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I was grateful I’d been roomed alone, but I did wish Darla was there so we could squeal over things together. I didn’t think I was that kind of woman, but certain times required a high pitched, happy sound, and I was in one of them.
Then again, as comfortable as it was, luxury wasn’t exactly familiar for me, and after a little while, I grew restless. Clambering out of the bed, I started to explore my guest chambers.
Besides, staring around at finery eventually was a bit like eating too many sweets. They stopped being new, exciting, and delicious, and ended up feeling likemore, and it just led to a stomachache. I wondered what I’d even do in the capital while I waited for Kai to return.
I knew we were supposed to look into my past for clues on how to break my curse, but with his prince duties, I had a lot of alone time. This was a good thing and what I’d been begging for. It just didn’t seem nearly as pleasing in the middle of a city I’d never been to.
I probably wouldn’t have any medical duties, either, which made me feel so unmoored.
A knock sounded at my door. I scented Darla and happily walked over, then froze about halfway there.
I could still hear her post-fire words in my head but thought staying as far away as I could had to help. Wouldn’t the best thing be to stand there and not make a sound until she went away? Still, I was too eager to have something to do which didn’t leave me like a bump on a log.
Acursedbump on a log.
“Hey there!” the psychic blurted as soon as the door opened, flinging herself forward in a hug. I hadn’t been expecting it, but I managed to catch her without either of us toppling over. “This morning has been wild, hasn’t it?”
I nodded, recovering enough to close the door behind us. “Thank you for stepping in with the aura reader. I never once suspected she’d be able to pick up on my curse. That’s never happened before.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Darla said, giving me one of her classic winks. “I’ll cover for you whenever you need because that’s what best friends do.”
“We’re not—”
“Friends, I know. I know it’s probably a habit of yours by now, but since I know about your curse, you don’t have to keep pushing me away.”
Oh, right, she did know, didn’t she? So much happened after the fire, and my mind was still a bit muddled from it all. It would have been be nice if my life could gone back to the excruciatingly slow pace I was used to, where I only had to worry about dodging Kai and healing attacks on the fort.
Plus, the pesky curse with a tendency to murder innocent people.
“You know, it’s funny to look back on a lot of your behavior in hindsight,” the psychic continued. “A lot of things make more sense. It’s good to know there’s an actual reason you’ve been pushing me away for years. Like, it’d be one thing if you disliked me, but my senses kept telling me you didn’t.”
I did feel a bit sheepish for how I’d behaved, though I was grateful Darla didn’t seem angry, either. “I’m sorry. It’s just the only way I’ve ever really known how to deal with everything. I know you think avoiding people won’t work, but what other choice do I have? You and Kai were both wounded and gotten into plenty of trouble because I’ve been so selfish.”
“Might be a bit of confirmation bias here.” Darla went over to my bed and flopped onto it, dangling her legs over the edge. “What about Kai?”
“What about him?”
“Well, y’all are fated mates, right? He doesn’t seem like the type to let his beloved suffer in isolation while he lived his best life.”
The word “beloved” ricocheted around my head like a bullet, echoing in its own reverberating cacophony. It was a heady phrase, one which hit much harder than “mate”, perhaps because it implied choice. Being mates was just an entanglement of genetics, or perhaps even fate. Butbeloved? That was a choice. A wonderful, beautiful choice.
“He’s, uh, he’s pretty determined to break the curse, but we really have no idea how to do it.” I didn’t want to say it out loud, but if my entire coven of powerful witches couldn’t figure it out, what hope did we have?
“You sound skeptical.”
I shrugged. “Spells this powerful are nearly impossible to break. Usually, the only way to do so is killing the caster, and sometimes that doesn’t work. We don’t even know who cast it on me in the first place. What are we going to do? Go up to everymagic caster who’s older than me and murder them until I’m freed?”
Darla let out a long whistle. “Yeah, it’s a doozy. Wow, I guess I really can’t blame you for being cranky. I wouldn’t be so patient or understanding if I had all of that stacked against me.” She sat up and cracked her knuckles, looking determined. “But I don’t have anything to do around here specifically, so I might as well help you.”
“Help me how?”
“Whatever you need. Maybe browsing the library? Like I said, I may not be a magic user myself, but I know a thing or two.”
“I don’t really think we’re going to find many answers about my malignant shadow in the library, but I do appreciate you being willing to look. I can’t imagine you wanted to spend your time in the lavish capital being stuck amongst a bunch of ancient tomes.”
“Uh, you haven’t seen any pictures of this library, have you?”
“No, why?”
