The Cursed Palace: The Hero's Soulyte 3

By Elena Snowfield

A CURSED PRINCE, A HELPFUL GHOST, AND A PALACE FULL OF SHADOWS
UNRAVEL THE SECRETS OF THE CURSE

Yet another adventure is awaiting our two young Heroes in the Forest still gripped in the clutches of the strange blackness. Cyrus believed they ventured to find an enchanted palace deep in the forest to give aid to a cursed prince. But the mission isn't what it seems and Cyrus begins to realize this when he finds out that Cael, the pompous but handsome prince, and Magdalene used to know each other.

Things become complicated when it becomes obvious the prince is over the moon towards Magdeline, and he sees Cyrus as an obstacle between him and his fair damsel.

Pasts are exposed and secrets are shaped into answers. Faced with a dilemma between two young men, Magdeline starts to discover that beauty and riches aren’t the only things that matter in the world. Meanwhile, 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 together another quest of good and evil in this third installment of the The Hero's Soulyte series.

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BONUS FOR YOU AT THE END OF THE BOOK!
EXCERPT
“Magdeline!” the man exclaimed. “Is that really you?”

Magdeline smiled weakly. “Yes, Prince Cael. It’s me.”

Cyrus looked back and forth from Magdeline and the Prince as he asked quietly, How did they know each other? It occurred to him then that he really had no idea what he had gotten himself into. His eyes narrowed as he watched the two. Was this simply a social call, or was there something more significant behind this?

The Prince certainly didn’t look cursed. He was broad-shouldered and well-muscled, and he was slightly taller than Cyrus – and also very handsome, as a prince should properly look. When he smiled at Magdeline, dimples formed in his cheeks and his eyes shone light blue in the light of the lantern. His hair was light brown and shone like honey, kept fairly short and swept to his left. His clothes were made of rich satin and whatever expensive fabric that Cyrus could not recognize, each piece dyed in crimson or black. He wore a thick gold chain over his chest that held in place a cloak that looked like bloody silk. Though there was no wind, the light from the lantern made the fabric seemed to ripple.

The Prince took Magdeline’s hand and brought it to his lips. He then kissed it softly.

“I thought you had gone forever,” he said with a very relieved smile. “I thought that I’d never see you again. How on earth did you know to find me here? It’s been two years since I moved to the Forest.”

“I... I’d been captured by a witch... but I was able to escape her with the help of my companion here,” she said, motioning to Cyrus who stood awkwardly to the side.

Cael turned and grabbed Cyrus by the hand, shaking it roughly.

“You have my thanks,” he said, inspecting the younger man with the light. When he spotted the scabbard hanging from Cyrus’s belt, he noted, “A Hero, is it? And what is your name?”

Cyrus was uncomfortable under the Prince’s gaze. The man’s eyes seemed to mock him as if her were a child with nothing more than a wooden sword fastened to his hip.

“Cyrus,” he answered sourly.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandra Ross
• Release date: Apr 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311777416

Book preview

The Cursed Palace

By Elena Snowfield

Published by Publications Circulations LLC.

SmashWords Edition

All contents copyright (C) 2014 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.

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter One

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 he and Magdeline 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 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 young 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. She was wary of Daphne's motives, given their history, 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. But 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 impatiently as she snatched the paper from his hands and quickly scrutinized it. I couldn't really blame you for being confused, though, she muttered in a short while. Daphne's writing and drawing is 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 what was getting on her last nerve. Ever since they'd met, he had proven himself brave beyond measure. He could slay monsters, fight witches, and face the cursed Forest with hardly a second thought.

And yet, whenever he was in the female presence, his pulse would quicken, his face would turn beet red, and he could barely get a comprehensible sentence to pass his lips.

Yes, he managed to squeak out. Yes.

Magdeline sighed.

At least he had said something.