Page 7 of Of Curses and Beauty

The skin on her arm prickled, and she remembered the bite of Baxter’s grip on her flesh. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she considered her limited options. There was no telling what part of the woods she currently occupied. If she set out on her own again, she’d likely never find her way back home.

Still, she had to swallow down a lump of fear before announcing her presence. Stepping forward tentatively, she lifted her chin and cleared her throat.

The man stiffened but did not turn. Instead, he reached for another log to cleave.Was he ignoring her?

She took another small step. She was close enough now to see the sweat tracing lines down his muscled back. “Excuse me!” she called.

The man whirled in a blur of motion that sent sweat flying in all directions. Alaine took a step back as wild eyes found her across the too-short distance. She suddenly wished she’d picked up another stick before confronting him.

He crossed the distance between them in three long strides. When he raised a hand as though to reach for her, Alaine flinched away. His eyes darkened at her reaction, but he didn’t try to touch her again. Instead, he ran his hand through his loose, wavy locks, pushing them back from his face as his gaze flicked around nervously.

“Are you real?” he whispered. His voice was gravelly like he didn’t speak often, which considering he lived in a secluded cottage in the woods, was probably accurate.

His question took her aback. “I… Yes, I’m real,” she stuttered, suddenly unsure of her own existence. “Are you?”

He laughed, a jaded, sarcastic sound that was more bark than anything. “Oh, I’m real alright.”

“Alright,” she repeated, dragging out the last syllable. “Well, I was hoping you might be able to help me find my way home. I am from the village.” She gesticulated behind her, though she wasn’t sure exactly which direction her village lay in. The man didn’t appear to be listening anyway as he continued to look anywhere but at her. “See, I was out for a stroll through the forest and I’m afraid I got a little turned around. I thought this woman was going to help me, but she just brought me—“

“What woman? What did she look like?” His focus snapped to her, shocking her again with the intensity of his gaze.

She bristled slightly at the interruption, but described the odd woman to him, making sure to mention all her strange contradictions. His eyes lit with recognition as she spoke. Her voice trailed off when it came to the magic. She didn’t need him thinking she was delusional.

“That meddling witch,” he muttered, then turned and shouted into the trees. “Playing matchmaker now, are you? Well, you can’t just toss me any homely lass you find wandering through the woods. I’ve got standards to uphold! No offense meant.”

He tossed the last bit over his shoulder in such an off-handed way it took Alaine a moment to realize he was referring to her.

“I beg your pardon. Homely?” No one had ever referred to her as anything but stunning, beautiful, at the very leastpretty. She told herself not to take offense. This was what she wanted after all, for someone to see her as something other than a beautiful girl. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t shake off the sting of that word—homely. Perhaps it hurt because she was still being seen at only face value. Even in the forest, her attractiveness was her only worth.

Crestfallen, Alaine started to back away from the peculiar man who continued to berate the trees. When he failed to notice her departure, she angled toward the cottage and stopped short at the sight before her. Illuminated by the faint rays of the sun, she caught her reflection in a darkened window, but the face that stared back was not her own.

The changes were small, nearly insignificant when considered individually, but the picture in its entirety was one of a stranger. The slightly larger nose slashed straight down rather than turning up at the end. The eyes, though the same shade of brown, were ringed by dark circles like she hadn’t slept in days. Her hair had lost its luster, and her skin was duller by comparison. The healthy flush that usually graced her cheeks had faded into an unforgiving pallor. Overall, the effect was not disgusting, but rather unremarkable. Homely, she supposed.

“What was it you needed?” Alaine hadn’t noticed the man turning his attention to her, but when he spoke she found his reflection in the glass. He studied her with open curiosity, head tilted to one side and hands planted on his hips.

Though she tensed at having her back turned to the man, he didn’t appear to be ogling her backside. In fact, her eyes briefly met his as she scanned his face, but her focus kept being pulled to more interesting parts of his body. Alaine had never been in a situation that provided her with such an ample view of the male form.

The wordbeastflitted across her mind as the perfect summation of his heavily muscled physique and untamed mannerisms. He wasn’t handsome in the classical sense, in the way that village girls would fawn over, but he possessed a kind of animal magnetism. A wildness that called to something primal inside of her. Somehow, she got the sense that he could be both fiercely loyal and incredibly passionate. A forgotten part of her longed to be on the receiving end of either.

She tore her gaze from his sculpted form, feeling heat creeping up her neck. She fumbled with the ties of her cloak and cleared her throat. “I’m searching for my way home, if you think you might be of any assistance.”

“And where is thishome?“ He spoke the word with such maliciousness that Alaine turned to face him, suddenly unsure if she could trust him at her back.

She swallowed as she considered the wisdom of sharing the information with a stranger. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t find her way home on her own. She would have to rely on someone. “I’m from the village beyond the woods—Maribonne. My family lives on the outskirts.”

“I’ve never heard of this Maribonne. What is it you’re running from?”

“I—who said I was running from anything?” She winced as she realized how defensive she sounded.

“You can’t have ended up here by chance. You’re either running from something, or searching for something. Which is it?”

“I’mherebecause an insufferable witch dumped me here when I thought she was offering me aid. I’msearchingfor my way home and I’mrunningout of patience.“ She huffed out a breath, turning back to the window as she crossed her arms in indignation. Her breath came fast and shallow, though she knew there was no reason to get worked up. She would find her way home and everything would be fine, but she needed this man’s help and that required her cooperation. She took a deep breath in and released it slowly, a technique she’d often used when dealing with the village men.

“I suppose you may have a point,” she conceded.

He tilted his head toward her reflection, but didn’t speak.

She didn’t know why, but she felt the sudden urge to share her story with this stranger, to rid herself of this burden to someone she’d never have to see again. Perhaps it was the way he looked at her without judgment, but staring at his reflection, she could almost believe he was a figment of her imagination. A knight in shining armor, though he looked anything but. Alaine knew better than most not to judge by outward appearances alone.

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