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The man I was raised to hate wasn’t supposed to be this way. He wasn’t supposed to value my opinion, teach me to rule a kingdom as his equal, protect me from all threats, and care enough about my comfort, he held back his beast for me.
He also wasn’t supposed to have a wicked sense of humor, a love of reading, a brother he swore to his mother he’d protect, and the respect and love of his people. Not cursed captives who slaved and were pining for freedom—but happy, equal peoplewho pitied everyone outside of Wind and Wild, because we were many things, but happy and equal weren’t it.
He wasn’t a monster. The curse and his reputation tried to paint him as one, but he was just a man. A powerful, wicked, harsh, funny, sex-obsessed man, but still a man. A man that can know love.
A man that can be loved.
My heart thrummed a beat as I stroked the rough, hairy folds of his face. I played the game and I lost. I see now that I was always meant to lose. Even when Emiana took me over—the heartless, arrogant, nightmare of a woman—she fell prey to his charms. She giggled under his attention and heated at his touch. She turned her nose at everyone and everything... except him.
Alisdair was always going to claim my heart. It’s why he laughed at me while I stood at the altar, swearing my eternal hatred and devotion to destroying his life. He knew even then, that we’d end up here.
I smiled tracing the shell of his foot-long ear. Alisdair grunted in his sleep, his ear twitching and swatting me away.
I giggled. “You may have known I’d fall eventually, but what you didn’t know is you will too.” Leaning in, I pressed the softest kiss on his snout.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Pushing up, I looked around the three-walled room until I landed on the door. I was up and out of bed before the thought fully crossed my mind. Quickly I dressed in the dark and slipped out.
I’d been hearing that heartbeat everywhere, and more and more every day. Was it madness? Was it Emiana? Or was it Alisdair? Was it his heart?
Slippered feet padded through the opulent castle, carrying me far away from our chambers, into the east wing.
I stepped lightly on the steps, clinging tight to the wall, but I didn’t spring any traps.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Dropping down, I hurried down the hall, carried along by a tug on my chest—driving me forward, pulling me faster, refusing to let go.
I found myself in that same hallway I found all those weeks ago, staring at a familiar wall. Moving forward, I placed my palms against the cool stone, following the lines and cracks down until—
My hand slipped through that break in the wall, and the rest of me followed.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The heart beat in time with my footsteps, carrying me up the stairs. What was this place? I once mentioned it to Eadaoin, but she had no idea what I was talking about. She had lived in this castle for fifty years; it was hard to believe she didn’t know every inch of it. Was this place one of the secrets of the east wing? And did it hold the one secret coveted by all of Elva?
I topped the final step, coming face-to-face with the simple oak door. I approached it like it could hurt me—the very doorknob coming to life and biting off my fingers for daring to touch it. But dare I did.
Closing on the knob, it turned and swung open, revealing the dark space beyond. The heartbeat was almost deafening in my ear—urging me on. Demanding it.
I stepped inside and hissed, clutching my robe tighter. It was worse than freezing. It was so cold, the air was living, physical knives stabbing my skin, chilling my lungs, and petrifying my bones. I nearly turned and left on the spot.
THUMP-THUMP!
“Where are you?” I blinked against the gloom, eyes adjusting. “Where is this?”
Fuzzy, undefined shapes rose in my vision. The tower wasn’t necessarily big or wide, but it appeared to be long. One long room with narrow walls and nary any furniture.
“What I wouldn’t give for my own magic,” I mumbled, inching farther inside. “A torch wouldn’t be unwelcome right now. Or the heat.”
I was a talent with fire magic when I was little. It occurred to me then that when the curse took me, I would be again.
Do I want the curse to take me?I made out strange, white rectangular shapes leaning against the wall. Reaching out, my fingers brushed cotton.Would getting my magic back be worth the cost of turning into a howler monkey?
Is that really the question haunting you right now?another voice asked.Isn’t the true one, what would you do if you find the heart?
I lit on something toward the back of the room. Padding closer, the temperature dropped another five degrees, then another five, then another ten.
