Page 73 of The Curse and the Silver Rose

“Do you love him?” asked Colette.

The question caught Amelie badly off guard. She had been expecting to deflect queries about kissing and sex. Not love.

“What?” she asked.

“Do you love him, silly?”

Amelie knitted her brows. “I do not know. How would I know?”

“You simply do. I know that I love Laughlin as sure as I know the sky is blue.”

“I do not believe it is that simple.”

“But it is!”

“I disagree!”

Both sisters gaped, as if the other was utterly insane.

Colette recovered first, holding her hands up and closing her eyes, as if trying to understand. “Is that why you left? You could not love him?”

“I did not say I do not love him.”

“So you do?”

“I do not know.”

“Oh.” Colette let her hands drop. “Oh, this poor beast.”

“Davron.” Amelie slapped her sister’s knee playfully. “His name is Davron.”

“Why did you leave, then? The messenger boy only said it was because of the curse. We were quite concerned. The beas— Davron did not hurt you, did he?”

“No, he did not.” She inhaled deeply, deciding how much to reveal about her time at Castle Grange. She did not wish to worry her family with details about Levissina and the raider attack. Besides, she was now clear of all that. “Staying there became too dangerous, due to the curse. There’s no way to break it, you see, and the sorceress responsible is committed to the destruction of Davron and anyone he loves.”

“So he loves you?”

“He has never said that.” She stood up, suddenly and inexplicably irritated. “Will you stop with the love talk? That is not what we are discussing. I meant the destruction of his family, whom he loved.”

“Of course,” said Colette carefully. “We do not have to discuss anything, if you do not wish it. I am simply trying to understand.”

Amelie turned away, facing the nightstand. Her eyes fell to the book of folktales. She thought of the little girl living underground, alone in darkness.

“Forgive me, Colette. I suppose it frustrates me to think about what if. That we might have—” She swallowed. “That we might have loved one another. What we may or may not feel no longer has relevance.”

“Oh, but how could that not have relevance, no matter what else has transpired?”

Amelie shook her head, turning back around. “He told me to leave. Plainly. He refused me. I feel like such a fool for how I acted when he told me. I mewled like a child to be allowed to stay. It was humiliating. And he showed no emotion. He just stood there like a statue. Cold and hard.”

“I am sorry,” said Colette. “That sounds awful. But, you know, it also sounds like he only wanted you to leave to protect you from the curse. That is a selfless act.”

“Perhaps. I mean, yes. It is. But the result is the same, is it not? I am here and he is there and that’s all there is to it. I need to accept it.” She sat on the bed, her shoulders slumping. “Or I will go mad.”

“Well, love is strong, Amelie. If love is indeed what you feel. Do not underestimate its power.”

“You would not say that if you had faced the Dark One.” She gave a humorless laugh. “This sorceress is stronger than strong. She thwarted Davron’s mother, who was a gifted mage herself. Love doomed his entire family. Sadly, his best hope seems to be complete and utter solitude.”

“That does not sound very much like hope to me,” said Colette quietly.

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