Pursuit of the Cursed: Soulyte 3

By Eve Hathaway

From the Publisher that brought you popular short story series Song of Teeth, Children of Time, Chains of Darkness, The Splicers, The Night Sculptor, Blood Waters, Requiem for a Dream, and The Taken. And now, here's Soulyte...

A CURSED PRINCE AND A HELPFUL GHOST
A CASTLE FULL OF SECRETS

Yet another adventure is awaiting our two young Heroes in the Forest still gripped in the clutches of the strange blackness—though this time is different.

Believing they are simply going to assist a cursed prince, Cyrus has no hint that anything is amiss but he is a Hero and, of course, it is his job to help the land of Madala and all who dwell in it.

But Magdeline knows more than she’s letting on. She knows the real reason they’re going to the castle and she also knows the Prince who lives deep in the Forest. Things become complicated when it becomes obvious the prince loves Magdeline, and he sees Cyrus as an obstacle between him and his fair damsel.

Pasts are exposed and secrets are shaped into answers. Magdeline seems to be learning that beauty and riches aren’t the only things that matter in the world—or to her. But will it be enough? And Cyrus is slowly overcoming his fear of the feminine form, thanks to Magdeline. But whether he knows it or not is a different story.

Watch them grow as they tackle another quest of good and evil together in this third installment of the Soulyte series.

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EXCERPT
CYRUS COLLAPSED ON his bed in frustration.

Perhaps there really was no curse on the Prince.

Other than his obsession with Magdeline, Cael seemed like a perfectly normal, albeit spoiled prince living in isolation in the middle of the cursed Forest.

He felt there was something larger playing out in the castle’s environs. What it was exactly, he couldn’t quite identify.

So for Cyrus to just sit around and watch the Prince woo Magdeline back into his life, was, to his mind, a complete and utter waste of time.

The Forest—and perhaps all of Madala—was dying.

As he sulked from his spot on the bed, he barely noticed the stone door to his room open. When Magdeline entered, he jumped and scrambled to the end of his bed that was as far away from her as possible. She breathed a heavy sigh of resignation at the sight of his apparent terror and she strode over to perch on the edge of the bed.

“I need someone to talk to... well, at,” she breathed. “And I needed to get away from Cael. That man smothers me. For some reason, his unpided attention and devotion just isn’t as pleasing to me as it once was.” She sighed and looked at him. The sight of Cyrus cowering at the head of the bed made her laugh. “On the other hand,” she began. “Your fear and complete lack of devotion to me rounds out my situation nicely.”

Other Titles in the Series:

1 - Journey to the Forest

2 - Search for the Witch

4 - (Coming Soon) Quest to the End

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandra Ross
• Release date: Nov 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310109201

Book preview

Pursuit of the Cursed

By Eve Hathaway

Published by Publications Circulations LLC.

SmashWords Edition

All contents copyright (C) 2013 by Publications Circulations LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, companies and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

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Chapter One

The Cursed Prince

CYRUS FUMBLED WITH the yellowed piece of parchment, trying to make out any possible landmarks that might be scrawled on it. The map he was struggling with had been hastily scrawled by the witch Daphne before they set out on their journey from her small home in the Forest. Her cartography skills certainly left much to be desired.

All he saw was black-black trees, black leaves, black soil. The only distinguishing feature of the Forest at that moment was the ribbon of icy clear water of the river that he and his companion, Magdeline were currently following.

Magdeline glanced over to see Cyrus trying to make sense of the map and his growing frustration over it.

She rolled her eyes. Why don't I have a look at it? she asked, holding out a slender hand.

He shied away from her open palm, shaking his head, his nose still buried in the map.

Magdeline withdrew her hand with an annoyed scowl. They had been at the witch Daphne's home for a week while Cyrus recovered. The older witch tended to the man's extensive battle wounds with her magic. He was soon as good as new, eager to begin another adventure. Daphne had even been kind enough to mend their tattered clothes and provide them with food for their journey.

She couldn't put her finger on it but the forest witch's generosity was disconcerting for Magdeline.

Given their history, Magdeline was wary of Daphne's motives, so she kept a watchful eye on Cyrus whenever the other witch was near.

She knew of Daphne's weakness for men-the golden beads on her auburn hair was a grim reminder of that as each bead represented the heart of a man she's loved in the past.

And soon, Magdeline noted, there would be one more.

Neither of them explained to Cyrus why they had to go to a remote castle somewhere even deeper within the Forest. All he knew was that they were seeking out a rumored cursed prince who had been exiled to that place.

He hadn't thought to question it further.

Both Magdeline and Daphne knew that he wouldn't be pleased with the idea that they were going to the Prince in order to steal his heart. So that they kept it between themselves.

Magdeline decided that she would be more than happy to keep Cyrus in the dark, just as long as her own curse was lifted in the process.

Just give me that, will you? she snapped impatient as she snatched the paper from his hands and quickly scrutinized it.

She couldn't really blame him for being confused; Daphne's writing and drawing was on par with that of a toddler.

Turning the map this way and that, she attempted to determine where they were. When she couldn't, she threw her hands up in frustration and was more than tempted to tear the sheet into a million pieces.

It's by this river, right? she hissed, pointing at a spot on the paper while glaring at Cyrus.

His blue eyes flickered to the side nervously, not meeting her eyes and nodded.

"No, Cyrus. You need to start speaking up. Answer me. Yes or no."

Cyrus' mortal, incomprehensible fear of talking to her still hadn't diminished -- and it was getting on her last nerve.

Ever since they'd met, the man had become proven himself brave beyond measure. He could slay monsters, fight witches, and face the cursed Forest with hardly a second thought.

And yet, when faced with a woman, whenever he was in the female presence, his pulse quickened, his face turned beet red, and he could barely get a comprehensible sentence to