Page 33 of Of Curses and Courtship

“Is she?” Lucille watches me through narrowed eyes, pushing her golden spectacles higher on her nose. “What sort of job?”

“I-I don’t know, Madam.” I’ve never had a job before, and this fae does not seem like the type to give second chances. What if I choose wrong?

“She has experience cleaning,” Isa says

“Perfect.” Lucille clicks her tongue. “You are in luck—we are always looking for new maids.”

“Oh! That would be a divine fit for me.” I perk up. Cleaning up after my stepmother had some benefits after all. “I’ve spent the last several years tidying up a small estate.”

“Then we have a place for you. Welcome—Helena?” She yells the name.

Who is Helena?Is Lucille calling me a new name? Perhaps it’s fae custom.

I look over my shoulder.

“Yes, Madam?” An unseen voice calls from one of the small bedchambers.

“Come here at once!”

A small woman with bright, mysterious eyes meanders from one of the little bedchambers. Her straw-colored hair coils to the middle of her back, worn free rather than pinned up. She has the same white, feathery wings Prince Emyr has—perhaps hers are a bit smaller, but otherwise their wings are identical.

She is a Sun Fae, like the prince.

“How can I help ye, Madam?” Helena has a slight rasp, the sort of voice that may seduce the unknowing and amuse others.

“Show her to her room,” Lucille says. “She will be your new roommate. Name?”

She’s speaking to me again, I think.

“Ophelia.” The truth comes out before I can supply her with a lie.

Helena looks at me with those wide, excitable eyes. “How grand!” She grips my hand and pulls me through the hall, dragging me to the room from which she appeared. “I haven’t had a roommate inages.”

“Ah…”

What am I to say? Suddenly, I feel out of practice with socializing.

I turn my head to look for Isa, desperate to find the only one I know in the palace, but in typical Isa fashion, she’s already disappeared.

CHAPTER NINE

EMYR

The spark in the beginning always dies. This is why I’ll never be the one to break this gods forsaken curse.

At least someone is happy—my parents are pleased to find that my betrothed is a princess. She walks like a princess and speaks like a princess, which I must have overlooked at first.

Did I ever truly like her, or was it only the idea of her?

I don’t know, but I’m trying harder than I have with anyone else. For heaven’s sake, I’m eatingbrunch.

Brunch is pointless. It may as well be lunch or breakfast, but instead, we are eating brunch. No amount of spiked drinks or scones can compensate for how dull I find brunch to be.

Or perhaps it is the company I find dull. The idea of breakfast food and unlimited drinks isn’t so terrible on its own; the problem is that I am being forced to spend time with someone, and it’s not going as expected.

Rain clouds loom above us as we sit in the garden. Although it rarely rains this time of year, the skies still tauntus with the shadow cast over what was once a beautiful land. Even in the hottest days of summer, the trees hang without leaves, and we can’t get a single thing to grow.

Our rose bushes wilt. They’re the flower of love, but I have none in my heart for the woman across from me. We’re not the only ones in the garden. Happy couples, including my parents, sit around and have polite conversations.