Chapter 20

Chapter

Twenty

T he flight back to Fae Falls was a somber one. The sense of defeat weighed heavily on Harald's shoulders as he was carried and the fairies flew through the misty skies. They had fought valiantly, but it had all been for nothing—no answers, no leads, and worst of all, no sign of Karalyn. His heart was heavy with a mix of despair and guilt. Worst of all, he could not put this off any longer. He had to face Karalyn's parents, Queen Rebutia Tilbury and King Giles.

As they landed in the lush, enchanted gardens of Fae Falls, the beauty of the place seemed at odds with the darkness that had taken root within Harald's heart. The flowers, usually vibrant and full of life, seemed to wilt slightly as if reflecting the somber mood. The air was thick with magic, but even that felt muted, as if the very essence of the isle knew something was terribly wrong.

Harald rolled his shoulders back and inhaled as deeply as he could, although his lungs hardly felt as if air reached them. His limbs were heavy from exhaustion.

Florian and the other fairies looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and sorrow, but there was little comfort in their eyes. They knew as well as he did that this was a blow none of them had anticipated.

And it possibly stemmed from his curse.

It was his fault she had been taken, and if she was killed…

Harald struggled to swallow past a lump in his throat and suppressed a cough. He already felt grief, and this pain was the worst he had ever felt.

No wonder his father had become a shell. Perhaps it was better to become numb to the agony, but the anger within him rivaled with the pain.

Whoever did this would pay and pay dearly.

He would give up his life for her.

The grand doors to the fairy castle opened before Harald could even knock, and there, hovering in the air, embracing each other in a most likely vain attempt to comfort one another, were Queen Rebutia and King Giles. The queen's usually serene face was etched with worry, her luminous eyes clouded with fear. King Giles, tall and commanding, looked as though he had aged years. His strong, proud features were drawn tight, and his eyes—so similar to Karalyn's—were filled with a deep, gnawing dread.

"Harald." Queen Rebutia's voice was soft, but it carried the weight of her concern. "Did you find anything? Any sign of her?"

Harald's throat tightened, and for a moment, he couldn't find the words. How could he tell them that he had failed? That their daughter was still lost, and he had no idea where she was?

"We… we fought our way into Skyemoor," Harald began, his voice rough with exhaustion and emotion, "but it was in vain. We couldn't break through their defenses. We didn't find her. I don't know where she is… or who took her."

The words seemed to hang in the air, heavy and final. Queen Rebutia's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. King Giles's expression hardened, his jaw clenching as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Our Karalyn…" Queen Rebutia whispered, her voice trembling. "Lost… my child… where could she be?"

Harald stepped forward, his heart aching at the sight of their grief, the grief he shared with them. "I swear to you I won't stop until I find her. This isn't over. I will bring her back, no matter what it takes."

King Giles finally spoke, his voice low and strained. "We know you've done all you can, Harald, but until we can find who took her… whether the forces of Skyemoor or someone else… We have no notion who we are up against, and the powers of the other species… their magic…"

The queen covered her mouth with her hands, but her gaze shifted to a lit torch hanging on the wall.

Fire.

The sky.

If Karalyn's curse came to be and magic was stripped from Evermore, then she might be able to save herself.

From his curse.

Harald gritted his teeth. The royal fairies were in so much pain, but they deserved to learn that which he had learned.

"I am cursed too," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "The seers finally told me the nature. My curse… it is feeding on my anger and despair, and now, Karalyn is in danger. I need to find her, but I also need to find a way to break this curse before it destroys everything."

Queen Rebutia lowered in the air, her feet still not touching the ground as her trembling hand reached out to touch Harald's arm. "You love her. That love is stronger than any curse, but you must be careful, Harald. I will not pretend to understand the nature of your curse nor hers, but I would think it will try to twist that love and turn it into something dark. You must hold onto who you are and to your love for Karalyn. It's the only way."

Harald nodded, though the weight of his curse already felt almost unbearable. "I'll do whatever it takes. I will bring her home."

King Giles flew over and placed a hand on Harald's shoulder, his grip strong and reassuring despite the sorrow in his eyes. "You have our full support, Harald. We will search every corner of this world if we must. Karalyn is our daughter, our light, and we will not rest until she is safe."

Queen Rebutia wiped a tear from her cheek. "We'll gather our seers and our wisest elders. We'll use every resource we have to find her, and we'll stand with you, Harald, until she's back in your arms."

Their words should give him a glimmer of hope, a faint light in the darkness that surrounded him. After all, he had allies—powerful, determined allies who would fight beside him, no matter the cost.

But here in the throne room that would one day be Karalyn's, he felt the loss of her presence more than ever. The road ahead was perilous, filled with unknown dangers and the looming shadow of both his curse and hers.

Regardless, he would not falter. He would not give in to despair.

With the support of Karalyn's parents, the fairies, and the magic that bound them all, Harald knew that he would fight to his last breath to save her. The battle was far from over, and the time for action was now.

Just the moment he left the castle behind, the weight of the curse, the guilt of failure, and the desperation to find Karalyn were beginning to consume Harald. The darkness that had been growing within him, fueled by the curse and his own fear, was threatening to overwhelm him. He could feel it gnawing at his resolve, pushing him toward a path of rage and destruction that he knew would only lead to ruin. He could be the one to launch war throughout all of Evermore.

He spent the next few hours alone, brooding in the shadows of the fairy castle, replaying the battle at Skyemoor in his mind. The thought of her in the hands of their enemies, suffering because of him, was almost more than he could bear.

It was during one of these dark moments, as he stood on the edge of a balcony overlooking the misty expanse of Fae Falls, that he was found by a group of familiar faces. His friends—Elton, Dover, Bernal, Maggie, and Rosella—had come up from Tridor to be by his side, but they were not alone. With them were Karalyn's closest friends—Eliana Backen, Alesia Lucent, Faylia Sherriden, and Elmer Mercer.

Harald barely registered their approach, lost in his thoughts, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Eliana, her face a mixture of concern and determination.

"Harald," she said softly, her voice cutting through the fog of his thoughts. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. We're all here for you and for Karalyn, but you need to pull back from this darkness before it consumes you."

He looked into her eyes, seeing the reflection of his own torment there. "You know…"

"The seers have told others about what your curse entails," Maggie said. "The fairy's right. This darkness… It cannot define you or your actions."

"I've failed her, Eliana, Maggie. I couldn't save her. And now… now I don't even know where to begin."

Eliana shook her head, her grip on his shoulder tightening. "You haven't failed her. Not yet. She's our friend, our sister in every way that matters."

Elton, always the jokester but now deadly serious, stepped forward. "We'll find Karalyn, but you have to stay strong. She needs you to be the man she loves, not the one this curse is trying to turn you into."

Alesia clasped her hands before her. "The curse wants to drag you into darkness, Harald, but your love for Karalyn is stronger than that. Let us help you."

"You have strength and courage," Faylia said. "Karalyn told us about you, and with how bravely you've fought for us and for her… Don't lose sight of yourself. Karalyn needs you to be the man who won her heart."

A lump formed in his throat as he looked at the group surrounding him. They cared about him and Karalyn, and they were refusing to let him fall.

What they didn't realize was that he was going to disappoint them and let them down just as he had Karalyn.

His poor wife…

"Don't you dare give up on her," Maggie said, her voice rough but sincere. "You're better than that, Harald. We all know it, and deep down, so do you. We've got a lot of fight left in us, and we're not backing down now."

Rosella, ever blunt but fiercely loyal, added, "If you let this curse beat you, then it's already won, and I'm not about to let that happen, so pull yourself together. We've got work to do."

Elmer crossed his arms. "The curse is not what took her. Someone did. The curse is merely taking advantage of the situation. We'll find her. You have to believe."

Despite their words, he couldn't stop himself. He was so close to giving in to the despair. The darkness could consume him at any moment.

He was without Karalyn, but he wasn't alone. He had friends, and even Karalyn's cared for him.

"I've been so lost… so focused on what I couldn't do… didn't do…"

"You were never alone." Eliana smiled. The fairy still looked unnerved, but she seemed a bit more confident now. "We'll fly together."

"I can't fly?—"

"Karalyn helped with my wing," Elmer said grimly. "She did so so that I can be your wings now."

"Thank you," Harald said.

"What matters now is that we move forward together," Bernal murmured.

Harald took a deep breath. The darkness was still there, lurking at the edges of his mind, but it no longer felt insurmountable. With his friends by his side, he could face it.

And he could find Karalyn.

"We'll find her," Harald said, his voice stronger now. "We'll bring her back. And we'll break this curse, once and for all."

The battle for Karalyn's life, and for their future, was far from over, but Harald was ready to fight it—together with those who refused to let him fall.