Page 2 of A Curse Between Us

Orion didn’t look away. “You don’t have to decide that now. Let this storm pass, love.”

His arm came around her shoulders, and he pressed a kiss into her hair. Meela let herself breathe, this time not because she had to, but because something inside her had finally begun to loosen.

Tomorrow, she would begin again. Slowly, piece by piece, she would tend to everything that had been broken and learn what might grow in its place. Her world was not the one she had known before, nor was she the woman who had once lived inside it.

It was broken. It was uncertain.

But for the first time, it was hers to rebuild.

Epilogue

The trail hadn’t changed much in the last year. The same mossy path, the same tangled roots that snagged her boots if she wasn’t paying attention.

The world was moving forward, and only now did Meela feel like she had finally caught up with it.

A few paces ahead, Alden walked with his staff in one hand and a picnic basket swinging from the other, far too heavy for only three people. Meela had tried to warn him, but he’d only laughed and told her she was severely underestimating her husband’s hunger.

Behind her, Orion trailed lazily, pretending to study a bird call somewhere deep within the trees. When she glanced over her shoulder, he caught her eye and heaved a dramatic sigh.

“You both lied,” he called out. “I was promised a short walk. A nice stroll, I believe were the exact words.”

“Oh, you’re fine.” Meela laughed.

“I only fear your sense of direction if this is your idea of short,” Orion teased.

“You could always go back to Alden's and borrow Suzaar’s eyes.” Meela smirked.

He squinted at her, pretending to be offended. “Hilarious.”

Ahead, Alden chuckled. “He’s been grumpy since you beat him at cards last night.”

“That was luck!” Orion protested, voice carrying through the trees. “And possible cheating on Suzaar’s part. Though I have no way of proving it.”

“Who knew you were such a terrible loser?” Meela kept her voice sweet, hopping over a rock. She didn’t need to turn to know he was smiling. She could feel it.

The memory of the first walk floated back to her. The tightness in her chest, the fear she hadn’t dared to name. Alden’s patience, and the weight he carried for them both. Now, the silence between them wasn’t heavy.

They crested the small rise, and there it was. The meadow Alden had shown her that same day, the one she had loved before and loved now. The field of wildflowers, the same sweeping valley view. Only now it was woven with promises and memories.

Alden settled onto a flat stone, unpacking the basket without a word. Meela sank down beside him, close enough to rest her head briefly on his shoulder. Orion remained standing, watching Suzaar dart and weave across the bright sky before, before dropping down beside her with a sigh and slinging an arm around her shoulders.

The sun kissed her skin. Meela closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, feeling the earth beneath her palms and the wildflowers brushing against her boots, whispering their secrets.

“How is everyone?” Alden asked at last.

“Good,” Meela said. “Alice is making her way west with Serissa. Lenora is in Solmaris. All we can do is hope they find their way.”

“They will,” Orion said easily, as though it were the simplest truth in the world.

Meela clung to that belief. The forest had always known how to call the Wyrdwoods home. Her door would remain open, her hearth would never burn low, and there would always be food waiting for any woman who found herself drawn beneath the trees.

Word was spreading now. There were no more walls to hide behind. No more fear keeping them apart.

Slowly, Meela rose and wandered into the meadow, her fingers trailing through the wildflowers. Her hand stilled over a single bloom, pale and silver-edged, trembling gently on its stem. She knelt beside it and pressed her palm to the earth.

With a steady breath, she let her magic unfurl.

The flowers spread across the meadow.

A gift for the girl she had been.

A promise to the woman she had become.