My mother, Queen Lucy, grasps my hand and hurries with me up the stairway leading into Prince Kalvar’s wing of the palace.

“I need you to see this. Tell me I’m not overacting for being so angry,” she splutters before pounding a fist on Kalvar’s solid oak door.

The door opens about halfway, and a pretty brunette with hazel eyes blinks sleepily at Mother. “Yes?”

“I don’t care if he’s only wearing his underwear. He’ll come out right now and make things right!” Mother exclaims.

Ava, the unfortunate wife of Kalvar to answer the door, rolls her eyes at Mother and shouts behind the half-closed door. “It’s your mother. What did you do this time, Kal?”

Kalvar pops his handsome and disheveled head out from behind the door, his expression brimming with annoyance. “Mother, what are you doing here? I’m entitled to my privacy!”

“I heard you blew off the gobli Crown Princess Leena because, and I quote from your manservant, Malcolm, ‘His majesty is hungover,'” Mother fumes. “How could you? Do you know how much it took your father and me to establish that treaty between our peoples?”

“Mother, the gobli crown princess will forgive us,” Kalvar objects, “I rescheduled for this afternoon with her.”

“We didn’t raise you to be like this, did we?” Mother asks hopelessly, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes as if asking the heavens for help, “How can you go this afternoon when you’re supposed to meet with your father-in-law, Lord Calbir, then?”

“You’re meeting with my father?” I hear Elle, Kalvar’s other wife, and my good friend, call from inside their apartments.

“Why would you sound surprised? Your parents are always in our business, Elle,” Ava complains in Elle’s direction.

Mother turns and glares at me, whispering, “You see, Kyla? Marry a man who wants one wife as I did.”

I don’t bother reminding her that no man would ever want me for a second wife, let alone first.

“What am I going to do? Tell her to reschedule again or let your father-in-law know his son-in-law drinks recklessly before important meetings?” Mother continues, “I’m tired of saving your ass. You have to deal with the consequences of your own actions!”

“Send Kyla,” Kalvar states suddenly, making me jump. He beams at me as if bestowing a favor upon me. “She’ll talk to the gobli princess, and I’ll meet with Lord Calbir.”

It’s my turn to roll my eyes with annoyance. “Are you serious?” I snort and cross my arms over my chest. “Nuh-uh, I’m not getting involved in this. You get drunk before an important meeting, that’s your choice, you pay for it… Besides, gobli hate me, remember?”

“Arlite, you’re right, sis,” Kalvar says and smacks his forehead, “sorry. I guess I’m royally screwed then, aren’t I?” He grins at Mother sheepishly.

“Yes, you are, and it’s not funny, Kal,” Mother says through clenched teeth, “This is the last time I’m going to save you. I’ll visit with Princess Leena myself, only because there will be great repercussions if no one meets with her. I swear, it’s like you don’t respect how much your poor father did to keep the peace here!”

Mother turns on her heel, and I follow after her.

“I owe you, Mom!” Kalvar calls from behind us. “Don’t tell Dad!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it with his health being the way it is!” Mother shouts back at him as she stomps away.

“Kyla, I wish you were going to be the next heir,” Mother whispers loudly, “Between you and me, Kalvar is much too distracted by all that the pomp and hero-worship being the next king can bring.”

“Mother, you know I wouldn’t want to be queen anyway,” I quickly say, not sure if I mean it or not. It’s never been in question. Since the day of my birth, I’ve been the Cursed princess. I bear the entirety of the kingdom’s shame on my shoulders. I love my fortunate brother, but even I can admit his party-animal lifestyle has been taking it too far lately. “I’m know Kalvar is cavalier about everything lately, but he’s dealing with a lot just like the rest of us.”

“I wish your father weren’t ill,” Mother says, her voice cracking. I can tell she’s about to cry. “Telling him about this would stress him greatly, but he’d know what to do. I can’t handle these adult children’s issues as he could. Did you know that Kalvar is thinking of getting married again?”

I blink. This is news to me. “No, I didn’t.”

“To an Erlund princess, to secure an alliance,” Mother sighs. “You know how I feel about that. I’m still not quite used to the polygamy thing being normal here in Underland, but it’s not just that, it’s the whole arranged marriage thing.”

“Mom, your marriage was arranged,” I say with a laugh, “And you and Father have been very happy together.”

“That wasn’t supposed to happen!” Mother laughs with me, though, her mood-lightening at my teasing. “Your father and I did it for a good reason, you know, and even then, it’s a miracle we fell in love and actually stayed together after everything was over.” Mother’s laughter ends in a sigh. “I’m not trying to be a hypocrite, Kyla, but I’ve never said our story was the example to follow.”

“I see your point,” I say.

I enjoy Mother and Father’s love story and never tire of hearing it. I guess it’s cause I’m a hopeless romantic myself—emphasis on hopeless.

“Kalvar already has two wives! One a daughter of a nobleman from Underland, our dear Elle, whom he romanced properly, and the other a princess from Westerly to secure an alliance. Now he’s marrying a woman from Erlund. What next? Marriage isn’t the only way to create an alliance, Kyla! Where I come from, there was no need. Love should be the reason. Here it is so… medieval sometimes.”

There Mother was using an Earth word I have no idea the origin of again. My mom has been through a lot. I don’t blame her for being frustrated.

By Elias, if I was from an entirely different universe, I’m sure I’d act the same way.

“I’m sorry, Mother, I don’t know what to say.” I put an arm around her. “When Father is well, things will get better.”

“Kyla, I’m unsure if he will get well,” Mother starts to sniffle. “When I think of what the Curse may do to him and even you eventually… please, dear, don’t allow that to ruin the now. Have a life now. Your father has enjoyed his life with me while he could. He’s lived many years, though, and it wears on him. Both of us wish you a better life than our own. I think most parents feel that way… You do keep yourself from the young men at court, Kyla, but there is a party next Savat’s night being held to celebrate the anniversary of Saul’s defeat. You should come. You are beautiful, smart, and compassionate… if any of them could see what I see in you, they’d realize what a treasure you are.”

I believe that unlike my mother from a different world who grew up without prejudice, every good man in Underland and Axus wouldn’t dare court me, and so far, this belief has proved true.

Face more rejection and fear?

No, thank you.

“I think I need a breather,” I say with a sigh, “if you’ll excuse me, Mother.”

“Of course, Kyla,” Mother says. “Be safe.”

“I think you forget that I can’t be killed, Mother,” I say with a wink.

“Oh, that’s something I caught onto when at the age of two you jumped out a window four stories up much to my horror,” Mother says dryly, crossing her arms at me in teasing. “No one prepared me to have a magical baby that could fly.”

“And here I am still jumping out of windows,” I say with a giggle.

I walk up to a window, hop on the ledge, and remove my coat to stretch out my extra pair of limbs.

I normally keep my wings hidden away even though it isn’t abnormal to see a winged person in Axus. However, I’m human and not sylph, and even sylphs have beautiful feathery wings of a dozen bright color variations. My wings are flesh-colored, smooth, and with talons on the joint like a bat’s.

My father does not have outward appearance issues like I, despite him holding the Curse.

Once I’d painfully tried to remove my wings, but my Curse had taken over, transformed me into my beast form, and healed any damage I’d done.

Unlike my father in my appearance, I’m completely cut off from the human race at all times.

Our chief historian and High Priest of the Temple of Light, Father Ryland, once told me there are no records of another female Cursed having ever existed, so she supposes the Curse manifests itself differently in me than it did my father.

I launch myself out the window and spread my wings, catching air beneath them. Despite deterring potential suitors, I am grateful for the ability to fly. It clears my anxiety.

A few guards look up at me as I fly, taking note of my presence but paying me no real attention. They are used to my flights.

I gaze down upon the keep of our palace and the walls, which conceal all of our secrets. Walls that have stood the tests of time and kept every king of Underland, the good and the bad, secure, and I see my father, King Alvar, standing on his bedroom balcony gazing up at me. He waves me down to meet him.