🌌 The Cursed Prince Forbidden Love

Chapter 11 – The Betrayal

Chapter 11 – The Betrayal

The palace was mine again.

After years of blood and war, I had taken back my throne from my uncle.

My people were free.

My land restored.

But when I walked among them, there was no joy.

Only silence. Only fear.

They bowed low, but their eyes never met mine.

Their whispers followed me in every corridor:

Cursed prince.

Monster.

Shadow-bearer.

Still, I chose to trust them. I had fought for them. I had bled for them. Surely, in time, they would see I was still their prince.

That night, I slept in my chambers, the moonlight soft upon my face. For the first time in months, the darkness inside me was silent. No whispers. No hunger. Only peace.

I did not know that peace was the last gift they would ever give me.

I awoke to iron.

Chains. Ropes. Rough hands dragging me from my bed. Soldiers, villagers, even priests—all united.

My people.“What is this?” I roared, thrashing, but my strength faltered. My power was gone. The shadows inside me remained silent.

And then she stepped forward. The old woman. Her eyes gleamed with cruel triumph.

“You wonder why you cannot fight, cursed prince?” she sneered. “It is because we have already fed the darkness inside you.”

Her words struck me like a blade. “What?”

“A soul was offered. A girl from the village,” she said.

“The shadow is satisfied, and you are weak. It is the only way to keep you from devouring us all.”

My blood turned to ice. “You… killed her?”

The villagers averted their eyes. Mothers clutched their daughters. The old woman lifted her chin. “Better one life than the whole kingdom. This will be our law: every year, one woman will be sacrificed. And you will remain chained, far from us.”

“No…” My voice cracked. “No! You damn yourselves! You damn me!”

The shadows stirred faintly, purring at the thought of more souls. I clenched my teeth, refusing to give in.

And then a voice rose from behind the crowd. Smooth. Cold. A man stepped forward, wearing royal finery, a crown gleaming upon his head.

The false king.

He smirked as he looked down at me. “It is done, Prince Reino. Your people have chosen. You are no longer their ruler—I am.”

The crowd roared in approval.

“Long live the king!”

“Long live King Aedric!”

Aedric spread his arms wide, his smile dark and hungry. “No more fear! No more cursed blood! I will protect you all—no matter the cost.”

The villagers cheered, but his words twisted in my ears.

“No matter the cost…”

Aedric leaned close, his whisper sharp as a blade. “You spared them, cousin. I will not. Your weakness was mercy. Mine is hunger. If one soul is enough to keep the shadow at bay… then why not two? Why not three? Why not more?”

His smile widened, cruel and cold. “Fear makes a kingdom strong, and I will make them fear me.”

My stomach turned to stone. He was worse than me. Worse than the shadow.

“Take him to the northern cave!” the false king ordered. “Lock him where he can do no harm.”

The soldiers dragged me across the courtyard. Torches blazed high. The villagers watched and cheered, some even dancing as if this night were a festival.

“Rejoice!” Aedric cried. “The monster is ended! A new dawn begins!”

They clapped. They laughed. And I… I was dragged past them all, my heart breaking.

At the cave, the iron chains were fastened deep into the stone. I did not resist. I let them lock me away, as if this was the fate I had chosen all along.

And then—

“STOP!”

Another old woman stumbled forward, her voice ragged but strong. Not the one who betrayed me, but another—one who still carried hope.

“You fools!” she screamed. “Can you not see? He is not your doom—he is your salvation!”

“Silence her!” Aedric barked.

The guards seized her, but she cried out again, louder:

“There is another way! The curse can be broken! A woman will come—not as sacrifice, but as salvation! She will see the man, not the monster! She will save him—she will save the kingdom!”

A guard struck her, gagging her cries, but her words had already reached me.

The villagers turned away.

The false king smirked.

The torches dimmed as the last chains locked into place.

And there I remained—alone.

Forgotten.

Buried in the dark.

But in my chest, against the weight of betrayal, one spark still burned.

Her prophecy.

A woman will come.

I lowered my head, whispering into the silence as the shadows laughed around me.

“She will come…”

And I waited.