Page 155 of The Vampire's Bride

“Thank you.” Valaric looks at the two of them. “For trying to protect Juliet.”

He looks at the castle. “The others,” he murmurs. “We must check on them. If they are not already awake, they will be soon.”

When we reach the west wing, he opens the first door and rushes inside, stopping abruptly before the empty glass coffin. He moves to the next door, only to find his second wife is gone too. Valaric checks the others and finds they have vanished as well.

“If the curse was truly broken, they should all be awake.” His brow furrows deeply. “Instead, they have disappeared.”

Dread slithers down my spine.

Eben walks in behind us. “What is—” He goes silent, staring in shock at the empty glass coffins.

“Where are they?” Cole’s voice calls out from behind him.

“They’re gone,” Valaric murmurs.

“Gone?” Damar’s voice rings out from the hallway. “How?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Juliet passed the final test. The curse should be broken.”

“Perhaps it is,” Damar offers. “Maybe this is what is supposed to happen. With the curse broken, the others may have already been transported back to their families.”

“The rosebush,” Valaric murmurs. “If it is still here, then that means—” Without warning, he rushes back out into the hallway.

The rest of us follow him, and although he is much faster than me, I know by the direction he travels that he is heading to the gardens. When I finally reach him, he is kneeling before the enchanted rosebush. The glowing red blooms are beginning to wither, several of the petals have already fallen, lying scattered in the snow.

Valaric stares at the plant in complete and utter devastation.

“What’s wrong?”

“The curse must be broken before the last petal falls,” he says grimly. “In the past, it has disappeared when I’ve run out of time. If the curse were truly lifted, this bush would be gone.”

“Then why is it still here?”

His hands clench into fists. “The witch must not be done with us yet.”

CHAPTER 65

VALARIC

Damar paces back and forth across the study like a caged snowcat. “I don’t understand,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me. “We’ve missed something. But what?”

It has been two nights since Juliet passed the test to break my curse. There has been no sign of the witch and the enchanted rosebush is still in the garden.

Frustration surges through me as I glance down at my hand. The long cut across my palm is already beginning to heal after I sliced it to summon Talindra. The last time I tried to contact her in this way, she appeared immediately.

It’s the reason I insisted Juliet leave the room. I do not want the witch anywhere near my ashaya. But the fact that the witch still has not come is disturbing.

There are only two reasons for her not to answer my summons. “She could be dead,” I offer. “Or she could have changed the rules to ensure she never loses her hold on me.”

If she’s dead, then there may not be a way to completely break my curse now. But if she is not, I’m worried it means she has something even worse planned for me and my bride.

I walk to the covered window and carefully pull back the edge of the dark-green velvet curtains. Squinting my eyes against the early morning dawn looming on the horizon, I study Juliet as she stands on the balcony. Her head tilted up, her eyes closed as she faces the faint sunlight.

Damar halts beside me, careful to remain in the shadows. “I doubt she is dead. The witch never expected her curse to be broken. She meant to torture you until the end of your days. Or hers.” A deep frown creases his brow. “We need a plan. If you want to keep Juliet safe, we must kill the witch. It is the only choice that makes sense.”

Doubt wars with fear as I study my wife. I cannot bear the thought of losing her. “Blood witches are powerful and dangerous beings. What if we fail?”

“She may be a witch, but she is also a Goblin made of flesh and blood.” Damar’s eyes turn black with anger. “A foul creature to be sure, but a creature, nonetheless. Anything that bleeds can be killed.”

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