The Curse and the Prince is book 2 in the series Kingdom of Curses and Shadows, an enemies-to-lovers YA romantic fantasy for readers 15 and up who love snarky banter and adventure.
Larzen crouched and took turns petting Tempest, Wind, and Storm, his hand running through three different sets of black fur, their eyes wide and eager for attention, affection, their tails wagging. He rarely came here, but at least this was something he could do for Griffin. The dogs were huge now, even menacing, and yet he remembered when they’d been nothing but tiny pups, fitting on the small palms of Griffin’s hands. His brother had found them almost dying by the forest and brought them to the castle. At the time, he was in that in-between period,
almost no longer a child, still not yet a teenager. His eyes had been bright as he suggested that each of them take care of one dog. Larzen was given Tempest. Or Wind? He wasn’t sure and couldn’t even tell which was which anymore.
All he remembered was that the puppies were newborns, badly hurt, and took a lot of work. Kiran refused his puppy and Larzen ended up giving up after one day, tired of having to give them milk every few hours. He regretted it now, regretted the time he could have shared with Griffin, the support he could have given him. All he saw was his little brother almost falling asleep during meals, tired from coming in the middle of the night to care for the pups.
The one thing Larzen did was talk to his parents, reveal his brother’s secret, but also convince them that it would be good for him. He didn’t even remember what he’d said. His mother had always looked at Griffin with some fear or mistrust, perhaps worry because he was so small. As to Kiran, she’d always made an effort to treat him like her own son, with emphasis on “effort”.
His parents made no secret that Larzen had been their favorite, which brought a bitter taste to his mouth. More than that, his memories of his parents were dark and poisoned now. So poisoned. But gone and he’d better forget it all.
Larzen had never asked to be more loved than his brothers, had never wanted that, and yet, he knew how to use it to his advantage. In this case, he convinced his parents to let his younger brother keep the puppies. That had been right before Griffin started training more, exercising, perhaps realizing that even if he could not be tall, he could still be big. Like him, his dogs grew to be menacing. And yet he had been just a small boy who wanted to take care of puppies.
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ReplyDeleteIt's on my TBR list! Looking forward to reading it! :)
DeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteI love the colors on the cover. Eye-catching.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great escape for me right now! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is awesome.
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