I storm back into the castle, the doors opening too slowly for my liking, and I find the ruler standing where he was when I left. I shove my hands into his chest.

  “You knew!” I scream at him, but he doesn’t budge, “You will let me leave, now!”

  He says nothing but turns his back and continues walking.

  “No,” I try to stand in his way, to stop him, to do anything, but he just barrels forward. I slam my fist into his chest again, “Where are you going?” It’s a plea, really.

  “We,” He corrects, “Are going to have a civil conversation about your crimes.”

  “My crimes?” I look around, “What do you mean?”

  I fall into step with him, desperate for answers. He calmly leads me up the stairs and into a room with the largest rectangular table I've ever seen. The room is built for it, and the ceiling goes far beyond my head, where silver chandeliers hang.

  He sits at the far end of the table, and after some pacing, I sit at the other end.

  “What crimes?” I try again.

  “First, we eat.”

  “No. Absolutely not. You will tell me why I am here,” I state.

  A door hidden in the dark paneling of the walls opens, and a young blonde brings us glasses of water.

  “And what would you like?” She asks me.

  “I’m not hungry,” I’m fuming.

  “We’ll both have Mrs. Daisy’s special today,” the ruler says without a blink.

  The blonde nods, her purple eyes bobbing up and down as an expression of relief crosses her features.

  “It’s not poisoned," the ruler grumbles minutes later. He takes the first bite, but I make no move to unwrap my fork. Fuck this.

  I stare at him instead. The weight on his shoulders is still there. He’s thinking about other things when I finally allow myself to eat. I give in to my senses, which are ogling at the plate, my mouth starting to drool. It certainly is not prison food.

  When I’m done and he seems satisfied, I fold my hands in front of me. Exactly as if the server knows what is going on, she comes to clear our plates. It’s business time. I await information patiently, but he’s in no rush to tell me. Why?

  “You cannot kidnap a person, bring them into your home, and refuse to discuss why they are there,” I say between my teeth, “It’s rude.”

  This earns me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, “I’m under the impression that you have single-handedly damned my court, its people, and eventually the whole Arcane Four, including myself and yourself,” he inhales, “You cursed the Sun King's kingdom to fail.”

  I cock my head. At least he’s straight to the point.

  “Then why is it not his roof that I sit under?”

  “You don’t deny it?”

  Words fail me. My father had sung me the nursery rhymes of the magical world with a sky of purple. The stories say that once discovered, a human will die. But that’s just a nursery rhyme, right?

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “The own ruler of The Cursed Court has cursed another ruler,” He states in disbelief, “Clearly you do not care if our barriers fall.”

  “I’m not a ruler,” I say without thinking.

  His eyes snap to mine, “Only rulers can curse,” it sounds like a hiss, he says so quickly.

  My skin crawls, and I find myself as far away from him in my chair as it will allow me to go.

  “Return me,” I say, even as my voice shakes and betrays me.

  A true smile fills his face, and it raises the hair on the back of my neck. Have I just requested death?

  “No chance,” He replies evenly. Shadows stir in the corners of the room and overflow into the light. My saliva suddenly becomes thick, and I can’t swallow. He is going to kill you! My head is on a swivel as I assess where to go. Besides the door we came in, and the hidden door, there’s no escape. The windows are too large, and frankly, it might kill my soul to break stained glass like that. The birds I hadn’t noticed before stop chirping all around, the silence sitting heavy in my bones.

  He’s on his feet before I can process that he is. I stand up abruptly, “Sit,” He demands, “I only mean to grab the tea.”

  Tea? He disappears through the door, and before I can do anything, he’s back.

  “I am willing to do anything to save my court. Being a ruler yourself, you should understand,” Steam rises as he pours himself a cup, then offers it to me, which I immediately decline. He offers again, “Nor is the tea poisoned, because in order to make this work, I need you alive.”

  “And why is that?” I try to stay composed, following his example. I take note of the shadows as they swirl away, then return.

  “Because I consider myself reasonable. You will break your curse, and in return, I will set you free.”

  I can’t break a curse. I envy his shadows, how easily they flow. If only I were not considered a fraud, I’d break the curse and never come here again. I never said that I was a ruler, yet this is why he captured me.

  “Once a curse is set, it cannot be lifted,” I say, “not by my own power.”

  “My soldiers are fighting to the death every day. The Sun King has gone mad and attacked my court. I have just returned not from meetings but from war. You will break that curse and save us all, no matter if I have to kill you to do it.”

  “Understood,” I say, feigning boredom, “How very unoriginal of you.”

  “Would you be willing to bargain?”

  The way he says it, I know that there is more to it, “Which means?”

  “That you and I will be bound permanently together for every breathing second until you break that curse.”

  “How?”

  “All bargains take different shapes as no two are alike. Of course, you can simply... Set the ruler free now.”

  I look at the table, “I can’t.”

  I hear a hiss and look at the ruler. He bites his cheek, “Then you'll be bound to me until it's resolved.”

  “You would imprison an innocent ruler?” Panic swells in my chest.

  He looks almost as if he's in pain.

  “As you would know, a ruler is to do anything for their court.”

  “And so you should know that I must return to mine.”

  “Why? So you can cast more spells?”

  “We've been out of that practice for years now. Without a ruler, however, I can't guarantee that.” The lies come easily but sound fake to my own ears.

  He hisses again, “Then we'd better break this curse quickly.”

  I raise an eyebrow at him, “You'd be better off sending me home.”

  “That will not happen until the king returns to his former state. You can either rot in prison or use your magic to break your curse.”

  “I've never broken an old curse, that's not my specialty.”

  “I'm sure you'll be of better use than I. Here is my offer. You accept the bargain, or return to your cell right after this, where you will be left to rot.”

  If I bargain, I will die. I am not a magical being and will never be able to break a curse. If I return to the cell, I will die. However, if I am in prison, I won’t even have a chance.

  I look to the windows and savor the sunlight, as it might be the last time that I see it. Then I do the only thing I can, “I agree. I will bargain with you.”

  His eyes widen as I feel something begin to form. It’s like a presence, and it settles over us, and we’re both yanked from our seats.

  In the middle of the room, I start to back away from the ruler. Something stops me, and seems to set me back into my place, mere feet away from the King of Shadows. He does the same to the same conclusion just feet away.

  What have I done?