Page 28 of Of Curses and Beauty

“Well, I’ll let you get back to sleep,” she said, turning to leave.

“Wait.”

Alaine froze at the command in his tone, but she didn’t move to face him.

“Stay.” His voice broke on the word and he cleared his throat to try again. “Please stay. I could use a friend right now. If you want to stay, that is.”

She knew she shouldn’t, not when this tenuous thing growing between them threatened every intention she had of returning to her family, but the sincerity in his voice gave her pause. Whether or not they could be more, Darichadbecome her friend and she wouldn’t deny him this comfort when it was hers to give.

“Move over, then. I shall tell you stories until you can sleep again.”

He smiled and pushed himself back to the other side of the bed, leaving more than enough space for Alaine to join him. The ghost of his warmth was a welcome solace as she slid into the vacated space.

She rolled onto her side to face him like he was her and felt a jolt of panic at the intimate position. Never before had she laid in bed with a man. It was wholly improper and yet, some small part of her relished the indecency of it.

She cleared her throat, hoping her voice did not betray her nerves, and let her words fill the air around them. “Once upon a time, there was a little boy who could not lie.”

And so she went, retelling stories from her youth until Daric’s breaths turned to deep rumblings of sleep. All the while, she refused to bridge the gap that stretched between their bodies like a raging river dividing the land into east and west. It wasn’t the physical act she avoided, rather the emotional connection she feared it would forge. Daric was something special and it would be all too easy to give up everything to make a life with him in this enchanted cottage.

Alaine slipped from his room in the early morning hours. As the sky began to brighten with the coming dawn, she bid farewell to the night and to the last hope she had for remaining with Daric. For it was a new day, and she was determined to be free of this curse.

Chapter 24

Daric

Forweeksafterhisnightmare, Daric barely saw Alaine. She had been gone by the time he’d awoken and could scarcely seem to make eye contact with him after. Their meals—when they shared them—were quick and silent. More often, she spent her time in the library. They no longer spent the evenings together on the sofa before the hearth, no longer swapped stories until the early morning hours. He wanted to give her space, but he got the feeling she was avoiding him and he didn’t know why. Though they still occupied the same cottage, still suffered the same curse, he missed her. If her presence had been a balm to his soul, her absence was like pouring salt in a wound. He carried the sting of it with him always. It never dulled, never eased.

He’d taken to chopping wood again, anything to fill the endless silence. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d messed up. Somewhere along the line, she had decided he was not worth her time and he couldn’t help but feel the witch’s visit had changed her opinion of him. Alaine still hadn’t told him why the witch visited her the morning after she restored her beauty, but he knew he could fix it, if only she’d give him a chance. He just didn’t know how to convince her that he was worthy of that chance.

His latest destruction lay in a heap around him. As he gathered the split logs, he racked his brain for any kind of solution that would see both him and Alaine free at the end of a year. Frankly, he should be grateful that the witch had accepted his bargain at all. Knowing Alaine would be free no matter what eased the tension in his neck, but he longed to taste that freedom side-by-side with her, perhaps even hand-in-hand, if she would have him. That thought seemed ridiculous given their current situation, but he refused to give up hope of a happy ending again. He wouldn’t return to that pit of despair until all was truly lost.

The autumn sun was weak, the air crisp and cool, foretelling the coming of winter. Soaked in sweat, he shivered, feeling the bite of the wind now that he’d abandoned his task.

He glanced toward the cottage, the picturesque scene never failing to mock him. If this was really his home, and Alaine his wife, he’d be the happiest man alive. But it was nothing more than a prison disguised as a utopia. Alaine was not his. Though he considered himself fortunate that the curse had brought them together, it left him feeling guilty. The idea that he had ruined her life chased away any pleasant associations.

As though summoned by his thoughts, he caught a glimpse of Alaine through one of the windows, glowing in the muted sunlight. She was striking. Having gotten to know the person within first, he knew that her face matched the beauty of her soul. It was appalling that those she’d grown up with had failed to see her value as a whole. Beauty fades, but a good heart is forever. He’d much rather be with the latter than the former, though apparently, that made him the minority among men. If only he’d figured all this out before everything changed between them.

Alaine moved out of view and he realized that she was in the library, a fact he should have known given the amount of time that she spent there recently. He was glad that the library provided her even a small bit of happiness. With all the reading she’d been doing, he wouldn’t be surprised if she finished every book in there before their year was up.

A thread of an idea formed at that last thought. If he followed it, he just might repair his relationship with Alaine. With the cottage’s help, he only needed to wait until she retired for the night.

He stacked the last of the firewood and set about making the preparations. Everything would need to be perfect, but if his plan worked, maybe he could win back the heart of the woman who had stolen his.

Chapter 25

Alaine

Alaineslidthebookback into place on the shelf. None of her tried and true favorites were holding her interest. Months ago, her heart ached to read adventurous stories and tales of other lands. Now, it ached for another reason.

She let her fingers skim the spines as she walked beside the shelf, her subconscious mind wishing she was running her fingers over the hard planes of Daric’s body. Yanking her hand away, she chastised herself. It was the romance novels invading her thoughts. She’d already ruled out the possibility of a future with Daric. Unable to trust his affection or even his friendship, she had all but ignored him these past several weeks, and it hurt. She missed him, but she wouldn’t risk her hopeful heart. The loss of him, coupled with the knowledge that she may one day become Mrs. Henrik Baxter, nearly broke her. Still, she had decided to do right by her family.

There were potentially only a few weeks remaining until the first snow, less than that if she was unlucky. Daric had guessed that all she needed to do to be free was learn her true value. It couldn’t be that hard. Then, she’d be free—free to marry Baxter and save her family—and Daric would remain, imprisoned within the cottage grounds.Thatwould be the hard part.

If she was honest with herself, she felt worse about someday leaving him to his loneliness. She could no more sacrifice his heart than she could her own. Better that they remain unattached. That was what she told herself to get through the days, and it helped a little.

Not for the first time, she wondered how to break his curse. If she knew they could have something together beyond the curse, she’d be more inclined to follow her desires.

Perhaps she could puzzle out the mystery of Daric’s curse. He’d been able to share so much about his past, but the details of his enchantment remained unknown to her. She knew they shared similar reservations when it came to forming attachments, unable to know a potential partner’s true intentions. His royal title had been stripped from him as well. Could his curse be as simple as hers? It seemed unlikely that he didn’t see his worth after three hundred years of solitude, but that didn’t feel right anyway. Daric had known his worth beyond his title when he’d refused the witch initially.

---