Cursed Blood

Once I got through the beginning of my story, up until the events before the ball that only a few hadn't known of, explaining the situation got a lot harder. There was the gods matter, the conversations with Spirit, the red eyed man, the assassin -- everything that added another layer of struggles. The only thing I decided to hold back was the part about the assassin, everything else came flooding out like a waterfall. I sat on one table, talking endlessly while the others listened.

"Rebecca -- my Darkblood friend -- she once told me a story about how people in the past, when there were clans instead of kingdoms, tried to mix the blood types to create a halfbreed. Like me.

In the story, the girl they used for the experiments died, and a war began. That's why we were divided as we are now.

That girl... her spirit is around still. She first came to me in the halls, and warned me that another war, something she called the Gray War, was coming. That I'd lose more than Terrance.

I've seen her twice since then. Spoken to her. She wants me to find out about the gods, specifically a female one, she wouldn't tell me her name."

I sighed, tilting my head to the side as I did my best to remember.

"Then there was a man who appeared and disappeared. He spoke about reincarnation and the gods as well. All this time, I've been trying to learn about them.

"That painting," I said, looking at the Prince. "It has the man in it. That's why I was so curious."

"So that's where that went," the Queen muttered.

I nodded her way before putting my face in my hands.

"And at the end of it, there was the dome in the ballroom during the Ball of Demons. I... I don't even know how that happened. Hell, I don't know the extent of my own powers."

The Queen cleared her throat.

"I'll be honest, we don't have anything useful to tell you. We don't know your limits either," she confessed, "but if we find anything, you'll be the first to know."

I laughed dryly. "At this point, I don't think anyone is useful to me. They're either clueless or keeping it from me."

More than a few of them had the decency to either look ashamed or sympathetic. There was silence, one that weighed heavily down on all of us.

I must be such a burden to them.

A threat, yet someone they have to protect. A bucketload of problems, yet someone they can't control.

But I can't feel sorry for them. Not after that.

"So what can we do to help?"

Everyone paused to find the owner of the voice. It was Gene, one of the first soldiers who hated me.

"Gene?"

He nodded my way. "I was foolish earlier. You're a source of great power, and loyal to your friends. I'm sorry. Let us help you find out what you need to know."

Like I almost let an assassin kill the Queen?

The only reason I stopped was the save that brat Prince...

Oh how I wish--

No.

My thoughts had gone dark, but I forced them to be silent.

"I would appreciate that. I need books and teachers on the gods. And those scholars that were at the ball, they're exactly who I need. Dmitri and those two are the closest thing I have to a team of experts."

The Queen nodded. "I can call them for you, they'll meet you for dinner tonight."

"Thank you."

"I'll join the three of you," Dmitri added. It had seemed like weight had been lifted off my shoulders once I told them the almost full story. I smiled at him.

"So, do you want us to look for more books?" Janora asked. "I've seen you pile some up in your bedroom. I know for a fact some of those will be useless."

Raeni, who's been hidden from my view this entire time, jumped to her feet. "We should put the useless ones back, come on!"

The two scampered from the room, Raeni dragging Janora in a way that made me laugh. I couldn't help but grin as the others joined in as well.

Maybe... Just maybe, these people didn't mean to hurt me.

Slowly, they all gave themselves jobs and left the room until it was the Rose family and one last straggler.

The young Prince himself, staring at the floor with shame radiating off of him. My new sense that allowed me to read emotions was triggered by his mere presence.

"I can't help but think," Elijah began, "that you'd be a good Queen. Over both races. After all, you belong to both. And everyone was jumping at the opportunity to help you."

You're not the only one who thinks that way. A certain assassin would agree.

"They just respect my power, not me," I snapped, walking to my brothers. Terrance had moved back over to them and they were too busy thanking him for calming me down to pay attention.

Elijah sighed. "You're wrong. You didn't always have that power, Cloud. It's you. All you."

"I wouldn't be here," I snarled, "if it wasn't for the fact I was the Gray One. Without any of this magic, I'd be just another farmer. No one would've blinked twice in my direction."

"They're all drawn to you. Your aura, even if it hurts sometimes. You know secrets and you're always on another adventure or hunting the answer to another mystery..."

He's rambling. Worse, he's ignoring me.

I growled, grinding my teeth together. I turned to go, to ignore him, but his words caught my attention.

"It's like we're all just meant to worship you, because you understand us. Even if you don't realize it."

I finally turned my back on him.

"Get some sleep, Princeling. You're delusional."

As I walked toward my brothers, his chair creaked and his footsteps began, only to get fainter.

However, I didn't miss his last words.

"Or maybe I'm just too accurate for you to admit."