Page 1 of Desire

CHAPTER ONE

The fire crackled softlyin the hearth, a comforting sound as my thoughts spun with what I’d witnessed the night before during the storm. Tall men with the same features as the men living in this protected glade with me. Cursed men. Like me. Like Eloise.

Lost in thought, I rose from my bed, dressed, and placed the bedding and mattress next to the others already tucked away beneath the window.

Eight days had passed since I’d left my twin. Eight days she had to endure alone. Was she well? Had Maeve hurt her again? I needed to return. Quickly. But to gain the help I needed to free my sister, I needed the help of the seven men protecting me. Help they would give in return for my help. What help they needed, precisely, they could not say. According to the letter, if any of them told me what they required of me, the help I gave would be ineffective. However, I could not afford to waste precious days idly guessing.

Eloise needed me.

But so do they,my intuition whispered.

I stared at the overcast sky through the window and debated the wisdom of ignoring the warning not to leave. My intuitionhadn’t yet led me wrong. Ignoring it had, though. That meant staying and attempting to help these cursed men.

Was the help they needed related to the curse I’d witnessed the previous evening? Could it be as simple as finding a way to break that curse?

Simple?

How laughable. Nothing magic-related was ever simple.

My gaze drifted to the door of the study where I’d found the letter asking for help. Should I then start my research there?

The indistinct murmur of voices rose outside before it hushed again, interrupting my thoughts and drawing me away from the study. I considered what I knew of the seven men outside.

They’d lived in this glade since they were children with a man named Henry, who could cast.

They never entered the cabin when I could see them.

They’d obviously been cursed in some way.

And they couldn’t speak the truth about how I must help them.

Did that then mean I shouldn’t know of their transformation? If I did, would that already negate any help I might give them?

Needing to understand the rules to ensure I did not idly waste time Eloise didn’t have, I opened the door and looked out over the rain-soaked yard. The brothers were around the fire, preparing breakfast. They paused at the sound of the latch lifting and turned to look at me.

“Edmund. Could I speak to you for a moment?”

As he started for the cottage, I retreated inside to fetch the comb from the cabinet. Then I stood facing away from the door, careful to avoid the window’s reflection.

“Kellen?” Edmund said.

I lifted the comb so he could see it.

“Come. Braid my hair for me.”

I thought the following silence meant he was hesitating near the door. However, the tug on the twine holding my hair proved me wrong.

“You move silently,” I said.

“It’s a learned skill. Necessary here, as you know.”

“True.”

He plucked the comb from my fingers, and I closed my eyes at the sensation of it gently running through my hair.

“To ensure I make no mistakes, I would like to better understand the rules for the help I can provide,” I said.

“I cannot give you any hints.”

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