Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

T hat night, the castle of Fae Falls was quiet, but Harald's mind was anything but. The encouragement and support from his friends and Karalyn's allies had pulled him back from the brink, giving him the strength to keep fighting, but as the night wore on, the weight of his fears and the looming curse settled heavily on him once again. They lacked a plan, and with no leads, they did not know where to find her or how to save her.

He found himself standing outside Karalyn's room, his hand hovering over the door handle. The soft glow of the enchanted lanterns in the hallway cast gentle shadows, but the light did little to ease the darkness in his heart. Every part of him ached to be near her, to hold her, to find comfort in the warmth of her presence, but she wasn't there. The room beyond the door was empty, a painful reminder of her absence.

Harald clenched his fist and willed himself to open the door, but he couldn't. The thought of stepping into that room, filled with her belongings, her scent, the echoes of her laughter was too much. It felt like a cruel mockery, a hollow shell of the life they had shared. Without her, the room was just a space, cold and lifeless.

He turned away, his chest tight with a mixture of sorrow and frustration. How had it come to this? He was a king and a sea raider. He had faced countless battles and weathered storms that would break lesser men, yet here he was, unable to enter the room of the woman he loved because the pain of her absence was too great to bear.

His thoughts drifted to his father, and for the first time, Harald truly understood the old man's decision to sleep in a different room after his wife had died. As a child, Harald had never fully grasped the depth of his father's grief, the way it had hollowed him out and left him a shadow of the man he once was. But now, standing outside Karalyn's empty room, Harald felt that same emptiness gnawing at his soul.

His father had chosen to distance himself from the memories, to avoid the room where his wife's presence lingered like a ghost. Harald had always thought it was a sign of weakness, a refusal to confront the pain. No. It was a form of survival. Sometimes, the only way to endure the unbearable was to create distance to shield oneself from the constant reminder of what had been lost.

Harald took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped back from the door. He couldn't do it. Not tonight. The pain was too fresh, too raw. Instead, he turned and walked down the hall, his footsteps echoing in the silence.

He passed several other bedrooms, unable to bring himself to enter any of them. The thought of lying in any bed, alone, was equally unbearable. Instead, he found himself wandering the castle, his thoughts drifting aimlessly as he tried to find some semblance of peace.

Eventually, he made his way to one of the balconies that overlooked the vast expanse of the enchanted forest below. The night air was cool, and the stars above were bright and clear, a stark contrast to the turmoil in his heart.

Harald leaned against the railing, his gaze lost in the distant horizon. He knew he couldn't continue like this. He had to stay strong for Karalyn, for their friends, and for the people who depended on him, but once again, the weight of it all felt like too much to carry.

As the night stretched on, Harald remained on the balcony. He allowed himself to feel the grief, the fear, the anger, and he allowed himself to acknowledge the darkness that had taken root in his heart. But he also reminded himself of the love he had found with Karalyn despite their being at odds. They had been through so much already. They could survive this, surely. The only way to blot out the darkness was light, and that light shone from the love he shared with Karalyn. That love would guide him and drive him to do whatever it took to bring Karalyn back.

He would face the darkness. He would face the curse, and when the time came, he would step into that room, not as a man broken by loss, but as a man determined to reclaim what had been taken from him.

But for now, he would stay here, beneath the stars, letting the night air soothe his weary soul. And tomorrow, he would rise to fight once more.

As the night deepened, the quiet solitude that had initially brought Harald some measure of calm began to turn against him. The silence of the castle, once peaceful, now felt oppressive, and the shadows seemed to stretch and grow, feeding the darkness in his heart. The despair that he had tried so hard to push away crept back with a vengeance, seeping into his thoughts like poison.

The night air on the balcony was cool, but it did little to ease the burning turmoil within Harald. The despair was creeping back, gnawing at the edges of his resolve. The darkness he was trying to keep at bay was growing stronger, feeding on his fears and uncertainties. The more he tried to push it away, the more it seemed to wrap itself around him, tightening its grip.

He paced the balcony, his thoughts spiraling out of control. What if he couldn't save Karalyn? What if the curse, which the seers had warned him about, was already starting to take hold? The thought of losing her, of being consumed by the despair that had destroyed his father, filled him with a cold, paralyzing terror. He was terrified that the curse would drive him mad, that he would become a danger to those he loved—just as the seers had hinted.

Harald tried to focus on the stars above, on the distant horizon, anything to keep his mind from slipping further into the abyss. But the more he tried to resist, the stronger the despair became, wrapping around him like chains, pulling him deeper into his fears. The curse, the seers had warned, would feed on his despair, and now he could feel it tightening its grip on his soul. The darkness within him was relentless, whispering doubts and fears into his ear, telling him that he was too late, that he was already lost.

He had seen what despair had done to his father, how it had twisted him into a man who had distanced himself from everything he once loved. Was that his fate as well? Would the curse drive him to madness, just as it had driven his father to cold isolation?

The fear was overwhelming, a dark tide threatening to drown him. He felt his resolve slipping, his strength waning. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think—the walls of the castle seemed to close in on him, and the air was thick with the weight of his own failure.

Exhaustion finally took its toll, and Harald, unable to fight it any longer, collapsed onto the cold stone floor of the balcony. His body gave out before his mind did, and he passed out more than fell asleep, slipping into a restless, tortured slumber.

As soon as sleep claimed him, the nightmare began.

He found himself in a twisted version of Fae Falls, the once-beautiful landscape now dark and corrupted. The vibrant colors of the flowers were drained, the trees were withered and blackened, and the waterfalls, which usually shimmered with life, were now torrents of blood.

Harald walked through this nightmare version of the castle, his heart pounding with dread. He called out for Karalyn, but the only answer was the echo of his own voice, distorted and mocking. The castle seemed to stretch endlessly, its corridors winding and twisting, leading him deeper into the heart of darkness.

Finally, he came upon a room—their room. The door was ajar, and a faint light flickered from within. With a sinking feeling in his chest, Harald pushed the door open and stepped inside.

What he saw froze him to the core.

Karalyn was there, but she was chained to the wall, her arms stretched above her head, her body limp and lifeless. Her once-bright eyes were dull, her skin pale and cold. The chains were made of dark, pulsating magic, the same that Harald had felt clawing at his own soul.

"Karalyn!" he shouted, rushing to her side. But as he reached out to touch her, she recoiled, as if his touch burned her.

"You couldn't save me, Harald," she whispered, her voice filled with sorrow. "You let the curse take me… just as it's taking you."

"No… no, that's not true!" Harald cried, desperation clawing at him. "I'm here, I'll save you, I promise!"

But the more he tried to reach her, the more the shadows pulled her away, dragging her into the darkness. The room began to collapse around him, the walls crumbling, the ceiling caving in. The ground beneath him opened up, revealing a bottomless chasm, and Karalyn's figure faded into the void. The last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed her completely was the look of despair in her eyes, a reflection of his own.

"No!" Harald screamed, his voice tearing through the nightmare as he fought with everything he had to break free, to reach her.

But it was too late.

"You've already lost her," a voice hissed in his ear, cold and cruel. "And now you'll lose yourself."

Harald screamed as he fell into the abyss, the darkness swallowing him whole.

When he finally jolted awake, his heart was pounding, his body drenched in sweat. For a moment, he couldn't breathe, couldn't think—he could only feel the terror that gripped his heart, the cold, unyielding presence of the curse that had taken root deep within him.

He could feel its clutches, tightening around his soul, whispering of despair, of madness, of loss. It was as if the nightmare had followed him into the waking world, and the darkness was now a part of him, festering in the corners of his mind, waiting for the moment to drag him down completely.

Harald buried his face in his hands, trembling with fear. The nightmare had felt so real, so vivid, and he couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than just a dream—that it was a warning, a glimpse of the fate that awaited him if he failed.

The curse was real, and it was strong. And now, more than ever, Harald feared that he wouldn't be able to fight it off, that it would consume him, as it had consumed his father before him.

But even in the grip of despair, a small part of him fought back, refusing to give in. He couldn't afford to fall apart now, not when Karalyn needed him the most. He had to keep going, to keep fighting, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Harald forced himself to stand, to push back against the darkness that sought to claim him. The curse was strong, but he had faced impossible odds before and survived. He had to believe that he could do it again.

For Karalyn. For the love they shared. For the future they had yet to build.

The curse would not let it destroy him. He would not let it take Karalyn from him.