Page 134 of Oath of Revenge

Her voice died in her throat as she noticed a sudden movement in the courtyard below. A deep purple portal materialized, surrounded by blinding white light. Her heart pounded as a boot emerged from the swirling hole, followed by a figure cloaked in a long coat and waistcoat.

Bella’s hands trembled as she pressed them against the shattered window, causing the curtains and furniture to shake. It couldn’t be her...but it was. The man who’d stolen her body, the wizard she had feared for so long had suddenly appeared. Had speaking of him made him appear? Why was he suddenly here for the first time in all these months since the curse? Why—

She jerked, her hands fisting on the windowsill. “How did you get past the shadow monster outside?” she asked suddenly.

Da paused in his whispering with Scarlet, his voice rising as he said, “The one outside the castle walls? We killed it.”

Oh no, the magic mirror’s shadow babysitter had been killed. That must be why he’d shown up. The last time she’d tried to escape with Ignot holding the rose, that thing had stopped them, nearly killing the old man in the process. She’d known then it’s purpose to keep her securely behind the walls.

Just when she’d thought she could escape with her father and find the resources needed to fix the curses and reunite with her body, the mirror showed up. Fear gripped Bella’s heart in a vice as she realized nowhere was safe from the mirror’s power.

But she could keep Da and Scarlet away from him. He looked so confident as he strode into the castle in her body, and if he was powerful enough to create a portal like that, then he’d destroy them easily. Her heart raced and her hand shook as she touched the budding yellow rose. She had to face the mirror, but first she had to distract her father and his companion.

She took a shuddering breath and turned to face them, shoulders back with determination. “I will reverse the curse, Scarlet, but I need help. It’s hard to practice spells, gather ingredients, and all the other prep work when I’m incorporeal and can’t pick things up.”

Gus and Jaq poked her from where they sat in her pocket, and she patted them gently. She didn’t have time to explain them to Scarlet and Da.

“So you’ll come with us into the Feral Forest?” Da asked, his brown frowning with worry as he stepped closer to her.

She tried to walk past her father and Scarlet, but Da stepped in front of her, his hands raised. They passed right through her arms, making her wince at the icy feeling that shot through her. He stepped back with a frown, his hands falling limply by his sides. She winced at the pained look on his face and walked deeper into the room. He turned his back on the window, and she hoped he hadn’t seen the wizard downstairs.

She pursed her lips and glanced around the room, her mind planning the next steps. “I will, but I need to gather some books that I don’t want to leave behind. Night is falling, so we can head out in the morning, if that’s alright with you both?”

Scarlet glanced out the window at the fading light. “That’s a good idea.”

Bella breathed a sigh of relief, but her shoulders were still stiff with tension. “Scarlet, you probably want to tell Da your version of what happened that day, so I’ll leave you to it. There’s also a clean cloth here to wipe away the blood.”

“Thank you,” Da said, reaching for the cloth and turning to his companion to dab at her cheek.

The tender move sent a pang of jealousy through her, and she stepped faster toward the door to the hall, waving to the opposite wall. “There are clean but dusty clothes in the wardrobe, Scarlet. Feel free to help yourself.”

“Oh, I could never—”

Bella glanced over her shoulder, remembering the Hunter from those nights in the tavern. “If you’d prefer pants, the king’s chamber is across the hall. I’m not sure if any of his clothes will fit either of you, but you’re welcome to look.”

She reached the door and held her hands to her stomach, fear making her hands shake as she thought of meeting the mirror below. “The water closet is through that door as well, but there’s no water up here to help you wash from the battles and your journey. Since the servants died, it’s been incredibly difficult to get water up here to the rose. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back those books. I’ll see you both in the morning?”

Scarlet’s eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to say something, but Da gripped her chin gently and turned her head to the side for easier access. He wiped in soft, light circles down her neck, and Scarlet’s eyes fluttered closed and she hummed.

Bella animated the door with a spell and shut it behind her. She still had so much left to explain, but there was no time. She had to face a wizard.

Chapter 44

Wulfric rubbed his chin with the cloth as Scarlet walked further into the room. Her steps left prints in the thick layer of dust on the bare marble floors. Near the broken window by the rose, the dust wasn’t so thick due to rain. The walls were bare, the lighter color revealing where paintings and tapestries had once stood.

Wulfric only assumed that the servants had scrubbed this room from top to bottom after the bloody mess. Scarlet opened and closed the vanity drawers, revealing jeweled combs and perfume bottles with delicate designs.

Scarlet shut the last drawer and stretched her neck. “Did you hear her? She said there were servants here. They probably got stuck after the curse spread. I can’t imagine what they went through or how they died. Do you think she killed them?”

Wulfric scowled and tossed the cloth next to the pitcher by the rose. “No, she didn’t kill them. That’s my daughter you’re talking about.”

Scarlet rubbed her temples. “Oh gods, your daughter is the queen. She’s alive, and she hates me, and—oh gods, how old are you?”

Wulfric rolled his eyes and stepped behind her, rubbing her shoulders in a massage that had her melting in his hands. “I’m forty-seven. How old are you?”

“Thirty-five. I’ve been going into taverns first with my dad as a Ranger and then with the Hunters, but I don’t remember you at the tavern here in Demerel.”

He kissed the side of her neck and moved his hands down her spine. “I don’t remember you either. Perhaps the goddess kept us apart until we were ready for each other.”

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