Page 5 of Of Curses and Beauty

Deepwithintheforest,prowled an ancient being of great power. They were known by many names and had inhabited many bodies—Their own having been long since lost to time. It was pure chance that They came to possess the body of a young enchantress, Eudora. A fool who had attempted a spell beyond her abilities. She would have died if it weren’t for Their efforts.

There are reasons one should not meddle in affairs of the heart. Most cannot afford the cost demanded by such magic, this witch included. When her life force reached out for the strength to complete the task, They had answered.

And now They waited.

In another cottage, far from where the prince remained caged, the Ancient One bided Their time. The centuries ticked by in a haze of potion-making and spell-casting, broken only by Their frequent visits to the prince, and the hunt for the other; the one who would complete the curse.

Time had meant nothing in Their greater form. However, in this mortal skin, They felt its passing like the rusting of metal, feeding off Their energy even as They extended Eudora’s life far beyond human standards.

Regardless, Their time in this body was nearing its end.

It had been a whim—a mere curiosity—that saw this Ancient One answering the call of one so seemingly insignificant. They’d been drawn to the chaos, the spectacle, the desperation. They’d danced to the ridiculous melody of the impossible and dared to make it possible.

Their primordial, potent magic—Their very entity—had twined with the witch’s, morphing the spell and permanently altering the course of events. In doing so, They had saved the witch from a fatal error, but They also had inadvertently cursed them all.

The spell, though mutated from its original form, still required the same result—something near impossible to achieve. It weighed Them down like iron chains, demanding near-constant energy to keep from being suffocated.

Surely, these inconsequential tidings were above such a powerful creature. And yet, They remained.

Perhaps They did not wish for it all to have been in vain. Or perhaps some small part of Them remembered what a powerful thing it was to love and be loved.

Whatever the reason, They were determined to see this through, no matter the outcome.

And now, all the players were set in motion. If this chance was missed, They wouldn’t have another. Even now, Their energy flagged—the cost of maintaining too many threads. They had maybe another year before They’d need to abandon all to their fates. A year before They couldn’t hold on any longer.

They feared it might already be too late for the prince. That he’d shown any hint of fire during Their earlier visit was promising, but only time would tell if it was enough. Mortals were not meant to endure for so long, particularly under such trying conditions.

A tingling sensation crept over Their hands, stilling the knife They wielded in midair. The rat squirming in Their grasp let out a series of squeaks as sparks lit at Their fingertips. The frightened creature slipped from Their clutches and scurried away to freedom as They were momentarily distracted by the lightning arcing from finger to finger.

The Ancient One had expected this particular sign much earlier, but the girl had possessed a stronger will than They’d anticipated. Not many could ignore Their summons for so long. Indeed, this girl had proved far more difficult to procure than the prince.

Hurrying to the witch’s scrying mirror, They upended the cauldron and toppled several stacks of books in the process. Even after centuries of wearing this skin, They were still acclimating to the clumsy way it moved, so unlike Their natural grace. The constant bruises marring the witch’s pale flesh were a nuisance, but one They quickly forgot as They reached the spelled glass.

The dark mirror swirled to life as They approached, revealing an area of the forest with far fewer trees and more sunlight. A young woman stepped into view. Her fellow humans had deemed her beautiful beyond compare, but They had selected her for an entirely different reason.

This curse was about to become far more interesting. Now, with the final piece on the board, the witch’s spell that was centuries in the making was finally nearing fruition. It was just as well, for They tired of the prince’s endless melancholy. Watching him had become a tedious bore and They hoped the girl would provide some entertainment at the very least.

They donned the witch’s cloak, reverting to her original form, that of the red-haired maiden, before stalking into the forest to hunt Their quarry. If all went well, They’d have the girl by nightfall.

Chapter 5

Alaine

TheforestwelcomedAlainewith the calming harmony of birdsong and rustling leaves. Sunlight pierced through the trees in muted rays, casting the scene in a peaceful glow. Her shoulders eased as she inhaled the scent of fresh pine and earthy loam. Though she’d escaped the probing eyes of the townspeople and the weighty expectations of her parents, the strain continued to linger as she breached the tree line. Safe within the confines of the forest, she urged the stress of her obligations to melt away, kicking off her shoes to curl her toes in the soft moss beneath her feet. She’d nearly forgotten the book that was still clutched in her hands like a shield. Her stiff fingers resisted as she freed it from their clutches, gently laying it beside her shoes so she could carry on unburdened.

For a while, she only walked, enjoying the forest for the reprieve it offered. Meandering through the trees reminded her of playing in the forest as a child, brandishing long sticks like swords and battling imaginary foes.

Once, Alaine had vowed to always be the hero in her own story. Considering Henrik Baxter’s proposal seemed like a betrayal of that promise. She didn’t know if she could survive becoming that awful man’s wife. Acceptance would be a sacrifice of everything she valued in herself. She’d be a stranger to her own eyes.

Before he had offered to clear their debt, she’d known no redeeming qualities of the man. It couldn’t be chance that he was the one coming forward as their savior now. She should have demanded details about the debts. The timing was too suspicious and her father too trusting for this to be a mere coincidence. She’d bet anything that Baxter was the one behind this mysterious debt, perfectly setting himself up to swoop in and save the day. If he thought this ploy would have her running into his arms, he had to be out of his mind.

Not for the first time, Alaine considered taking away that which made her so desirable. She could cut off her hair, hide her body beneath ill-fitting clothes, or even scar her face if it came down to it. The option had always lurked in the dark recesses of her mind, but altering her appearance felt like admitting defeat.Shewas not the one who needed to change.

“I wish there was another way out of this,” she mused aloud, tapping her lip thoughtfully.

A snapping branch froze her in place. Her breath hitched as she swiveled and caught a glimpse of a dark shape darting behind a thick, moss-covered trunk. In her mindless wandering, she had failed to notice the silence that had descended upon the forest. Now that her ears strained for any sign of life, she heard nothing. No birds sang. No critters scurried about. Even the air was stagnant with no breeze to stir the leaves above.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Her voice trembled, but she cast about for something, anything she could use as a weapon. She found a sturdy branch and held it out, her body quickly falling back into her old playtime habits.

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