.

  The Tournament Begins

  Halvar

  “Well, if nothing else, the king isn’t skimping on the equipment. I’m surprised he’d grant such access to the contents of his armory to people he doesn’t even know.”

  I gripped the pommel of the sword a little more tightly, testing the weight of the blade and the way it fit in my hand. “I think it makes sense,” I told Thrand. “If the princess does indeed want the most skilled warrior, the king must intend to make the tournament at least a little fair.”

  Thrand snorted, but said nothing. We were alone in the tent that served as a storage facility for the weapons the king had offered to the competitors, but people could still walk by and overhear us talking.

  Either way, I knew what he was thinking. A good sword was useless if one didn’t have the education and skill to make use of it. Thrand and I didn’t have that problem, but at least half of the fighters were more liable to drop their weapons on their feet than actually defeat a real warrior and win the hand of the princess that way.

  It didn’t matter that much to me. I hadn’t come here to fight for the mysterious Dahud. My goal was far simpler—a title and a job that would keep us out of the ditches and give Thrand and me the ability to live on our own, without anyone throwing stones at us because of our choice of life partners. I had been born a peasant, and I didn’t mind occasional hardship, but Thrand was a prince, and he shouldn’t have had to endure poverty and hunger because of me. I had to do this, for him.

  “In any case, His Majesty’s reasoning is beside the point,” I told him. “What matters is the result. We have swords and we can compete in the tournament.”

  Thrand shot me a small, bemused smile. “I suppose I can’t argue with that, although you’ve been fussing to pick the right one for the past half hour.”

  “Picking a good sword is important!” I argued. “You know that.”