The Deadly Curse

14.1 | Ink in Water

//ink in water, part 01// 

Because of her size, I could make out the details of her appearance from here. Miles of thick, honey-gold tresses hung beyond her hips. The gold of the crystal highlighted the strands of copper-red in her hair. Her brown eyes slanted upward, as did the tip of her nose. Despite being a giant, her facial features were thin and delicate. Her mouth was wide and thin and pressed into a line. She wore an expression of almost boredom, although something akin to sinisterness lurked beneath the surface.

Her strapless dress suggested royalty. It was a deep, blood red with gold hems. A gold sash wrapped about her waist and tumbled to the floor. The dress covered her feet. As did the vines decorated with blue flowers slithering at the throne's base.

It surprised me how slender she was. From all I had heard, the last thing I had expected was for Fate to be so . . . dainty. Her paper-thin wrists and protruding collarbones gave her an air of fragility. However, I doubted the Grand Justice even knew what "fragile" meant. Despite her skinny frame, she exuded power.

And I was about to confront her.

Nissa made a garbled noise. After clearing her throat, she tried again. "This is the closest anyone ever got. We were scared enough. And Fate herself wasn't even here."

Fate never once looked away from me. She didn't even blink. The never-ending stare made me think of a predator tracking prey. In that instance, I saw the boundless intelligence in her eyes. Yes, she was intimidating, but she was also wise and fair. She had to be, given her role in Eternity.

"I'm gonna skedaddle," said Nissa, elbowing me. She shot me a jittery smile before peering at Fate a final time. "Good luck, Belline of Earth." With that, her wings beat wildly and she flew out of the cave as fast as she could.

Alone with the giant that thought like a chess grandmaster, my confidence yearned to flee like Nissa had. But hooks and chains locked it down. I knew I was right. To punish King Hadeth and Prince Rune for the rest of their lives was unfair. If Fate were guided purely by logic, perhaps I could persuade her to lift the curse.

"Let us no longer dally this audience," said Fate. She spoke barely above a whisper, and yet her words echoed in the cavern. Like the rest of her, her voice was thin, almost nasally. But the authority there was undeniable. "Come. Stand before me."

Traversing the stone stairs to the platform took longer than I wanted. Due to the size of everything here in the belowpass, the staircases felt like hiking a mountain. By the time I arrived before her throne, my lungs worked overtime. The nerves skittering about didn't help either.

I had to crane my neck to see her, and I was still easily a football field length away. What had the confrontation with the royal family been like? Rune had a foot on me, but Fate had miles on everyone. I didn't blame the collective reluctance to argue any of her decisions.

Fate placed a few fingers to the side of her face, balancing her elbow on the arm of the throne. No words fell from her pursed mouth. She simply stared, waiting. Did she never need to blink?

Sucking in the biggest breath of my life, I called upon the fervor of the past weeks. The love for Eternity and her rulers. The conviction that I was right, that her punishment was unfair.

Aware that if I let my mind pause, I would overthink, I burst, "I'm sorry to barge in on you in your domain. But thank you for giving me your time and willingness to listen."

No reaction. Her mask of stoicism was even more impenetrable than Rune's. I couldn't read anything in her expression. Which did nothing for my confidence.