A Forbidden Fate (A Forbidden Fate Series Book 1)

by Kaven Hirning

It’s as if there were never a curse, and we’re in love and happily wed.

“Swan? Surely you jest!” “You’ve made fun of every name I’ve offered! You’re too hard to please!” He shakes the long stick he carries in his free hand into the air. “On the contrary, my dear! I’m quite easy to please. But your nicknames are atrocious. Swan? Woodpecker? Cuckoo?”

“What is it?” Braizen asks worriedly and starts towards me. I snatch some of the hanging garments and spin around. “Clothes! For men and women!” I say through tears of joy. His nostrils flare, but then he smiles. “I call the dress,” he says.

“Braizen?” I turn and gasp. He’s slumped in his chair, his pale body drenched in sweat. “Braizen!” I scream, lunging towards him. My hands shake, mere inches away from his body.

Even though my first search didn’t unearth any, I wildly scout the room for spirits, or anything that might help disinfect the wound. I turn in circles and wring my hands in growing panic. Hot tears stream down my cheeks. Braizen is dying, and I can’t even hold him as he does. He’s dying.

As I move my palms toward him, their seething heat transforms into something bright and refreshing, like stepping out of a cold room into the sun’s warmth. With my eyes closed, I press my palms out harder. I can feel him. I can feel his arms around my waist as if we’re dancing together again. I hear his laugh and see his light blue eyes pierce mine.

I manage a weak laugh. “If only you could run as fast as you run your mouth,” I tease. He cracks a handsome grin. “If only.”

The tall, lanky male holds a lute but lowers it as Idalia draws near. He reaches out a hand. “Milady! Are you all right? You look like you’ve just escaped a dungeon!” His eyes move to me, and his dark brows furrow. He pulls Idalia behind his back and lifts a cautionary hand. “Is this man causing you distress? If the answer is yes, I’ll have to show him that a lute is a powerful weapon if swung hard enough!” He rears back his instrument and braces himself.

A click of his tongue interrupts her. “A Princess with no coin to spare? How very unlike royalty to withhold your treasure trove from the poor! Well, that’s a shame because as much as I want to serve Your Highness, I’m afraid I can’t be doin’ no favors for free.” He scopes her lush body and shrugs. “There are other methods of payment I’m willing to accept, of course.” “How about, if you grant us the horses, I won’t kill you for saying that,” I say softly.

She slaps a hand to her mouth and then drags it down her throat. “Fine! Go ahead, boys. I’ll be right over here, waiting for the victor.” She strolls to the fence and sits, nestling her chin in her palms and glaring at me.

A horse whinnies, and I bolt my head around. Idalia is mounted and already on the road. She peeks back to catch my eye and smirks. “Hiyah!” She kicks the horse’s ribs, and they’re off. “Should’ve seen that one coming,” I say with a large sigh.

He calls out as I race down the road toward her. “You know, this would make an amazing song!”

“Pay him no mind,” Teddy whispers. “He’s just mad that women are smarter than him.” Lachlan chokes on his wine and thumps a fist to his chest. “Theodore,” he hisses. “Mind your tongue. He’s still our father.” She rolls her eyes and pops a grape into her mouth. “Lachlan is mad about it, too,” she adds as I hide a smile behind my napkin.

Their excited voices flood the room. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to block their chatter as they prattle on about their respective passions, but to no avail. I managed to survive the Florian Wood, but their insufferable conversation may be what takes me out.

“Teddy,” I say with a shaky voice. She plants her hands on her hips and squints, taking in every inch of me. “So,” she muses with a devilish grin. “The Princess of Verdana has finally come to see my library.”

Stig shuffles his feet before her unwavering stare and clears his throat. “Why, everything, of course. That’s why men run this world.” An almost unbearable silence follows until, without looking up from the book she’s scanning, Idalia cracks a laugh. Theodore looks first at Idalia and then back at Stig, sending him a cool smile. “Well, then. It’s no wonder the world is in shambles.”

I watch Lachlan’s face, at how his eyes glow as Idalia runs towards him, and the gods stretch time for me. She flings her arms around his neck. This singular moment is not wholly wonderful.

“I wouldn’t get too excited about it, though,” I add with a shrug. “She’s a real pain in the ass once you get to know her.”

Her eyes find mine, and her look sends a frisson through my body. A dead man I may be, but that look, that smile…that is a sin worth dying for.

When Idalia receives her dish and the scents waft up to her nose, she releases a sigh of pleasure. When she takes her first bite, her eyes light up. But not for me. For him. “How did you know?” She asks with a euphoric smile. “The gods surely have brought me to you,” she praises, taking another bite.

Idalia pulls Lachlan to the floor; his smile is wide and full of wonder. She places his timid hands around her waist and begins to sway to the melody. I can see him gulp when she folds her hands around his neck and pulls him closer.

So many flares fire at once that I can’t contain my joy and giddiness. I move to Lachlan’s side and rest my head on his shoulder. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I say excitedly. “It’s all for her. She loved the stars,” he whispers.

Braizen looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish my sentence, so I say quietly, “Our friends wouldn’t want us to ignore their sacrifice.” “Our friends?” He all but spits at me. “You think they’re our friends?”

“That’s why you ran away and created that gods damn circus you call The Cloaked,” I continue viciously. “It’s why you rob the richest noblemen in your precious kingdom and spend your reaping on booze and whores. Most consequentially, though, it’s why they’re gone.”

“Or what?” I place the half-empty bottle on the ground. “What are you going to do, Braizen? If you touch me, you’ll die before you can take out your anger. Not that we need to touch for you to hurt me. You’ve done plenty of that in our time together.” His face softens for a fraction of a second before it twists back into rage.

“I would undress you faster.” He smiles arrogantly, breaking the tension immediately.

My mouth drops open. The sight of him, hard and ready for me, is almost too much to take in.

Braizen shouts my name like a vow. I join him, repeating his name like an unanswered prayer. I’ve never felt anything so good, so real, so… Together, we shatter.

A single tear drips down her cheek. She’s trembling and appears tortured, but I can’t fall for it again. Another thud sounds off in my chest. I grab my tunic and pull it on, then finish my message.

“You didn’t propose tonight, Lach,” I say patiently. “You sent her a letter asking for her hand.” “I did no such thing,” he says vehemently, shaking his head. A cold chill races up my spine; it’s not the alcohol speaking. “Yes, you did.”

I must get back and find her. I must tell her that she’s been deceived. Lachlan did not send the letter.

“That’s awful, even to me, a bandit who enjoys stealing. A private chamber is completely off-limits! Unless the person is dead and buried with the key, of course.”

“I think I know a way you and Idalia can break the curse.”

“What?” I pout. “I don’t want the effects of my drinking to be gone; that’s the whole point of drinking!” He shakes his head and laughs.

“Why would we want to revoke the curse?” I slowly tilt my head to face him. Braizen lurches back, his eyes dark, the excitement on his face gone.

“Good riddance,” I sulk, lying back on the pillow. “Break the curse. Ha! As if anything is more powerful than the gods!” Heat flickers through my hands, and I shake them with a snide grunt.

“If we find the Woman of the Woods and discover that she can’t help us, I won’t care,” he says gently. “We would’ve tried everything, and we would’ve tried together. That’s all that matters to me.” “Then what?” I sniffle, pressing my cheek harder into my hand–his hand. Tears fill my eyes, and I long to fall into his arms and sob until I’m drained.

“Little Sparrow,” he muses with a gleam in his eyes. “You needn’t worry when it comes to us. I’ll take care of you. Whether it’s a malevolent mist that comes after you or a bad day where all you need is to laugh, I’ll be there. I’ll be whatever it is you need me to be.”

“My fate has already been chosen for me, Idalia. The day I laid eyes on you, it was sealed, and I was yours. Wholly and true. I don’t need to touch you to know that I love—” His hand drops to his side, and he lets out a shaky laugh.

I know to be near him, to desire his closeness, is to choose death. But when he looks at me like this, time slows. My heartbeat quickens, and tears threaten to spill down my cheeks. My limbs burn; the truth lingering in the back of my throat thrashes and begs to be spoken aloud. To be with him is to die. But to be without him is no way to live.

I rub my numb hands together and scowl. “You’re so stubborn. Once we break this curse, I’m going to wring your neck!” His face is the perfect picture of calm as he trots along his course. It’s as if I’ve said nothing! I plop onto the dirt and twigs and hug myself for warmth as Braizen starts a fire.

“Idalia, talk to me. What’s wrong? What are you saying?” “It’s too late,” she mumbles. “It’s too late for me to run.” Anger rolls through me like a wave gaining traction in a storm. “Talk to me, damnit! What’s going on?” Her wet lashes stick together, but her stare still pierces me. She wipes her hand across her nose. “How could you do it, Braizen? Before they come, tell me. How could you!? Was it all a lie!”

“Sparrow,” I almost choke on her name. “Little Sparrow, forgive me. Forgive me for taking away your chance for freedom. For believing their lies and for not seeing you sooner.”

“Welcome home, icy bitch,” one of the men says as he throws me into a murky cell. I land on my back and stare at a dark, stone ceiling covered in mold.

“Princess,” she says. “Eat your food. That’s an order.” Her voice reminds me of something, but I can’t think; my brain is all but mush. I don’t answer; I can’t. My bones continue to rattle within. “Princess?” For a moment, her voice sounds sincere.

Ignoring her frown, I pull Lorna into a tight embrace. She’s the first human I’ve felt in months, the first familiar face. And she lives! Torrent is alive!

“Chasing after me? Why would he do that? Unless…” I murmur. The question I’ve been plagued with all those days in the cell finally answered. He didn’t betray me. I grab the horse’s mane as we begin to trot.

I’m coming for you, Braizen. Wherever you are, whatever has happened, no matter what it might cost. It is better to die together than to live apart.