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Chapter one
Present - December
Pearl was turning 30 today, and the last thing she wanted to do was celebrate that fact. In her lowest moments as the day had drawn closer she had told herself that no one really ever wanted to celebrate birthdays this close to Christmas anyway. Except, she knew that wasn't true – her best friend, without fail, celebrated her birthday every year and was especially insistent this year. Pearl appreciated that Prudence hadn’t actually said aloud, “I’m trying to cheer you up because you’ve been moping for two weeks since you dumped your milquetoast boyfriend of three years.” Objectively, she knew she hadn’t become an old crone the moment she hit her third decade. Objectively, she knew magic users generally had longer life spans if they managed not to kill each other. Objectively, she knew she could live a very happy life as a single woman. That there were much worse things than being single. And objectively, none of those things really made her feel better. She could acknowledge that she was a proud feminist and also quite lonely. Trying to feel some enthusiasm about a fancy dinner as she put on makeup and her favorite dress, all she really wanted to do was put on an oversized T-shirt, cuddle up on her couch, and wallow in her feelings. Her friends had tried to throw her a big party, and she couldn't bear the thought of putting on a happy face. Her best friend was the only one who managed to twist her arm enough to do something to acknowledge the day.
As though summoned, Prudence appeared behind her - the light from her topaz flaring bright yellow and fading as the magic dissipated. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that I can pop in unannounced now. I’ve missed my instant access privileges.”
Giving a look of exasperation with no real heat, Pearl focused her attention back on her mascara application as she responded. “I’m glad the failure of my relationship has brought you so much joy. And what if I was naked? You should at least give me a heads up.”
Pru scoffed. “Please. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Plus we already had plans. And don’t pretend like you’re not glad to be rid of that insufferable prat. Richard never appreciated you the way you deserved. He liked the idea of you more than he liked you, and you deserve waayyyyy more than that from a man.”
It chafed at Pearl how right she was, and she slumped into the chair at her vanity in defeat. When she’d broken up with Richard, the overwhelming emotion she felt was relief, and that made her more sad than the breakup. “I don’t feel like going out, Pru. Can’t we just stay home, put on moisturizing sheet masks, and watch Persuasion?”
Laughing, the gemstone around Pru’s neck flared to life, the makeup vanished from her face in a flash of yellow magic, and her little black dress transformed into black, silk pajamas. “Darling. Why are you asking me that like you don’t already know it’s my preferred state?”
Even with sheet masks applied and cuddled up in blankets with her gray fox familiar Mercutio curled into a ball on her lap, Pearl couldn’t focus on the movie. Her mind kept drifting over and over to multiple iterations of the same question: “Why did I stay in a relationship with a man I liked so little for three years?” It had rattled around in her brain so much for the last two weeks, she couldn’t stop it from tumbling out of her mouth.
As she responded, Pru’s voice was light, but she fixed Pearl with a penetrating stare. “I’ll pause in the middle of Captain Wentworth’s passionate declaration of love by letter to respond to your question with another question. Do you want the real answer, or do you want the ‘I’m your best friend and I’m supporting your emotions through a breakup’ answer?”
Pearl didn’t even hesitate. “I want the real answer.”
“You already know what it is, but maybe it will help me to say it out loud. It’s because you’re not over him.” The last word was said with an impressive amount of disgust.
Almost as soon as the words left Pru’s mouth, a letter popped into existence above Pearl’s head and attempted to float delicately into her hands. Recoiling automatically from the perfect penmanship and Winterbourne wax seal, Pearl moved away at the same moment Mercutio leapt up and grabbed the letter in his teeth. His excitement was evident as he held it up to his mistress, but she felt frozen as though touching it would invoke some spell. Or already had invoked a spell.
Pru snatched the letter and started to open it, snapping Pearl out of her shock. “Don’t!” Ripping it from her friend’s hands, she flung the letter away from them in a panic. Still enchanted, it landed gracefully on the dining room table, and the room fell into silence.
Pru, of course, broke it first. “Have you been writing him?”
Affronted, Pearl answered angrily. “Of course not! I may be dating lackluster men, but I’m not so far gone as to bang my head against a door that was very firmly closed in my face.”
“So what’s this about then? Are you telling me it was just a coincidence I mentioned him and a letter appeared like bloody Beetlejuice?” Pru prodded.
“I will admit he always did love being dramatic, but I haven’t the faintest idea. And no, before you even ask, I’m not going to open it. We are going to finish this movie and pretend it’s not there.” Cutting Pru off as she opened her mouth to argue, “It’s my birthday, and I would like very much not to deal with the contents of that letter until I’m good and ready.”
They engaged in a silent staring contest before Pru finally gave up in a huff. “Fine. But since I know you won’t take my advice and burn it, I expect a full report when you finally read it.”
Pearl had flown to Texas to celebrate the holidays with her family and was bemoaning to Mercutio about the fact that she was nowhere near the wealth bracket required to pay for a magical transporter to whisk her back home to the UK without being packed into a metal tube for hours with other similarly miserable people as they walked through the door after their return trip. Mercutio was listening quite kindly to appease her before hopping out of her bag and trotting over to the letter that was still sitting on the table unopened, staring at her reproachfully. She wondered if it had been spelled with disapproval the longer it remained sealed or if it was her own Type A personality poking at her that letters shouldn’t go unanswered. She’d tried unsuccessfully not to think about it while she was gone, and attempted to continue trying to not think about it for the rest of the week, but Mercutio had other plans. He proceeded to, on more than one occasion, look disapprovingly at her before pushing it towards her with his nose. After his third attempt, she had given the animal her best glare and slammed her door. She’d felt a bit childish, but she still couldn’t bring herself to touch the letter.
It may have gone on undisturbed to the end of time if Mercutio hadn’t taken matters into his own teeth and unceremoniously deposited the letter on the book she was reading. She considered flinging it across the room except that Mercutio sat on his haunches and somehow managed to look exasperated with her. With a dramatic sigh, she began peeling the envelope open gingerly as though it might explode. Inside she found a short missive.
Dear Miss McCoy,
I understand that you are now in the business of removing curses from ancient texts found in old European libraries. As the Winterbourne Estate houses one of the finest libraries in Europe, your services were recommended to me. There are many items we are unable to use or are of limited use because of antiquated curses placed on them. We will pay double your standard rate if you can visit us as your earliest convenience. I am sure you remember our address. You may call at any time between nine and four this week. Our butler will greet you.
Yours sincerely,
Cecilia Winterbourne
A snort escaped Pearl’s lips before she could stop it. That woman had never done anything sincerely in her life. But twice her usual fee? That was difficult to turn down. She did well for herself, but having so little money growing up, she could never quite shake the feeling that it could all go away. And to be honest, she’d work for free if she could get her hands on the books in that library. She had just finished her last job at the end of November, so it was the perfect time to take on a new one. And, she rationalized to herself, she wouldn’t even have to interact with the family. In fact, she was relieved that it had been his mother who had sent a letter. At least, she tried to valiantly convince herself it was relief she was feeling, but try as she might, she couldn’t keep the tears from spilling from her eyes and blurring out the name which wasn’t the one her traitorous heart had wanted to see.
Chapter two
Past - September
Corvus was bored. This wasn’t a particularly unusual circumstance, but the older he got the more bothersome he found it. At the age of 21, he felt like life should be at its most exciting. He knew life had been good to him - born to an exceptionally wealthy family line, he’d always had the best of everything. The best tutors, the best schools, a large ruby focus stone for his magic, friends of appropriate peerage levels, and so on. He’d even been given a pet hippocampus on his seventh birthday by his great aunt, and his parents had built an entire lake just to house the beast. But his whole life was already planned out, so what was there to be excited about? The only real rebellion he’d made was pursuing a postgraduate study. Going to university was expected of a Winterbourne, but dragging his education on beyond that rather got in the way of him helping his already disgustingly rich family grow even richer. It was a meager rebellion, and he found himself regretting it as he sighed his way through a class on cursebreaking. It was only his first week, and he wondered if maybe the family business would have been a better choice. He already had the finest primary and secondary education money could buy with the best magical reputation in the United Kingdom and a very practical degree in Finance - did he really need a master’s degree in Magical Theory?
An unusual accent pulled him from his reverie. He knew almost every student at this school, so even if her voice didn’t immediately mark her as American, he would have known she was an outsider. She was answering some question the teacher had asked with exceptional fervor and followed it up with one of her own. There was a look in her eyes that he didn’t quite recognize, and he found himself focusing in on the discussion. What was so exciting about Cursebreaking? This was a required class for any of the magically inclined graduate degrees, so enthusiasm for it was sparse. The teacher was rapturous to have someone so interested in what she had to say, and the rest of the class time passed as though they were the only two people in the room.
