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When his body finished its grotesque morphing, I dropped to my knees beside his furry hide. He didn’t hop up instantly this time, but lay still, his ribcage moving up and down quickly.
“Is he still injured?”
A cool hand slipped around my arm. “Yes,” Everence said, “but in this form, there is little my healing magic can do. Cursed flesh rejects magic—it’s part of the ugliness of the curse. I’ll have to wait until he’s a man once more. The Shadow lord timed his attack well.”
My eyes widened, and I placed a hand over my own healing wound. She’d said my body was resisting her healing.
But that meant…
The eyes of a man watched me from the body of a bear. His nostrils expanded and contracted as he exhaled with loud labored breaths. He was in pain, but there was nothing to be done. He’d suffered more than I could ever imagine, bearing this curse for three hundred years without reprieve. His only hope had been in finding someone willing to take his curse, willing to love him enough to bear all his pain.
My hand moved from my side to my lips, and I spun away. I couldn’t endure his piercing stare. In my body, in my heart, lay the key to his healing.
Watching his body change had terrified me. A tearless sob shook my body. Despite everything, I wanted him to be healed. I just couldn’t be the one to do it. Especially now that I knew the change would surely destroy me.
I met Everence’s watchful eye. Her expression indicated she knew what I was thinking, but she said nothing.
“Does your love not suffice?” I whispered, voice strained with the tears I was holding back.
She offered the smallest shake of her head.
My bones hurt so badly they burned. Squeezing my eyes shut against the pain, I focused again on Rafael. This pain had begun when I kissed him. I had barely noticed it at the time, but now, it was undeniable.
“What’s happening to me?”
Hector, Everence, and Rafael stared at me, and the weight of their gazes nearly brought me to my knees.
“I’m changing, aren’t I?” Hands shaking, I cupped the sides of my face and stared at the sunlight filtering through scrubby pines. The pain doubled, and I coughed in agony. I was in love with Rafael, though a part of me was still repulsed at what he’d done. “How long do I have?”
Knowing I was about to die brought a strange, panicked clarity to my mind. There was nothing but this space…these people. My mind emptied of everything else.
Hector squatted beside Rafael and checked his wound. Then he turned to me. “The change will likely be gradual and as agonizing as possible. Fabian didn’t want this to be easy.”
Terrified, tearless sobs shook my chest. Everence wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed, and it seemed as if I might burst apart if she let go.
“As long as you deny what’s happening,” Hector continued, “the change will be drawn out.”
“Hush,” hissed Everence. “She doesn’t need to hear that.” She pressed closer against me. “We can’t know when the change will be complete. Only you know your own heart.”
A disbelieving laugh burst out between dry sobs, and I met Rafael’s gaze. “You succeeded then. Are you happy?”
Everence drew in a sharp breath, and Rafael turned his great head away. In his eyes, I’d seen a flash of sadness.
In the bright morning sun, this vibrant world suddenly felt entirely fake and irreverent. Everything here was manipulated, even nature.
Needing to think of something else, I said, “In the hallway, I heard you say Fabian will try to kill me.”
Everence dropped her chin to her chest. “Yes. He will sense Rafael’s feelings for you, and he will aim to increase his brother’s suffering by torturing the woman he loves.”
“Oh. Lovely.” I jerked my shoulders free of her grasp and stormed toward Rafael. “I trusted you. How could you say you wanted to protect me, while all you needed was my blood to set you free?” Everence and Hector called out to me, but I wasn’t listening. I wouldn’t hear their protests. Rafael backed up as I blazed forward. “How could you hold me while wanting me dead? How could you kiss me and know it would kill me?” I fell to the ground, fingers sliding into the dirt.
Warm breaths blew against my fallen braid. Every hair on my arms lifted and chills spidered down my spine. Slowly, I looked up into Rafael’s bear face. His eyes glowed amber, brighter than I’d ever seen.
My heart beat madly as I stared back at him.
“Come,” Hector beckoned. “We’re still a day’s ride from the palace, and while the hounds are keeping their distance, they track us still. The ball is tonight. We cannot linger.”
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