The Cursed Pharaoh's Bride

Chapter 35: Dysfunctional Family Matters

Carolina

My eyes flutter open and I'm met with a dim light coming from the lamp standing in the corner of my room. I sit up in my bed. I notice I've been tucked under the covers and my glasses have been placed on my night stand. Just as I place them on, I'm startled by a deep voice coming from behind me.

"Rise and shine, princess," Charles drawls. He's sitting at my desk, flipping through some book.

"How long have I been out?" I ask.

"Just a few hours," he replies without peeling his eyes from the book.

"Where's Elijah?"

"Something came up at work. He didn't say what."

I glance around the dimly lit room. The overgrown flower bed is gone. In fact, my room looks so clean, it's as if no magical accident happened. I've only lived here for no more than two days and I can already tell Elijah's cleaning staff are unbelievably efficient. They've picked up after us after our meals, and they take our dirty clothes right away. I've even noticed that the second I leave bed, they're already rearranging the sheets. It's almost scary how on top of things they are.

Charles' voice brings me out of my thoughts. "I heard about what happened in here. I can't say I'm surprised," he says. I don't miss the slight edge in his voice.

"You're not surprised I failed miserably?" I ask while fiddling with my fingers in shame.

"No," he mutters, "I'm not surprised you have access to so much magical power. You really are like her..."

Her? "Since you like to compare me to your sister so much, do you think you can tell me what she's like already? Because I'm dying to know why it is that you say I'm like her," I snap.

Charles abruptly shuts the book he's reading and sends me a cold look. "My sister's name is Anastasia. And in essence, she's a bitch," he starts.

I place my hand over my heart in fake hurt. "I didn't know you saw me that way, Charles. What did I ever do to you?" I snap.

"That's not how you're like her," he snaps back. "It's like I've said last time, you two are born lucky in your own ways, even if you don't want to acknowledge it."

I let out a frustrated sigh. "I know you think I'm lucky because fate chose me to be a pharaoh's soulmate and now I'm developing magic and all that..."

"On top of that you're picking up your magical abilities really quickly, it seems. There's no doubt you're a natural and you're going to be powerful," Charles adds almost bitterly.

I let out a huff. "Okay, fine. Let's consider all those things and ignore all the hell I've been through so far," I say sarcastically, "But what about your sister? What's your problem with her?"

"Anastasia is also extremely talented at using heka. In fact, she's a natural," Charles mutters. "She's about three years younger than me. Being the younger child, she was always spoiled and treated like a princess. When we were growing up, my parents had the expectation that I would be the ideal son. I was trained to become the head of the family company and I was expected to be a powerful heka user so I'd gain status in the Eye.

"I tried to do everything I could to please them and meet their expectations. Anastasia had no such expectations. In my parents eyes, she was their precious daughter that didn't have to do anything unless she wanted to. I hated how much my parents were easily pleased by her. To make matters worse, I couldn't use magic. I had poor control. When my parents saw I had no talent for it, they said to not bother joining the Eye as to not embarrass our family. They said I was better off just training to run the family company.