Page 32 of Of Curses and Beauty

“He bargained his freedom in exchange for yours. You had one year to fall in love with him or he would give himself over to me, so you could be free.”

She didn’t know there were pieces of her heart that weren’t broken until then.

“Then why am I still here?” Her voice broke, matching the shattered organ in her chest. The hopelessness that had been expelled with Daric’s kiss now rebounded tenfold.

“He didn’t bargain for you to fall in love with him. The deal was, if youdidn’tlove him after a year, you would be free—but you do, so here we are. Both left without our prince.”

Rage simmered inside her at the thought of Daric belonging to this witch. Alaine snarled, the feral beast she kept contained for decorum finally breaking free. “Your curse is a joke. You’ll not have me any more than you have him. You challenge me to learn my worth? I already know it, because Daric reminded me of it every chance he got.” She stood, invading the witch’s space and forcing her to retreat as she advanced. “I am smart, but I am open. I am kind, but I am cautious. I am stubborn. I am scared. I am funny, and clever, and lovely, and fierce. I am all the things you will never be, and I am done. Now, free me.”

Chapter 28

The Witch

Thegirldisappearedinthe blink of an eye, leaving the witch utterly and completely alone in the enchanted cottage. For the first time in centuries, Eudora existed unaccompanied within her own mind. She felt the weight of the curse lift from her shoulders and with it vanished the otherworldly presence that had possessed her all these years. With Them gone, Eudora felt like a stranger in her body. She was relieved to find that she maintained the form of the maiden she had been before the spell, fearing that she would be freed only to find her body that of the withered crone. After so long sharing the space within her, she didn’t know who she was anymore. She’d never imagined becoming entangled for years, let alone centuries.

Once she’d cast the spell, only Daric and the one who loved him could undo it.

A spell to find love.

She thought she’d been clever enough to circumvent natural law. Thought she’d been careful enough with the crafting of the spell, but she’d been young and foolish.

With every passing year, she had felt herself slipping farther away, toward an oblivion that surely would have doomed all three of them. The cost of the magic had been higher than she’d anticipated—more than she could pay if she was honest with herself. She owed her life to the terrible being that stepped into her body like a second skin. They had borne the repercussions in her stead, Their magic fueling the curse long enough for Daric, and later Alaine, to break it. Without Their intervention, Eudora certainly wouldn’t have survived.

Though she’d spent most of the past centuries fearing the fickle whims of the being that controlled her body and magic, she remained both grateful to Them and relieved They were gone. She’d been concerned that her recent involvement would push Alaine and Daric too far in the opposite direction, but it was a risk that paid off.

She envied Alaine at that moment, for her surety of self and the confidence she’d projected. Perhaps one day, Eudora would find herself again. Until then, there remained work to be done.

After all that she’d endured, she hadn’t had the strength to ensure Alaine and Daric found each other in the aftermath. They’d been freed, yes, but both to their own homes, though luckily in the same time—they wouldn’t have to face the devastation that could have been if Daric had been sent back to his own century. It was technically Daric who had set these events into motion, but the curse was entirely Eudora’s doing, albeit unintentionally. She intended to make amends, and this time, she’d do it without magic.

Well, withoutbigmagic, at least.

She only hoped they would be willing to accept her help after everything.

Chapter 29

Daric

BythetimeDaricreached the grand foyer and pushed his way through the colossal door, the sun had dipped below the distant hills. Night would soon be upon him. His first thought was to check the stables, but he rejected that plan at the sight of the overgrown lawn. No part of this castle had shown any sign of regular maintenance. There was no point searching for a horse when the property had clearly been abandoned.

Though he had no food, no horse, and only a vague idea of where he was heading, his only thoughts were of Alaine.

Had she been freed as well?

Was she home?

Was she safe?

His anxiety spiked as he spiraled into darker thoughts. She could still be at the cottage, alone—or worse, the witch could be tormenting her. Fear quickened his steps until he was sprinting across the unkempt lawns, brushing aside overgrown shrubs and leaping over fallen trees. It had been so long since he’d had the room to run and even his adrenaline was not enough to mask the burning in his lungs or the pain in his side.

Still, he ran.

He didn’t spare a backward glance for the castle. Prince Daric was no more. He was only Daric, the beast of the enchanted cottage, a man in love. And he would stop at nothing to find her again.

His fingers and toes had grown numb by the time the flicker of lantern light indicated he neared a small town. He would have sighed in relief at the sign of life if he’d had any breath to spare. As it was, he barely managed to hold himself upright as he passed by several wattle and daub homes, their windows already dark for the evening. Eventually, the tiny path opened up into a large avenue and small homes gave way to larger structures of wood and stone.

Though the sun had set, there were still several people milling about the town. Daric finally slowed to a stop before a bustling inn and tavern. His legs rebelled against the lack of motion, urging him forward even as they seemed to weigh ten stones each. The itch of his blood rushing through his body nearly drove him mad. A couple patrons lingering outside gave him questioning looks as he fought to catch his breath, but most were too absorbed in their own business to pay him any mind.

It shocked him to see so many other people. For hundreds of years, he’d seen only the witch when she deigned to show herself. Then for the last couple of months, he’d had Alaine. But the handful of people he could see now nearly immobilized him. He had to close his eyes and remind himself that this was the real world.

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