The Keeper's Curse

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After almost four days on the Stellarum Sea, the boat finally docked in the harbor of Pendum. The moment that Prince Alaric Hawthorne saw the Southern Isles come into view, he praised the gods. The nineteen-year-old prince did not fare well with extended—or really any—sea travel. After spending all those days at sea, he was ready to start swimming the second he saw the land masses come into view. He would have drowned, no doubt, but he wouldn't have been on that boat any longer.

Almost a week ago, he had been summoned by his father and was ordered to gather a list of items. Alaric hadn't thought twice about his father sending him to the Southern Isles for the materials until he glanced over the list during day two of their journey. Almost every item was available in Icantesimo or even in the Northern Isles.

For some reason, his father needed him gone from the Icantesimo Castle for eight days. Even though he wished he knew why he'd been sent to the Southern Isles, he knew that it was better if he didn't know the reason.

When the crew finally docked, Alaric was the first one off the ship. Not waiting for anyone to even tell him they were ready to disembark, he practically ran down the plank and resisted the urge to sink to his knees. Laughter came from the ship as Alaric took a deep breath, bent at the waist.

"I wouldn't have brought you if all you were going to do is laugh."

Before he even turned, he knew who the laughter had belonged to. His longest, and really only, friend stood on the ship, staring down at Alaric from the railing. "You'd be bored without me."

With a roll of the prince's jade eyes, Lord Christian Acer made his way down plank. They'd barely endured the hot, southern sun, but Alaric started to wonder if he really did miss the start of Icantesimo's winter. Back in the north, the winter was just beginning as harsh as ever. Snow had already begun to fall, covering the ground in a thick layer of white. Although the warmth was a nice charge from the blistering cold, he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to enjoy it.

The sun, however, didn't seem to have any affect on Christian as they made their way into the town. There wasn't a bead of sweat dripping from the lord's forehead, and his golden hair didn't look like it had just been freshly washed with sweat.

The same couldn't be said for Alaric. In the five minutes they'd been walking, Alaric was already dripping with sweat. He was certain if his black hair was longer, he'd be able to ring out the sweat in it.

Alaric grabbed the canister of water from Christian, downing half the contents before reaching into his trousers' pocketfor the piece of parchment his father had written on. The objects ranged from simple things like dried rose petals to more complicated objects that he had never heard of before. He read a few items off to Lord Christian as he walked. It wasn't until he reached the fifth object thathe realized he was staring up at the cloudless blue sky.

At first, he wasn't sure if he had passed out or fell over, but when the sharp tip of a golden sword touched his chest, he knew his answer. Inhaling sharply, his eyes darted to the man holding the sword.

The man was young, maybe a year or so younger than the prince himself, with longer, light blonde hair. From his spot on the earth, Alaric could tell that this man towered over him with a build greater than six feet. The tanned, caramel colored skin told him that this man was a native to Priasien or the Southern Isles.. It wasn't until he noticed the man's eye color that he realized who he had run into. The silver-blue eyes of a prince.

"Prince Lucas?"

The silver in his eyes had made Alaric second guess his decision at first, but that bright blue mixed in told him he was right. The Draconis family were known for their vibrant blue colored eyes. Prince Lucas must have inherited the silver hue from the former Queen of Priasien since most of the Draconis royals held a solid blue colored eye color.