Sabine

"Draw my bath," Prince Cole demanded as he swept into his room.

I was still fluffing his pillows in preparation for his return. He didn't even look at me as he walked behind the changing screen. I could see his silhouette as his clothes were discarded.

My cheeks heated and I hurried to the brass tub. I'd ordered hot water earlier, suspecting he'd want a bath after getting Talon squared away. The dragon's approach on the horizon since dawn, the shape getting ever closer and more massive, had me running about all day to prepare for the prince's return.

Water gushed into the tub and Prince Cole entered the bathroom with a robe wrapped around him. It was secure at the waist but one silken sleeve hung off his shoulder ever so slightly, showing the thick cords of his neck and the smooth, sculpted shape of his chest.

I quickly ducked my eyes to the water. A thick froth of bubbles covered the surface and the water was obscured underneath. I turned the water off and turned my back to him.

I heard him sigh and the soft swish of silk against his skin. The blood rushed to my cheeks and I squinted my eyes closed. Why hadn't he dismissed me before completely disrobing?

A few splashing sounds followed and the prince sighed again. This one was longer.

"Are you going to keep your back to me all night?" His voice was tight.

I grabbed a towel from the linen cabinet and returned to stand by the tub. "I was not expecting to keep you company during your bath, Your Majesty."

His surly features cracked and a grin spread across his lips. I kept my eyes up but I could still see him. The thick layer of bubbles created an opaque barrier and everything below his neck was mercifully covered.

The prince closed his eyes and leaned back in the tub. His arms rested on the sides, small bubbles clinging to them and covering portions of them. His hands gripped the edge of the tub so hard his knuckles were white.

I quickly scanned the rest of him, what I could see. His neck muscles popped out under his skin and a muscle in his jaw twitched repeatedly.

Prince Cole opened one eye and arched an eyebrow at me.

I gasped and looked down, clutching the towel in my hands closer to my chest.

"Something wrong?"

"No, Sire." I shook my head vigorously.

"Then why were you making that face?"

I put my hand on my face and checked my features. Had I been making a face at him? I hadn't even noticed.

"Nothing... I just... My apologies, Your Highness, but you seem very tense."

He chuckled and nodded. "That's putting it lightly. I thought a warm bath would help." He flicked at the bubbles.

He soaked in the bath a while longer without dismissing me. I stood beside the tub with his towel. When he informed me that he was ready to get out, I set the towel on a stool beside the tub.

"I'll fetch fresh clothing." I hurried out of the bathroom before he could stand up. I pulled some clothes from his closet and left them behind the changing screen as I gathered his dirty clothes to bring to the laundry.

When I returned, the prince was dressed. He sat in an armchair, his back arched forward, hair hanging in front of his eyes. He rested his elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on his upturned hands.

"That thing you did... to help me relax. Can you do it again?"

"The massage?" I flexed my hands at my sides.

"Yes." He glanced up at me from under his hair.

"Of course, Sire."

I moved around behind him and reached my hands to his tense neck. I paused right before touching him. My lungs trembled with each breath. He'd given me permission and still, the hands of a slave touching a royal prince felt wrong.

My hands dropped to his shoulders, fingers curling around his tight muscles. With a mind of their own, it seemed, they began working the hard, unyielding cords beneath his skin.

I could feel the heat of his body through his shirt. The same heat that had practically consumed me when he kissed me. Why did I have to think about that now?

My flush spread down my neck and I was grateful the prince still had his head bowed. Under the pressure and the strokes of my hands, the muscles in his neck and shoulders began to ease.

He leaned back in the chair, slouching slightly as he relaxed into the massage. Another sigh left his lips, and with it, the release word for my magic.

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My veins ignited and my hands clamped tightly on his shoulders as magic flooded through me. A gasp rose in my throat and I couldn't swallow it in time. It broke free and I panted as the flood of magic piqued all my senses.

The moment passed quickly and I returned to my duty, relaxing the prince. I called forth a healing, soothing spell and kneaded it into his skin and muscles with my hands.

Prince Cole let out a deep breath that almost sounded like a moan and I felt his tension melt away, muscles turning to puddy against my fingers. He leaned his head back on the chair and closed his eyes.

After a few more moments, the prince brushed my hands from his shoulders. He ran his fingers through his hair.

My collar activated again and the liveliness I felt was instantly cut off.

"Did anything interesting happen while I was away?" He glanced over his shoulder at me.

I rubbed my hands on my thighs. The only thought that came to mind was King Talis's unexpected visit to my personal quarters. The king had ordered me not to tell anyone, including Prince Cole. Besides, he was offering me what the prince wouldn't.

"Princess Rosalie requested my company. Otherwise, I spent time in the gardens or reading, Your Majesty."

"Reading?" The prince creased his brow.

"The Princess has brought me some books. Is that... acceptable?"

"I have no qualms with you reading. If you run out of material, you are free to read any of the books in my parlor." He waved his hand in the direction of the shelves but his eyes drifted to a far window.

"I..." My breath caught. I recalled several magical texts I'd seen when I first arrived in the palace. I'd wanted to read them so badly, but I could never ask. "Thank you, Your Majesty." I bowed my head even though he wasn't looking at me.

He grunted in response but kept his face turned away. He was more relaxed, physically, but there was still something on his mind. It wasn't my place to know or ask...

"How was your trip, Highness?"

The prince whipped his head around, a deep crease between his brows. "Are you interested in politics?"

I licked my lips. "Not particularly," I admitted. I rocked back on my heels. "I only wish to know if there is more I can do for you."

"The ever-faithful slave, willing to serve." His words held a sarcastic tone I didn't understand. "King Verill denied any knowledge of Princess Cara's movements in Telasia. And yet, he was reluctant to renounce his blood ties to her."

"Then you suspect he knows more than he is letting on?" I surmised.

The prince stroked his chin and nodded. I noticed light stubble on his face for the first time. Normally, around the castle, he was clean-shaven. It was rare that I got to see him so soon after his arrival.

"That, or he is looking for any excuse to provoke a war with Telasia. Stivalia is our greatest military rival; a war with them would be devastating. But some old kings seem determined to prove their prowess before they give up the throne." He laughed bitterly and looked to the window again.

I got the sense that he wasn't only speaking of King Verill.

"When Princess Cara had you captive, she told you of a curse on the family, yes?"

I looped my arms around my waste. "Yes..." My voice came out a tiny whisper. It was not pleasant to think of the time she kept me captive.

"King Verill also mentioned a curse on the family. Of course, he tried to blame us first. I had to remind him that his mages are far more accomplished." He chuckled again. "He thinks his family has been cursed with infertility."

"That would mean the end of his bloodline," I gasped.

"Yes," The prince agreed. "It is the kind of move meant to force a change in regime, not spark a war."

I clasped my hands behind my back. "That sounds personal."

"Personal?" The prince frowned. "How do you figure?"

I took a deep breath. It was surprising that he considered my opinions as anything worth exploring. "Who would bear the Sarcon family enough hatred to want to see them destroyed but loves Stivalia enough to ensure the country is not destroyed in the process? Who would be close enough to the family to enact such a selective curse?"

"Tell me Sabine, what do you know of curses?"

My mouth dried up. I swallowed several times, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth like I'd eaten a sticky paste. "My former master didn't treat in curses. He said they would draw too much attention from the crown."

"He's right. Curses are reserved for dire situations only and must be approved by the monarchy. If one is called for, we select the mage to cast it. If anyone casts a curse that is unapproved, the punishment is the mage being stripped of their magic."

I clamped my right hand over my left arm and nodded. "I'd heard that was the case."

"But what do you know about curses? I don't want to know the kingdom laws."

"My mother told me never to use them. She said they were a perversion of magic."

"A perversion of magic..." The prince repeated.

My mind wandered back to the day my mother told me about curses. I found an old spell book of hers, one she kept under her bed. It was full of some of the most complicated spells I'd ever seen. When she caught me reading it, a look of fear and disappointment crossed her face. She took the book from me and I never saw it again.

When I asked her what the book was, she said, "Dangerous."

After that, she gave me the one and only lesson she ever taught me about curses.

Over breakfast one morning, she said that I needed to know some magics were far too perverse and dangerous to be considered real magic. Their only purpose was to destroy and cause chaos. She told me no properly taught mage would ever resort to such magic. Those were curses.

There was a moment where she looked conflicted as she watched me eat. Then, she went on to say that sometimes, a curse could be used to stop something even worse from happening, but it was never a light decision because curses took something from the mage who cast them. She touched her own breast, a distant look in her eyes, and said, "They lose part of their soul."

We never spoke of curses again.

"She said that curses should only be used to stop something even worse from happening," I relayed to the prince.

He ran his forefinger along the line of his jaw. "Very few mages have the power to cast a curse. I've met mages who tried without the proper power levels and they... wished they hadn't. So, whoever cursed the Sarcon family had to be powerful."

"And reckless!" The prince's eyes widened at my outburst. "If a curse is cast successfully, the mage who cast it loses part of their soul."

"Personal indeed," Prince Cole echoed. "Someone willing to pervert their own soul to destroy a bloodline..."

Cara insisted that her sister, Aura, cast a curse on the family. King Verill confirmed the family was cursed. But if my mother was Princess Aura, why would she cast a curse? She deplored them with her entire being... what could be worse about the Sacron royal family than staining her own soul?

In a country where magic was reserved for nobles only and all others born with magic were slaughtered, was her attempt to stop magic from controlling the kingdom?

"Ironic, really. Using magic to break the hold magic has on the kingdom." I shook my head.

"What was that?" The prince asked.

I covered my mouth with my hands. Had I spoken aloud? I had to be careful what I said about the situation or he might look deeper into my past and uncover my suspicions about my mother.

"Did you say something, Sabine?" He walked toward me, towering over me.