Page 51 of Fae Unleashed
“I came to understand you better through your domain,” Ostara said. “Not only have you given me a bit of respite now that I don’t have to sustain the domain on my own, but everything that grows there is beautiful in its own right. If you were as feral and uncouth as I once thought, then there was no way you would have been able to create such beauty.”
I raised a brow at Ostara’s line of thought, but I wasn’t going to openly challenge it. There was no way I would trust her. The things she’d said to me upon our first meeting had soured my view of her forever. I would take her aid, though.
An alliance with Ostara meant that I wouldn’t have to accept Foxglove’s contract. Hopefully, that also meant I could renegotiate with him. Once he realized he didn’t have me backed into a corner as the only available ally, he might change his terms. That was only a hope, though.
I was more than happy with the alliance that Ostara and I forged that evening. When all was said and done, I turned to find that Del had retreated again. I’d wanted to celebrate with her, but it seemed that she didn’t want to be my friend.
Feri slept in his ferret form once more. I would keep an eye on him from here on out. Desperation had driven him to help my enemy. There was no forgiving that, but I would do my best to alleviate that desperation, for him and everyone else who’d been in the Seelie Court my parents had built.
I wondered who had put this curse on Feri. It couldn’t have been the Unseelie. From what I understood, the only way to break it without selling out to another deal, another curse, was to help me take my throne. I realized that meant someone in my family must have cursed him into this form to make him stick to his promise.
Why were we all so bound to this sticky web of curses? One bled into another, with no one side free from blame. I wanted to wipe them all away, but it seemed we would have to learn to live with them each in our own way.
20
CERRI
Wooden spoon in hand, I stirred the vegetables at the bottom of the pot. I felt Rhoan return before I saw him. His presence filled the air with an electric charge that brought a smile to my face.
Before I could turn to greet him, pain sliced through my body. I gasped, clutched my chest, and lost my grip on the spoon. It slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor a moment before I dropped, too.
Rhoan rushed to catch me. I could barely feel his hands through the pain throbbing in my chest. It was as if the black curse tattoo had split open. It was ripping me in two, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Though Rhoan shook me and shouted, I fell into the darkness and crash landed in the middle of my garden of arcana. A red sun beamed down on me. The blight had spread. It’d eclipsed my arcana and consumed every last inch of it.
Distantly, I heard Beryl’s laughter. It was smug and triumphant, which only made me angrier. I clawed my way out of the vision and back to reality.
Rhoan’s eyes were wide with worry. That was twice in one day that he’d caught me passing out. This was an uncomfortable trend, to say the least.
Though he seemed rather relieved that I was conscious again, the relief faded when his gaze rose to my hair.
“Fuck,” was all that left Rhoan’s mouth.
“I mean, I wish you would…” I trailed off, realizing what I’d just said.
The room fell quiet for a moment. Rhoan and I stared at each other as the air between us took on an electric charge again. His fingers dug into my body. It made me wish he would pull me closer.
Then Tal stepped into the room and cursed loudly. Rhoan leapt to his feet, bringing me with him. When Rhoan stepped away, I noticed the way Tal stared at me. Once again, I was reminded of the way Rhoan had reacted to my hair.
Beryl’s Unseelie curse had spread. She must have gotten tired of waiting for it to take effect and sped up the process. I backpedaled out of the dead-silent room and lurched into my bathroom where I gripped the edges of my sink and peered into the mirror.
The golden wheat color of my hair had been leeched out. There was nothing left but a ghostly white that made my skin seem sallow. I cringed at my own reflection and tried to craft a glamour to cover the sickly white curls, but nothing would take.
I had a sinking feeling that not even mortal hair dye would help. If anything, I was madder at Beryl for messing with my looks than tampering with my arcana. I lifted a hand and summoned a flower in my hand. The long petals of the lily were blood red, but it was still a flower, nonetheless.
Biting my lip, I considered what this would mean. Already, I could tell that I was no longer Seelie. The sunshine warmth of my arcana had faded. Instead, I felt the cool breeze that only blew at the dead of night. The petals of the flower wavered in my palm.
“Welp,” was all I could manage.
I wanted to care. I wanted to be concerned. All of those feelings should have been there. Yet, nothing else about me had changed. I didn’t suddenly have the urge to spill blood or start wars. The curse and my new arcana couldn’t change me like that.
Nothing could change who I was at heart.
“Princess?” Tal asked cautiously.
I rolled my eyes and turned to face him. Arms spread, I said, “Same as always. Just…uglier.”
Rhoan
