With a flick of my hand, Zelda was dragged out of what remained of her castle by one of the reborn Cursed—a centipede-serpent hybrid.
“Are… are you really you?” asked Yeun, his blue flame perched atop his ostrich.
“Unfortunately for you, yes,” I replied dryly, though my gaze betrayed a flicker of amusement.
I was still a sorcerer. But human. My days as a stag dragon were gone.
“Do you remember when you were a child? Your best friend?”
“No.” I frowned, and Yeun’s flame dimmed. “But I’ll have all the time in the world to hear his story, won’t I? Provided, of course, you stop addressing me so formally.”
Yeun brightened, shifting into a frantic pink. “With pleasure, Mas—Arawn.”
I twined a strand of Lempicka’s hair around my finger, tracing the edges of her face. I leaned in close. “Sugarplum… come back to me.”
Her eyelids fluttered, then opened.
“I did it,” she breathed, clinging to my neck.
“You are the strongest person I know, Sugarplum. Of course you did. Looks like you’ve finally grasped the concept of positive affirmations,” I teased, though my tone was softer than usual. “What you did was insane. You could have… I could have hurt you.”
“You could just say thank you, you ungrateful sorcerer.”
I raised a brow. “Ungrateful, really?”
“Completely.”
But her smile betrayed her. A brief laugh escaped me. I held her tighter. I could have said a thousand things, found some sharp retort, but when I opened my mouth, only the truth came out.
“Thank you for freeing me.”
Having a human heart was… heavy. Overwhelming. Every emotion burrowed under my skin, clung to my nerves, carved its way into my soul. Nothing dulled. I drew back just enough to look at her. What I felt for her, it was stronger than anything I had ever known.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to do for far too long. I tried to smother it, bury it. But now, I don’t think I can.”
“You were exceptionally good at hiding it,” she teased.
“I don’t want to be anymore.”
If there was one thing I wanted to fail at, it was this. I no longer wanted to hide how deeply I had fallen for her.
So I kissed her.
I tasted her with the promise that she would be mine forever. Just as I was hers, hearts and soul. My hands roamed every part of her, hungry to discover, to mark, to savor. I was under a new curse this time: luck. The luck that she loved me.
I kissed her with the silent vow that I would never break her heart. That I would hold it in my hands as the most precious treasure, not as a weapon. I, who had always been so good at destroying, would do something else this time.
Instead of setting the world aflame for her (which, admittedly, would be far easier), I would create a world filled with beauty and sweets, with sunrises and sunsets, for her.
Chouquette, visibly scandalized by such indecency, covered Éclair’s eyes with her fluffy tails, while Yeun, crimson now, turned his flame away.
The kiss broke, leaving me as frustrated as I was irritated. My thoughts veered instantly down less honorable paths. I cleared my throat, turning my gaze aside as well. This was neither the time nor the place.
“Where is Aignan?” I asked.
My eyes scanned the faces around me, seeking the one that was missing. That damned lamb who had always watched over Lempicka, where was he? I wanted to speak with him, ask if he would tolerate my presence at her side. And if bribery was required—riches, or a throne of silk—I was prepared.
But Lempicka didn’t answer. Her face shut, and it was louder than words.
