The King's Cursed Bride

Missing a Piece of Myself

Nothing wounds quite so deep

Not sword, nor dagger, nor bow

As betrayal's sting upon one's heart

Which lands the most painful blow

The First King was nearly felled

By such a weapon as this

When his pregnant queen left his side

For his Commander's kiss

Carissa's fingers stiffened, crinkling the page. She smoothed it flat once more. The First Queen was unfaithful to the King? Was that why there hadn't been a queen since? Because none of them had trusted a woman to be queen because of the First's betrayal?

Carissa kept one hand sandwiched between the pages to hold her place as she flipped to the front cover. She ran her thumb along a facet of the sapphire. What about this story had made Marissa act so rashly?

Someone knocked on the door, making her temples throb with each strike. "Your highness? You asked me to remind you when the meeting with Lord—"

Carissa tamped down a groan. "Tell him I'm busy. But I'll meet with him in ten minutes."

"Yes, your highness."

Lord Tarun would undoubtedly be angry at that delay, but she was willing to pay nearly any price for a break. She flipped open the book once more.

And so the betrayers fled,

Hoping to escape the King's wrath

But little did the Queen know

That she treaded a dangerous path

The Commander loved her naught

Only wanted her to wound the King

Consumed by jealousy rather than love,

He used her for his own means

The King pursued his Queen,

Vowing to find her and bring her home

Only to find her dying in the forest

Weak and all alone

The Queen had given birth

To a curse-inflicted child

Before giving her to a stranger

Lest they both die in the wild

The King captured her dying breath

With a single kiss

He promised he'd set right

What had gone amiss

And so the prophecy began

Of the King's Cursed Bride

A noble warrior queen

Destined to change the tide

Did it mean... her? Was this why Akasha and Akar would afraid of what she'd become? Because they knew the prophecy?

To join the Commander

Or defeat him with her last breath

May she reign victorious

Even in her death