The Legend of the Cursed Princess

by A. K. Koonce

  Different but the Same

  Cormac

  “You can’t stay in the dungeon,” Wrenley tells us, her brows lowering with concern.

  “That’s what I fucking said.” I fold my arm across my chest and Ledian’s attention slowly falls on me with a look of pure annoyance and hate.

  I love it when I’m right.

  Wrenley’s changed into a deep red gown. Its smooth fabric hugs her small curves. It’s the color of blood and I can’t manage to look at it.

  A tightness has pushed into my chest, making it impossible to feel comfortable around her.

  I hate that feeling; this apprehension that’s shoving its way down my throat. I’ve never felt it until now. It’s a weak feeling. All I want to do is cling to that easy, tingling feeling I always had with her.

  I feel … off balance. Uncomfortable. Scared even.

  Swallowing hard, I pull my gaze from the floor to find Ledian still assessing me. The look of hatred is gone. Now he looks at me with something similar to speculation. It’s like he’s trying to figure me out.

  A deep breath fills my lungs and I try to focus on what everyone’s saying.

  “You should still try. Just …” Cohen’s voice trails off and I realize I’ve missed a lot of the conversation.

  “Just what?” she says, her voice teetering on a screech. “Stab you in the heart? And hope and pray that you get right back up?”

  Cohen shoves his hands on his hips as he opens his mouth but a response doesn’t come out.

  Probably because there’s no logical response to that. None of this is logical.

  “You can’t put that responsibility on me, Cohen.” Her lips close in a thin line that has us all quiet for several seconds.

  I try to imagine if our roles were reversed: would I have the balls to shove a knife through her pure and innocent heart?

  No fucking way.

  “I’ll fucking do it,” Ledian say as if it’s not a bother for him at all to stab any one of us.

  Everyone turns to him and the corner of his lip quirks as if he might smile but he doesn’t.

  “Why are you even here?” I ask, my jaw clenching so tightly it hurts.

  “We’re not starting that right now, Cormac.” A long sigh parts Cohen’s lips and he pushes his fingers between his brows.

  Is this how it’ll be for the rest of our lives? The four of us will really still cling to this woman for the rest of our lives?

  I only have thirty days. The rest of my normal life here can be tallied up to approximately thirty days.

  Then it’ll just be her and Ledian.

  Fuck if I’ll let that happen.

  An urgency fills my steps as I cross the space between us. My gaze takes in her features, the worry that lines her beautiful face.

  I’m doing that to her. I’m pushing her into this terrified state and I’m not even trying to help her. That has to change. Right now.

  My palm drifts across her knuckles, taking her hand in mine.

  “What you did to me wasn’t the death of me.” Her lips part but I don’t let her protests continue before I speak again. “I’ll help you. We can do this. You just need time. You need to rest.” Her father was right; she’s exhausted.

  Her attention falls to my lips and all I want to do is kiss her. I want to take away the anxiety she’s carrying.

  But it isn’t just the two of us right now. A curse still looms over our lives.

  My lips skim across her cheek as I place a chaste kiss to her jaw line and our closeness sends a tingling feeling all through me.

  “I’m okay, Princess.” I hold her worried stare for a moment as a current of feelings spark between us as if nothing’s changed where we’re concerned. “Good night,” I whisper against her neck. Her body trembles against mine.

  Stepping back from her, I walk to the balcony, letting the cold air sting into my skin.

  “What are you doing here?” I hear her ask Ledian. A smile is kissing her lips and for a few seconds, I don’t hate the thief. She looks beautiful when she smiles, less drained.

  “I thought you could use some help. I thought you might need me.” He gives her a crooked smile that only makes her happiness grow.

  A warm feeling spreads through me.

  Ledian and I are the same right now. She needs us both in different ways.

  “I do need you,” she confesses, her gaze trailing to the floor.

  Cohen is staring at Cason, his attention narrowing on our brother like he knows a secret. I stare at him for a moment as well, trying to figure out what Cohen sees.

  Cason looks from Cohen to me and then back again before he arches his brows and raises his hands from his sides.

  He is quieter than normal, I suppose.

  My attention pulls away from them when Ledian seals his lips to hers. It’s a light kiss, just a brush of their lips as his hands fall to her slim waist. He pulls her body flush with his.

  It does something insane to my body. A spike of jealousy is apparent within me but I swallow down the feeling. Because the way she’s smiling against his lips does something else entirely to me.

  I like that he makes her happy. I like knowing she has the option to not be with me and yet, she still is.

  In a sick way … I like seeing her with Ledian.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Dungeon’s Prisoners

  Cohen

  I’m starting to feel bad for the prisoners that my father kept down here. That’s a lie, I’m starting to feel bad for me.

  It’s been two days and this dungeon’s growing smaller and smaller by the minute. My brothers took the death of our father well. We all knew he wouldn’t survive without us to keep him from the madness of himself. We just didn’t expect him to die at the hands of the witch. She’ll get what she deserves. Soon enough.

  Across the room, Cormac and Ledian are sitting at a table covered in dust. A spider crawls across the toe of Ledian’s boot. The flicking arch of its thin legs hold my attention as it drags itself over his shoe.

  The two of them are playing chess, and it terrifies me when Cormac’s laugh booms through the dimly lit room. He shoves Ledian’s arm as he whispers something to him that makes both of them throw their heads back with laughter.

  What the fuck is happening right now?

  I glance to Cason. He’s sitting on the dirty floor just a few feet away, his long legs spread out before him. He arches a brow at me as if he’s thinking the same thing.

  The bench I’m lying on is biting into my side but I’ve been lying here for so long I can’t find the energy to get up.

  “Did you,” I pause, not wanting to ask him but also needing to know. “Did you sleep with her?” I ask in a quiet voice.

  He stares at me, his gaze seems to be trying to pry into my thoughts. The shining whisky color of his eyes is so familiar it’s as if I’m looking at my own reflection.

  “Why do you want to know?”

  He’s deflecting. Cason Ryken isn’t the type to talk about it. Cormac is open about everything, especially his bedroom life. Cason is his opposite.

  Why do I want to know? To torture myself a little more? Make sure I know I’m not really with her at all?

  What is wrong with me?

  We’ve kissed and that’s it. She has her hands full anyway. The three of them are enough for her I’m sure. They’ll keep her more than busy.

  Exhausted is more like it.

  When this is all over, if the curse doesn’t sentence us to the bottom of the sea, will she really need all four of us?

  Her father would never allow Ledian to be a permanent love interest in her life. Cormac would crumble under the watchful eyes of her kingdom. Cason … might be the right choice for her. He listens, he’d listen to her every need.

  He’d be a shitty leader, though. The crown would go bankrupt just from his kindness.

  “Stop thinking so much,” Cason tells me with a knowing smile.

  I try. For all of two seconds, I fo
rce my mind to calm down. A quietness sets into my thoughts. It’s peaceful for the shortest amount of time. Then I’m over analyzing every detail of our lives once more.

  “I’m going out for a while,” Ledian announces, as his boots scuff across the damp stone floor.

  “Where are you going?” Cormac asks, turning toward him as Ledian strides across the large room.

  God, he sounds needy. Is he dating the thief now, too?

  This dungeon’s making me bitter. Maybe we should all go out for a while.

  Without another word, the door closes quietly behind Ledian.

  Wherever he’s going, he doesn’t want us to follow.

  Chapter Twelve

  The Princess of Aveil

  Ledian

  The stone halls are darker than they were during the day, with no sunlight streaming through the windows. But, I can see well enough to get me where I need to go. Just up this hall and a few turns, then I’ll get my time with Wren before I’m off to fill my pockets.

  My fingers wrap around her door handle with a quick glance around. I usher myself into her room, flattening against the door as it closes. Her large eyes glance up in shock from where she sits at her desk.

  “Ledian.” She smiles. It’s a smile that ignites me.

  Leisurely, I stroll and drop myself to sit on the edge of her desk. My thigh brushes her knuckles and I scoot a little closer. The edge of my lips twitch into an uncontrolled grin.

  She leans forward, giving me an open view of her creamy cleavage before she reaches up, running her gentle fingers along my stubble.

  “I love that dimple you get under your chin when you smile. I love when you smile,” she whispers.

  Rubbing my chin, I smirk down at her. It’s then that I realize … I might just love her.

  How the hell did I let myself fall in love with the princess of Aveil?

  I can’t help myself when I give in to the urge to touch her. Leaning into her, I plant a soft kiss on her forehead. She tilts her head up, her lips pursed.

  “Why the sour face?” I ask, not sure if I want an answer. Clearly, we’re not on the same page here.

  “Will you … will you stick around?”

  There it is; the question that has my heart skipping a beat. Will I stick around? Here? In this ridiculously outlandish castle?

  With her.

  Yes.

  “Wren, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to leave you again.” Nerves tumble through my chest and it has me smirking as if what I’m saying isn’t entirely serious in my head. “You gave me something I didn’t know I could ever have for myself.”

  I find her hands, holding them to my chest as I stand and pull her up with me. Her fingertips are cold as I kiss each tip, taking my time.

  I’ve never acted like this with a woman before. I’m treating her like she’s a queen. My queen.

  “And what was that?” Wren whispers.

  “Joy.”

  “Oh.”

  My face flames as I think about where my thoughts take me. I bury my face in her neck to ignore my new founded shyness and trail kisses along the tender skin in the curve of her neck.

  “Love.” I mumble so quietly I wonder if she hears me, my stubble catching against stray pieces of her hair.

  Her face rests gently against my jaw, I can feel her chest rise and fall with the quick intake of breath. Is she shocked from my words?

  For a moment, I stand ever so still as well. Fear traces through my body.

  I straighten, pulling her into my arms against my chest. “Wrenley, thank you. Thank you for not marrying him.” I’ve never been this open with anyone.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  Savoring her touch, I hold her more firmly against me. “You don’t have to say anything.”

  I leave her with a kiss, one that pulls at the need within me. Her lips eagerly push back against mine as she follows me back to her door.

  Playfully she shoves me. The door rattles against my back as she seals her lips to mine with a wicked smile. The smooth feel of her gown threads through my fingers as I grip her ass, holding her soft curves against my body.

  “I have to go,” I say with a groan between kisses. She pulls back, her temple leaning against mine.

  “You just said you wouldn’t leave,” she whines with a smirk.

  “I won’t be far.”

  My heart, as well as my dick, hates my greedy mind for leaving. I press one more kiss to her cheek before slipping back into the hall. I smile at her as I close the large mahogany door.

  The grin on my lips turns into a nasty sort of smirk as I search out and find Lord Turningten’s previous room to be blissfully empty. The crates are all stacked just as they were left before. They’re practically waiting for me.

  A ringing in my ears from the silence calms the always present nagging feeling I get when I make my attempts to steal something. The feeling is even larger now as I make my first attempt to do so within the walls of the castle.

  This is the only chance I’ll ever have at taking something here. For some reason, I can’t imagine stealing from Wrenley or her family.

  Her ex-fiancé, absolutely.

  A strange feeling twirls in my stomach as I try to understand why I can’t steal from the beautiful princess. Is it because of love? I push that feeling aside. I can’t be distracted right now.

  My hands eagerly start opening creates. All his items are so unnecessary for living, but important to those who wish to show off their fortune in material items. I thumb over the gold of a large oval locket, chuckling as I drop it into my pocket.

  “I would assume you’re here to help me move these crates, not here to take what isn’t yours. Is that correct?”

  Nash Turningten’s voice catches me off guard. My spine stiffens as my feet quickly spin me around to face him.

  “You scared me. Yes, of course. I’m here to help, just taking the chain up to the castle’s jewel maker to have it polished for you,” I lie patting my pocket. The words come too easy.

  His tongue runs over his teeth before he smacks his lips. “I know who you are. You can drop the act. You’re a land bound pirate only here to take what can make you some money.”

  For a moment, I wonder if he’s seen me around his home estate near the sea, as well. Yes, over the years I’ve made a habit of collecting and selling Nash’s shitty life possessions.

  “And you’re the sniveling, soulless prick who couldn’t quite win the heart of the princess.” I smile at my own wit.

  Nash’s thin fist tightens as he pounds it down upon the nearest tote. The startling sound echoes through the room and no doubt down the halls.

  “It would do you well to show some respect,” he snarls, shaking his long pointer finger at me as he speaks. His red hair is standing on end, patches of it darting in different directions as if he’s run his hand through it a million times. Even along his chin is a dark red shadow of a beard that he hasn’t bothered to shave.

  Maybe losing Wren has done this to him.

  What would happen to me if she wasn’t in my life? Swallowing the lump that has formed in my throat, I speak up. “That just isn’t something in my nature. If you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way.”

  Pushing the crate back to where I found it, I turn to walk past Nash from where he stands, a distraught look is all over his crazed face. A pale hand forcefully grabs my shoulder, stopping me from my quick escape.

  “How did you get in here, boy?” he growls.

  Boy.

  The single word sends a prickling feeling across my flesh.

  “Maybe some of us have actually acquired the affection of your lost princess,” I sneer at him, picking his hand off of my shoulder like a piece of trash.

  At first, he looks pissed at my comment, but it isn’t long before he’s laughing.

  Laughing.

  My stomach turns. Something isn’t right.

  Nash rolls his eyes, “She has turned into quite the floozy.”


  Through narrowed eyes, I glare at him.

  “She was right to leave your undeserving ass.”

  “Oh, and you think you’re so deserving of her love, thief?”

  “Maybe I am.” My anger propels me as I stand just an inch from his face. My breath heaves in large, unseen waves over his worthless grin.

  “I hope for your sake, she loves you as you do her.”

  I’m startled by his statement. His words, said with a sarcasm that didn’t ease the hurricane within my stomach.

  Until Wren, I’d never loved anyone in my entire life and he sees it that clearly …

  Nash steps back from me his palms rising next to him. Perhaps he wants to throw arms?

  I’m ready to swing when I notice the chill creep into the dimly lit room. Goosebumps form along my arms as a breeze whips my hair. Holy Hell.

  Not even thirty seconds pass before I’m standing in the middle of what appears to be a tornado, one that is sucking away at my breath. My throat burns down into my lungs as I struggle to take in air. Pain radiates through my knees as they buckle and leave me kneeling on the hard wood floors. The world blurs before me turning to black.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Love and Hate

  Wren

  “We’re going to go for a swim. Just get out for a while.” Cohen’s dark eyes shift over me. It looks like there’s a million thoughts behind those big brown eyes but he doesn’t voice any of them.

  The evening sun is just beginning to set. Colors of deep purple and hints of blue fill the sky.

  Cormac begins pulling off his shirt, revealing the lines of his narrow waist for me, distracting me from the issues at hand.

  “Cormac’s going to freeze. He shouldn’t be out in the cold.” The three of them stare at me, making me shift of my feet. I like the way their gaze burns across my body.

  Cason slips his fingers through mine. “I won’t let anything happen to him.” It’s a promise and his simple assurance does something strange to me. Their simple presence here does something strange deep within my chest.

  It’s then that I know.

  I love them. All of them and I’m too selfish to part with any of them.

  I’m an awful person. They came to me for help and I put them in this terrible situation. I’ll only bring discord to their family.