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She cackled. "Been here nearly five months without you noticing. Think you're going to scare me now?" The fox began pacing around the clearing, her tail twitching. "You and Rosalie, both of you have been stupid. You claim to love each other, and yet neither of you wants to put in the effort required for an actual relationship. But now that you know Jay is yours, it's different. Maybe you have a chance of reconciling."
"You know Rosalie and Jay? How?"
"Of course, I know them. Know them better than you, in fact. How often do you think they come out into the woods? I've been watching them, observing their pain and fear for months. I told her to kill you, you know. Well. Suggested it would be the easiest way to end the curse and let us all go home, but she didn't want to."
Dominick stilled. If he died, would everyone else be free? Wouldn't his life be in danger if anyone ever suspected that to be the case? If Rosalie had reason to suspect that killing him would let her go home ... she'd been the one in the best position to kill him. Yet she hadn't.
"Why not?" he whispered.
The fox stopped in front of him and looked up at him with intelligent eyes. "Because love is blind, even when it's clouded by hate. You can't change what happened in the past, but you can start anew. Start fresh with Rosalie. If she truly loves you—if either of you does—then this shouldn't be so hard. But you two seem to have a knack for choosing the most difficult path possible, so let me clarify this for you." The fox came closer, pausing just before her feet touched the running water. "Listen to me carefully: go find Rosalie and apologize for everything that has happened between the two of you. She wants to love you. It's written all over her face. But you've made that hard, haven't you? You've been cruel. Ignorant. Obsessed. Instead of listening, you make demands. What does she want? Do you know? Show her what she means to you by listening without judging or making assumptions, understanding her feelings, and being honest about yours."
Dominick nodded slowly, taking all the advice in his heart as he processed it carefully in his mind. He knew already he'd been harsh with her in the past, and indeed, she'd also accused him of being cruel and controlling when she returned to his palace to declare her change of heart regarding the slave trade and her request to change how they treated slaves in Daihalsa. Of course, keeping the laws as they were meant the most profits for Dominick, but he never cared about the money. Had things been different, he would have accepted Rosalie's proposal in a heartbeat simply because it would make her happy.
But he'd let his resentment for her leaving him to cloud his judgment. Had he not rejected her then, been so cruel to her since the curse first hit, might Rosalie have introduced him to Jay sooner?
"Thank you for your advice, fox. I will ..." Dominick swallowed. "This is a lot to think about. I will consider the best path forward from here on out."
"Good. Then I've done my job. How about you do yours so we can get out of here? I have places to go, and your curse has made that very difficult."
The fox began to turn into the bushes again, her bushy tail flicking the branches back and forth.
"Wait," Dominick called after her. "Who are you? Where are you so eager to get to that you'd be willing to help the likes of me? Vampires and fae are no friends."
The fox chuckled. "Ah, I admit, I have a bit of a soft spot for the underdogs. You may call me Aelwen."
Dominick stepped out of the water toward her. He recognized that name. "You mean Aelwen Vivaldi?"
The fox turned back to him, delight shining in her eyes. "Oh? Heard of me, have you?"
"You're the second princess of the fae king Sinnegard," Dominick snapped. "Of course, I know who you are! What the hell are you doing on my land? Why wouldn't you have come to the castle by now so I could provide you with proper accommodation? Do you think all vampires are brutish savages?"
"Most, I admit. Indeed, I believed you to be one, but perhaps I was wrong?"
"You were."
"Most do not know my name when my sister Iffandril takes the spotlight and the love of our father, our king, and the attention of all our people. Yet it is I who is responsible for securing our kingdom with prosperity and security, can you imagine that?"
Dominick frowned, not sure what she meant. "I'm not sure I follow."
"You asked me why I'm so eager to leave and thus eager to help you. It is because I am betrothed to your friend, King Vinir, on my father's orders. And you know what it is like, don't you when a fae bargain goes awry?" Aelwen, still in the form of a fox, sighed wistfully. "As little interest I have in that vain man, I will bear the consequences of that failed bargain as much as my father and my kingdom if I do not get out of here soon. And so you see, it is in my best interest that you and Rosalie get on as soon as possible, so this curse will finally go away."
"You know how to cure the curse?" Dominick demanded, incensed by this knowledge. "And you've been hiding in the woods, what, daydreaming and sunbathing, instead of visiting me in my castle to tell me the truth? Why you little ..."
Dominick lunged to grab Aelwen's tail, but she was faster than him—and that was a significant feat, considering his vampiric agility. As soon as his hand lashed out, she was gone, her foxlike laughter echoing through the underbrush.
"If you want to know how to end the curse, consider reconciling with Rosalie and learning the truth from her," Aelwen called from within the trees. "She knows the truth, same as me. She came close to fixing it all before you threw your little tantrum about your son. Hurry up and fix this mess you've made why don't you? Time is running out, and unlike your sweet love, I am not so opposed to murder if it means saving my own hide."
Then Aelwen's voice was gone, leaving Dominick alone in the trees, surrounded by a deep silence. Only his own breathing interrupted the stillness of predawn. What the hell had just happened?
No one except for Rosalie had been bold enough to speak to him in such a way—let alone a princess—and he had to admit, it made him respect Aelwen in a way he respected few other people. Yet at the same time, she triggered anger so deep and sinful because the mere idea that someone else had known how they could be freed of this prison, and she never attempted to tell him ... it infuriated him more than Rosalie’s refusal to tell him the truth about Jay, his son.
Dominick could not help but think that if Aelwen had been willing to make the effort to visit him at his castle instead of hiding in the woods, then maybe they would have been able to fix this mess sooner.
The entire confrontation left him with a feeling of both elation and dread. The elation came from the realization that there was a way to break the curse, but the dread came from having to confront Rosalie.
But there was no time to dwell. Now, more than ever, he needed to get the truth out of Rosalie. It just might save them all if he did.
Chapter 9 - Rosalie
