Curse Of The Desert Sun ⚜ Ch. 10

Aten didn't sleep. Neither did any of the others, or at least had nightmares.

When the sun rose, they all went to the tree. When he arrived, he raised a brow. "Did you bring the entire library out here?"

Baltazar and Olek had dark circles under their eyes. "We only get one shot at this today - it has to be right," Olek said.

Ivan jumped down from the tree to go stand by Liliya. "I don't want you here during the eclipse, alright?" he said.

"Aten, you're here already."

Turning to Okoye, he echoed Ivan's words. "You should leave as the eclipse gets closer. I don't want you getting hurt."

She nodded and took his hand. "Very well."

Looking at the piles of books, he saw the amulet sitting on top of one, its linen wrap exposing the green scarab and some of the pearls.

Time seemed to pass quickly as he waited desperately to know if the incantation would work. The two young wizards tried their best to figure out how to do this.

Finally, people started coming outside.

"It's getting close," Ivan warned.

Olek closed his book and took his notebook. "Alright, everyone gather round. We go up to the clearing back behind us where no one will see. Baltazar, you and I will hold the amulet, both in our right hands. Ivan will stand behind me, and Aten will stand behind Baltazar. We begin the incantation we wrote together. If it doesn't work, we'll have about thirty five seconds left to do the different incantations."

In case something went wrong, Aten pulled Okoye close and kissed her. "Ana baħibbik."

She kissed his forehead. "I know. Come back to me."

"Let's get moving, people. We don't have a second to spare," Baltazar said.

The four sorcerers went to the small clearing, leaving the girls to anxiously watch from afar. Above them, the sun and moon came closer and closer together.

Ivan began to feel its effects first. "Ugh... It's pulling me already."

"I know," Baltazar said, "Hold on, okay?"

Then Aten's head began to pound, his vision tinted red, and his stomach suddenly felt empty. "How much longer?"

The two holding the amulet exchanged a glance. "We can almost begin. So close," Olek encouraged.

Ivan cried out, trying to fight off the transformation. Aten fought to not lunge at Olek's throat.

"Now!" Baltazar shouted.

The moment they began the incantation, the power of the sun and moon overcame them both. Aten was burned and starved and yet still himself. Ivan was half transformed and yet managed to mutter to himself. They screamed as their human half fought with the monster inside.

But as the incantation came to a close, there was no effect. Aten still felt the raging hunger.

"Let's do the other, just in case," Olek said. They held up the amulet higher this time, both muttering different words.

This time, Aten felt it. Baltazar's incantion was working on him. And the screaming had stopped from Ivan.

But after a certain word, it felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest. As the curse was pulled out, as was every ounce of his energy.

As Baltazar and Olek spoke the last words in unison, Ivan and Aten collapsed.

Above them, the sun and moon now moved apart. And both princes were left entirely human.

"Aten!"

"Ivan!"

The girls ran into the clearing, unable to stay away any longer. Okoye pulled Aten into her arms, sobbing. "What happened? Please be alright. Please!"

He could hear her voice, but the strength just to open his eyes was almost too much. "Okoye..." he managed to mutter.

"Yes, yes, I'm here. Are you alright? Oh please..."

He blinked as one of her tears hit his cheek, and managed to raise a hand to brush away the others. "It's gone. I can feel it. The sun isn't burning."

Relieved, she pulled him close and sobbed, after a minute, she glanced back to see Liliya helping Ivan to sit up. They were both smiling.

"You did it," Aten said weakly.

Olek and Baltazar smiled, breathing hard. "We did."

"I'm free," the prince smiled, pulling Okoye down to kiss him.

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Thank you for reading and voting on the seventeenth installment of the Royal Academy Diaries series!

Keep reading to find out what will happen if Laora loses a bet with her handsome benefactor.