Page 19 of The Curse and the Silver Rose

Davron gave a nod.

His large hand on her back, he directed her to an unlit hearth at the side of the room. There, he tugged an ornamental scroll. The hearth turned into a door, swinging inward to reveal a cozy, well-appointed drawing room.

The furnishings were comfortable and plush, with a velvet lounge near the blazing fire, and an elegant drinks trolley holding liqueurs and a teapot. She sat on the lounge while he poured tea. Amelie was too nervous to drink, though. She perched on the edge, hands in her lap, waiting for him to speak.

What on earth did he want to tell her?

He sat on the lounge and turned to her, his strange burgundy eyes studying her face. It was the first time Amelie was able to look at him properly, up close. His rolled-back shirt sleeves revealed the tattoos on his muscular forearms, including the details of the inked tombstones, skeletons, and chains.

He kneaded his coarse, vandalized hands together, his fingers flexing ceaselessly. The scar down the side of his face was deep and seemed to have never closed completely. Amelie suspected the wound hadn’t been stitched, but left to heal as a gash instead.

“There’s no palatable way to say this,” he said in a grave voice. “So, I’ll tell you plainly. Some of these details you might know. Some, you won’t. But you have a right to be aware if you are to live here.”

He paused, as if waiting for her to agree. She hastily nodded, her curiosity burning.

Davron continued. “The first thing you should know is that you can leave anytime. Bringing you here was unfair. It was ungentlemanly.” Showing prominent canine teeth, he laughed bitterly. “I’ve not been a gentleman for some time. I had hoped you might—” He cleared his throat and looked away. When he spoke again, his tone was subdued. “That hooded figure you saw, I fear it was the one who cursed my family.”

He gestured at his body. “I bear the marks of her rage. I knew she would discover you, sooner or later, but I didn’t imagine it would be on your first day. That’s my mistake for underestimating her. You see, I labor under the weight of her sorcery, but the castle is the domain of my mother’s magic. She was a sorceress, too. Before she died, she enchanted the castle to prevent my enemy from crossing the estate’s perimeter. The High Magus of Starlight Gardens helped her.”

Davron tapped a series of symbols tattooed on his arm. “The Magus also cast protection spells on me directly, to counteract the curse. They only hold her at bay, though. No one is powerful enough to undo her completely. But you should know that the Dark One can not pass the gate. You are safe as long as you do not stray beyond the castle grounds.”

Amelie took all of this in, her mind reeling. Davron was cursed. The hooded figure she’d seen was no harmless traveler, after all.

“How awful about your mother,” she said. “What does the Dark One want?”

“Revenge. She murdered my parents in the name of vengeance, as well as my—” He closed his eyes briefly, before continuing. “She tried to kill me and failed, but the curse took hold anyway, resigning me to a fate perhaps worse than death. I am mangled, haunted, and turned monstrous. The castle is my home but also my prison. And the poison of the curse spreads to the surrounding land. I am sure you noticed it when you arrived. Gloom in the soil, in the air, in the trees. The village suffers for it because she dwells there.”

Amelie struggled to understand. It was all so sad and strange.

“I wish I could help you. I wish I could do something. But why would she care that I’m here?” asked Amelie. “It’s not as if I am a sorceress. I can’t combat her.”

She was bewildered to have an enemy she’d not even known existed until this moment.

“Because her wish is for me to suffer. Nothing else matters to her. I do not believe she is truly human anymore. She is something else. She is pure darkness.”

“But if I leave, she’ll simply let me?” asked Amelie, full of doubt. “I can’t comprehend it.”

“All you need to understand is that she does not care about you beyond the scope of the curse. But yes, if you leave, neither she nor I will stand in your way.”

“What if I stay?” she asked.

Davron stared into her eyes for a long time. His gaze was so intense that she felt like he was delving directly into her soul. Even though her heart beat faster with anxiety at his attention, she did not look away.

“If you stay—” he said eventually. “The sole purpose of my existence will be to protect you.”

The fire crackled, sending a vivid orange spark spiraling upward. She tore her gaze from him and looked into the fire, thinking. Would fate truly bring her to Castle Grange only to make her flee a day later, carrying endless unanswered questions? Could she ever forget this fantastical place and strange, haunted man? Aside from anything else, she knew her curiosity would not let her. She’d seen too much.

“I am very sorry about your parents,” she said, turning back to him. “I lost mine, too. I miss them every day. You do not have any siblings?”

“No. I was an only child. You are fortunate to have brothers. Even though they are brutes.”

Amelie pressed her hand to her mouth to stop herself from bursting into laughter. She only half succeeded, letting out an amused snort.

“I am sorry. Only, they said quite the same thing about you,” she explained.

Davron looked indignant for a moment, then his expression relaxed. “I suppose I did hurl the blond one over a wall. He is alright, isn’t he?” he added, somewhat begrudgingly.

“Bruised pride is all,” she reassured. “That was not the first drunken scrape he’d been in.”

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