Page 21 of Curse of Immortality
Back then, Rose had reacted with anger, but this time she remained calm. She was well aware of how fast things could escalate. The sight of the stranger next to Maeve watching her flooded Rose's memory with images of the night when a mob came to find her. In her head, she heard her parents yelling for her to run.
“Rose?” Maeve’s voice was shrill as she pushed her dress down and sat up.
Turning her back from a sight that would haunt her in her nightmares, Rose ran.
“I’m sorry, James, I have to go.” Maeve hurried to her feet, but James reached out and grabbed her wrist.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“No one. Please, I have to go.” She placed a quick kiss on his cheek before hurrying after her aunt.
“What’s wrong?” Althea asked when Rose flew through the front door. But Althea received no answer because Rose was too baffled to speak as she paced the room.
Moments later, Maeve entered the small cottage with her cheeks red from running. “I’m sorry, Rose. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”
Althea, who had been mending a dress, stood up and asked with confusion in her tone, “What is going on?”
Maeve turned to her sister, and like a river, the truth flowed out from her. She told them everything, from how she and James had met to how she had given him her virginity.
“I’m so sorry that I’ve lied and sneaked around behind your backs, but James is my soul mate, and I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
There was a moment of silence in the cottage. Althea opened her mouth but then closed it again and sat down.
Rose on the other hand went to stand in front of Maeve. “My beautiful girl,” she said and cupped Maeve’s cheeks. “How can you be so naïve? Have you forgotten what humans do to Earthens? They have no understanding or mercy for anything different from themselves. You told me how you witnessed Ellen’s execution and how you learned that even the kindest humans with the warmest smiles can turn bitter and cruel when a witch trial takes place.”
“James is different, Rose. He loves me, and we are going to be wed.”
Rose swayed a little and then she reached for the table and sank to a chair.
“Don’t be upset. It will all be alright,” Maeve insisted when Rose hid her wet eyes in the palms of her hands.
It takes immense strength to stand by the fact that your actions have hurt others because that knowledge comes with a heavy amount of guilt. There was nothing Maeve hated more than seeing her aunt in pain, so as Althea moved to kneel in front of Rose and comforted her, Maeve did what she could to protect herself from that guilt – she blamed everyone else.
“This life may be enough for you. But it’s not enough for me. I don’t want to live isolated and poor anymore. James has promised me gold, jewelry, and experiences.” Her finger flew through the air as she spoke. “I want to live a happy life with a man who loves me. Jameswantsme to be happy! Hewantsto give me everything and he says I deserve the best that the world has to offer. You just want to keep me trapped here, with dirt under my nails and old clothes.”
Rose and Althea both stared at Maeve with large and sad eyes. It was extremely rare that voices were raised in their small and humble home.
With her tone incredulous, Rose asked Maeve, “You think happiness is defined by the amount of gold and jewelry you have?”
“James says it is,” Maeve defended herself.
Rose dried her eyes and sighed. “He’s wrong. I know that I am happiest when I see you and your sister smiling or when I’ve healed an animal or made a difference in another’s life. My happiness is not about exterior possessions or power, it’s about inner peace and being around those I love.”
“Inner peace? You’ve been terrorized by nightmares all the time I’ve known you, Rose. How can I trust anything you say?”
“Because I love you...” Rose said before she was cut off.
“You say you keep us away from humans because they’re dangerous and you want to protect us. But you’ve filled our heads with lies.” Maeve wrinkled her face in disgust. “You don’t want to keep us safe. You want to keep us isolated so that we never leave you.”
Standing from her chair, Rose remained calm and hid how deeply Maeve’s words hurt her. “I love you. And I know that you are hurting right now because you’re torn. But I have always and willalwayswant what’s best for you. I can’t see how a human is anything other than dangerous. But...” A ball formed in her throat and made it difficult for Rose to speak. “If you choose to be with him… promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“He mustneverknow that you are an Earthen.”
Maeve gave a small nod before she walked toward the door. “You’re wrong.” She stopped in the doorway and looked back at her sister, whose eyes were red and puffy, and her aunt, who stood with a pale face and a sad heart. “I never meant to hurt either of you, but I’ve never been surer of anything than I am now. James and I belong together.”
Closing the door behind her, Maeve left her sister and aunt heartbroken inside, and then she began walking, determined to find James and be with him.
