This love is like a curse (58)
“It looks like the court magicians bought the monster again,” sighed the head maid, who quietly followed her.
Talia, as if under the influence of an unknown force, came closer. The creature, shrouded in black wings, raised its head.
Talia shuddered, her shoulders involuntarily tightening.
On the body of a giant bird covered with thick dark brown feathers rested the head of a woman. But it was not the face of a living person - rather, it was as if it had been sewn together from parts of a dead body.
She stared down blankly, bluish veins appearing on her pale face. And at that moment a vile voice, smelling of rotten fish, rang out right in my ear:
- Do you recognize your soul mate?
Talia turned around sharply.
Gareth, dressed in a scarlet doublet, stood directly behind her. He continued lazily, with a wry smile on his lips:
- The body of a monster with the face of a woman... Doesn’t it remind you of anyone?
Narrowed eyes slid over her figure and stopped at her legs hidden under the hem.
Her stepbrother's smile became even more sarcastic.
“They say you have terrible scars... But at least, unlike this monster, you can cover your body.” Lucky.
The next second, a liquid bitter like bile rose to my throat.
Thalia turned around and slapped His Highness the Crown Prince on the cheek with all her might.
Immediately there was a hoarse squeal, like a pig being slaughtered. It was the maid who followed her like a shadow - she probably wheezed, choking on air. Out of the corner of her eye, Thalia saw her fall backwards.
But she didn't care. Talia ran her still bluish nails over her brother's dark face.
Blood began to ooze from four scarlet stripes running from his temple to his chin. But the wound was not as deep as she wanted.
She swung again, but the knights who ran up grabbed her from both sides.
Talia squirmed like a hunted animal caught in a trap. Но вырваться было невозможно.
Tears flowed from his eyes from helplessness. She glared at her half-brother, her eyes bloodshot.
Strong physique. Perfect body.
No. No longer perfect.
She saw blood streaming down his face and laughed.
- Say it again. I will disfigure your face so that you will never be able to laugh again. I have nothing left to lose. This means there is nothing to be afraid of.
Gareth, still holding his cheek, looked at her dumbfounded, and then his face twisted with rage.
A rough hand suddenly pulled her hair. He grabbed the braid that had taken her several hours to braid and pulled as if he wanted to break her neck.
- You... You, nonentity, dare to touch my face?
His face, splattered with blood, turned ridiculously red.
Thalia only laughed louder.
Reason was leaving his eyes.
He squeezed her face with his other hand until it felt like her bones were about to crack. But even through the headache, as if her skull was cracking from the inside, Talia did not stop laughing.
And suddenly a strong hand roughly reached between them and pulled Gareth away from her.
Talia immediately sank to the floor.
As soon as the pressure on her skull disappeared, her blurred vision cleared, and a familiar silhouette appeared before her eyes.
Blinking, she stood up, straightening her back with force.
My heart was pounding wildly, as if bursting my eardrums.
With shaking hands, she hastily pulled the hem up to her feet. And then a restrained voice was heard nearby:
- Oh, of course. You should have shown up.
Gareth jerked away the hand that was holding his wrist and clenched his teeth.
В его тёмно-зелёных глазах пылал адский огонь.
“Are you going to betray us because of this rubbish?!”
“...His Majesty ordered me to deliver Her Highness.”
-You always have the same excuses...!
“I will answer your question after the audience with His Majesty.”
At these incomprehensible words of Barkas, Gareth’s face, already stained with blood, twisted with rage.
There was a terrible gnashing of clenched teeth.
Gareth, clenching his teeth so hard that it seemed his jaw was about to break, grabbed the future Duke’s shoulder and growled:
- Okay. Let's see what answer you give. I'll be waiting.
With these words, he pushed aside the gathered crowd and walked away.
Longboat, who had been following him for a while, lowered his eyes to Thalia. The girl felt a chill run throughout her body.
Those bottomless eyes, which always made her feel insignificant, now reflected her pathetic reflection. It seemed as if this look was tearing her apart.
Convulsively resting her trembling hands on the floor, she hardly rose to her shaky legs - and at that moment she felt a firm hand support her behind her back.
She jerked and pushed away Longboat, who had approached closely.
- D-don't...!
But this weak resistance was completely ignored.
Longboat, putting his hand under her knees, easily lifted her into his arms.
Holding back a scream, Talia frantically pulled the hem of her dress, afraid that her legs would be exposed. Even after making sure that the long skirt covered her all the way to her ankles, the feeling of anxiety did not disappear.
She grabbed the hem of her dress and whispered in a broken voice:
“I... I’ll get there myself.” Put me down.
Longboat did not answer.
Thalia swallowed. His silence pressed on me like a noose around my neck.
- I said, put me down!
As she raised her voice, she felt the arms holding her tighten slightly.
Raising her head, Thalia noticed that he was holding something back and fell silent.
The longboat, without taking his eyes off the road in front of him, spoke in a muffled voice:
— It’s unlikely that you want to attract even more attention to yourself. If you have a little patience, you will avoid the humiliation of having all these people watch you barely stand on your feet.
Talia stared blankly at his face, then looked around.
There were eyes everywhere—dozens of eyes, wide with shock and horror.
She lowered her head as if trying to hide from their gaze.
A restrained sigh sounded just above the top of his head. Her eyes were filled with treacherous tears again, and Talia clenched her teeth.
“Be patient a little longer,” Barkas whispered quietly and quickened his pace.
Finally, huge doors appeared in front of them, leading to the emperor's audience hall.
The Chief Chamberlain, standing at the entrance, was dumbfounded when he saw Longboat carrying the second princess in his arms.
Ignoring his reaction, Barkas nodded slightly.
- I came at the behest of His Majesty. Open.
The chamberlain hastily opened the doors, and the light of a huge hall with a golden throne on a dais hit his eyes.
Thalia raised her head and looked at the throne.
On it sat a man with a powerful physique, as if sculpted by power itself. Он с выражением скуки просматривал пергамент.
Next to him, quietly whispering something, sat Senevier. Turning her head to the side, she looked at Thalia and smiled gracefully - her face, shining like pearls, was flawless.
- Finally you came.
Only then did the emperor’s gaze fall on Thalia.
She licked her dry lips. You could feel his gloomy eyes slowly sliding over her figure, chilling her to the bone. Unable to bear this shame any longer, Talia twitched and began to struggle in Longboat’s arms.
- Put me down. Now.
But he did not answer, but with a firm step approached the throne.
She looked at him in confusion. I didn’t understand why he did this.
He is Isla's fiancé. How can he behave like this in front of the emperor?
Talia looked at the throne with alarm, and a voice full of reproach rang in her ears:
- I was told that you have no problems with walking...
Startled, Talia reflexively muttered an excuse:
“I... I just tripped on the way, Lord Siekan helped me...”
With these words, she sharply pushed him in the chest. The longboat, frozen like a stone statue, finally set her down.