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Chapter 1
Odette
A row of swans soared through the sky, their soft white feathers stark against the night. A large uninhabited forest stretched out beneath them, opening to a shallow pond. The moonlight reflected off its glassy surface. As one, they dipped downward, dropping to the clear, calm water, gliding onto it with an elegant ease.
It churned and rippled. Suddenly, a row of women in white dresses stood where the swans had been. Odette felt the cool water lap at her legs. The breeze blew through her thin cotton dress, making her shiver. She stepped up on the grassy shore, the others following close behind.
“He should come tonight,” said Elna, the blackness in her gaze matching the graceful swoop of ebony painted around her eyes. A sign of her curse. They all had the mark. She handed Odette a knife fashioned out of bone and stone and held together with the reeds found near the lake's edge. "You know what to do."
Odette lifted the odd weight into her hands. It wasn't the weapon made of fine steel she was used to, but it was all they had. She would make do.
"And you're sure this will break the curse?" She looked over at Yessly, who danced from foot to foot. That was nothing new. The woman could never stand still.
"The power stems from him. If we kill him, the curse ends and we should be set free," she said.
Odette dipped her head in a nod and ran a hand over her chest, a part of her worrying that may not be fully true.
A breeze whipped Elna’s pale short, cropped hair into her face. She brushed it back with a fierce stroke. "We'll wait here as usual. Call for us when it is done."
Odette bristled at the older woman's command. "I’m aware of the plan. Thank you," she said dismissively.
Elna's eyes warned her not to mess it up. The other women surrounding them watched with violent eagerness in their expressions. The yearning to be free, no matter the cost. Odette felt it, too. She’d see it through. And avenge her mother's death in the process.
She stepped onto the path that led through the lush trees to the overgrown pavilion. A light mist curled around her ankles. The handmade knife was slim but sturdy. They had made sure of that. Her thin dress lacked hiding places—a condition of her bondage, and in her bare feet, she always felt so vulnerable. Part of her worried about what might happen to them with the approaching winter in only a few months. Odette tucked the weapon in between her breasts, rearranging the fabric to keep it hidden as she walked to meet her captor.
If this worked, there would be no worrying about winter.
The pavilion was old and dilapidated. The greenery of the forest surrounding it was doing its best to fold it into the wilds from which it originally sprung. Flowers blooming off the overgrowth cast a softening air about the scene, as if hiding the decaying designs of the woods. She hoped she'd be able to hide her dark intentions just as well tonight. Until it was time to strike.
"Good evening, Odette."
She stiffened at that deep, yet soft voice, fighting to keep her hands from balling. How she despised the way he invariably appeared out of nowhere. Slowly, she turned toward the voice’s owner.
Rothbart, the man who had cursed her, stood at the edge of the small clearing wearing a cloak that blended in with the darkness. His hands lifted, and he threw back the hood, revealing his midnight black skin. His face was smooth, save for the light shadow that kissed his chin and lower jawline. He was in his mid-twenties. Young for casting one of the most powerful curses known to humanity.
His threatening gaze flashed as he took her in.
Odette raised her chin. "Rothbart. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" She added extra spite to her words, knowing it would be suspicious if she acted too nice.
"I came to ask you if you remember anything new."
She stepped toward him, holding his obsidian eyes with a tinge of gray that always sent shivers down her spine. The wicked point of the stone knife dug into her skin, threatening to cut into her if she wasn’t careful.
He was tall with broad shoulders, and even though the cloak shrouded his body, she'd seen enough of him on one occasion to know of the toned physique that lay beneath the layers.
"Every time you visit, you ask the same question. And I give you the same answer."
A dangerous impatience crossed his face. "And the others?"
She came closer. "Is this what you'll do? Come and ask us over and over? What do you offer us in return? Our release?"
"You shall never be free."
Odette's eyes widened, a little shocked that he'd said that out loud. "Then tell me,my lord, why should we help you?"
"Because, unlike my curse, you are on a time limit." He pointed to the blue human skull sunk into the skin of her wrist. "Your deal expires in what? Ten months? I hear breaking a skull pact brings quite an excruciating death."
So he'd discovered what the mark meant. Odette fought a grimace. Actually, she had only six months. No matter. Tonight she'd free herself from the curse and then she’d solve the problem of the mark.
