Page 48 of Apples Dipped in Gold

“Don’t worry. When he discovers you are not in the bed where he left you, he will come looking for you. In the meantime, you should eat. I hear you have quite the journey ahead of you.”

I shifted closer to the table. “You know about our journey?”

“Oh yes. You are going to break my brother’s curse,” Cardic said, though he was far more amused than I expected.

I sat down slowly. Cardic poured tea and then slid the cup and saucer closer to me.

“You…do not sound like you believe he is cursed?” I said.

Cardic held up a bowl in one hand and a pair of silver tongs. “Sugar?”

I hesitated, assuming he was ignoring my question.

“I…yes,” I said. “Please.”

He dropped a cube into my tea. “One or two?”

“One is plenty,” I said. “Thank you.”

“There is milk too,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said again. In the quiet that followed, I poured milk into my tea and stirred it with a polished spoon. Cardic was choosing pastries from a tiered tray.

“Do you like warm apples?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, thinking it strange that the Prince of Larkspur was serving me.

After a few seconds, he handed me a plate he had piled with fruits, sweet breads, cheeses, and meats.

“Thank you,” I said again.

It was more food than I had ever seen in my life.

“You’re welcome, beast,” he said.

I looked down to see Fox again at my feet, and I bent to pick him up so that he could sit in my lap and share my food.

Cardic scowled. “Rats do not belong at the table.”

“He is not a rat,” I said, my tone bordering on terse. “He is a fox, and he is helping us on our journey.”

The prince’s mouth quirked. “Ah yes, the journey,” he said. “To answer your question, I believe Lore thinks he is cursed.”

“So…he isn’t cursed?” I asked, confused.

Cardic shrugged. “Who is to say where love is concerned?”

“Love?” I asked.

“You do not know? He is cursed to be hopelessly in love with a woman who does not know he exists.”

I could not describe the feeling that twisted through me, but it was violent. I dropped the piece of bread I’d just broken off. The fox was quick to devour it.

“What?”

“I see you did not know,” said Cardic.

“He said he looked too long at an enchantress,” I said. “I thought…I thought you could not lie.”

---