Of Curses and Kisses

by Sandhya Menon

  “Yes. We spoke on the phone earlier this week.” Jaya smiled and held out her hand. “Just Jaya, please. And this is Grey Emerson.”

  Silas enveloped Jaya’s hand in both of his. His suit rustled just a little as he moved, a thick, lush sound that told her it was bespoke. “I think honorifics add a bit of elegance to a conversation, don’t you?” he asked her, his eyes twinkling.

  “They do.” It was hard to disagree with Silas. He was the perfect mixture of soft-spoken and confident. “In that case, this is Lord Northcliffe.”

  Grey shifted, as uncomfortable with his formal title as if it were a scratchy, ill-fitting shirt.

  Silas beamed. “Excellent.” Letting go of Jaya’s hand, he asked, “So. What can I help you with today? You said on the phone you’re having some issues with a necklace?”

  “Yes.” Jaya reached into her coat and gently extracted the rose pendant from the velvet bag. Beside her, Grey stiffened as if she were handling a viper. “My father got this for me in Dubai recently, but as you can see, the rubies have been falling out.”

  “Hmm.” Silas took it from her and walked over to a little mahogany workbench in the corner. Clicking his jeweler’s glasses into place, he maneuvered a bright work light into position. Tutting quietly to himself as he examined the pendant, he said, “Oh, dear. This is very unusual indeed.”

  “What’s that?” Jaya asked.

  “Well, you see, the prongs that held each of the missing rubies have pulled away from the main body of the rose,” Silas explained, pointing out the prongs to Jaya. “It’s rather strange for the prongs to do that without assistance, although I have seen that happen in rare circumstances. You say this is a new piece? Has it been handled roughly?”

  “I only got it a few months ago, and I’ve been very careful with it.”

  “Hmm. Unusual. Very unusual.”

  Grey took a step away from the pendant. Jaya wondered if he knew what he’d done or if it had been a subconscious reaction.

  “Do you think you can replace the rubies and fix the prongs?”

  “Well, yes. But without knowing the cause, I’m afraid the same thing may happen to the new rubies.”

  Jaya nodded. “I suppose that can’t be helped. Could you do anything to protect against the prongs getting wrenched away like that?”

  “I could bend them into place and perhaps anchor them with a tiny bit of jeweler’s epoxy. And I can do the same for the rest of the prongs as well, while I’m at it,” Silas said thoughtfully. “Could you give me an hour?”

  “Of course. We’ll keep ourselves busy until then.”

  Silas smiled as he slipped her rose pendant into a velvet pouch. “I’ll see you both again shortly, Princess Jaya, Lord Northcliffe.”

  * * *

  They stepped outside into the cold early-November air, and Jaya glanced at Grey. His face was unreadable, preoccupied. “You okay?” she asked as they began aimlessly up the sidewalk, burying her hands in her coat pockets.

  “Fine.” He paused, ran a hand through his hair. “The prongs… they were pulled away. That’s weird.”

  Jaya shrugged. “But not supernatural. I’m sure that happens to jewelry sometimes. Besides, Silas is going to fix it.” She wanted to reassure Grey, she realized. But she also wanted to not be out here on the street, where anyone driving by might see them together.

  Across the street, the warm, glowing lights of a small bookstore called Bookingham Palace beckoned. Enclosed, small, decidedly unglamorous, and somewhere Caterina wasn’t likely to be. Perfect. Putting her hand on Grey’s arm, Jaya smiled. “Let’s go in there.”

  There were few dark moods books couldn’t fix.

  * * *

  Entering into the cozy warmth of Bookingham Palace, hearing the soft jingle of the bells on the door, Jaya felt her worries melting away. Smiling, she took off her coat and let the buzz of various conversations settle over her like a balmy wave. The store wasn’t very big, but it was packed to the gills with books of every kind, as well as gifts for the upcoming holiday season like Santa mugs and peppermint bark.

  They walked to the right, and Jaya began browsing the latest young adult romances. After a moment, she looked up at Grey, who was following her with his coat draped over his arm. It was clear he was still lost in his own head. “What do you like to read?”

  “Historical biographies, mostly.”

  She gave him a wry look. “Really?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Are you judging my reading choices?”

  Jaya’s cheeks got warm. “Of course not,” she said quickly. “What’s your favorite biography, then?”

  “Hmm, that’s hard to say. Probably… Bertie: A Life of Edward VII, by Jane Ridley. He was sort of a black sheep of his family, and not a very nice person, from all accounts.” He said the words blandly, but Jaya detected an undercurrent of something.

  They lapsed into silence then, alone in the narrow space between the shelves. But this silence wasn’t like the usual silences as they walked to and from class. This silence felt… tangible. Jaya noticed her breathing quickening as she realized how close they were really standing to each other. The din from the other shoppers faded. She could see the faint dark stubble along Grey’s jaw; his blue eyes blazed as he studied her brown ones.

  What are you doing, Jaya? a little voice inside her head said. This is a repeat of the hot tub incident! Is that what you want?

  No, of course not! another part of her brain replied. Considering how much harm Caterina could do if she were to tell Kiran anything, it would be downright irresponsible. And besides Caterina telling Kiran, Jaya herself didn’t think it was right. She was an heiress, for God’s sake. She had responsibilities to her estate and her people and her family name. Grey Emerson didn’t factor in to any of those responsibilities. Right. She was going to step away. Step. Away. Right now.

  Jaya found herself stepping in closer to Grey.

  Suddenly, he turned on his heel and began to walk away from her.

  “Where… where are you going?” Jaya said, dazed, to his retreating back.

  He glanced at her over his shoulder. “To find a book.”

  “Right.” Jaya paused, choosing her words carefully. “It is customary to let your shopping companion know where you’re going before you just take off.”

  “Oh.” Grey looked genuinely taken aback as he turned to fully face her. He was so broad, he took up all the room between the two shelves on either side of him. “I’m… going to find a book.” He paused. “Like that?”

  Jaya hid her smile behind a hand. “Just like that. I’ll see you soon.”

  Grey nodded once, turned again, and walked off.

  She watched him go, slicing his way through the crowd. More than a few people stopped to watch him, but he didn’t seem to notice. What a waste, she thought. To be born a natural leader, only to feel that you were inherently poisonous, someone to be hidden away at all costs. In spite of herself, she felt a shot of anger toward his father.

  Careful, Jaya, her internal critic piped up. You’re acting like you actually care about the boy.

  I don’t care about him, she thought scornfully back at the internal critic. I’m just… feeling the normal amount of concern that any human being would feel.

  Oh, good, the internal critic said snidely. What a disaster any real feelings would be. Could you imagine?

  No, Jaya thought somberly. I couldn’t.

  It was fine. She was here running an errand with Grey, and after this, they didn’t need to have any more interactions besides civil, acquaintance-level ones. She’d continue to keep her distance from him in class, she wouldn’t walk with him anymore, and she’d make sure Caterina had absolutely nothing to feed Kiran or anyone else back home. She’d do the right thing because she was a Rao princess, and that’s what she always did.

  Jaya walked to the register a few minutes later, armed with three new books, all the first in series she hadn’t read yet. Looking over her shoulder as she paid, Jaya
saw Grey loitering by the front door with a bag. He was studying a small stuffed pug on a rotating rack by the door, and she bit back a smile at the sight of the tiny, soft animal in his giant bear paw.

  She went up to him and tapped him on the back. He turned and a small smile caressed his lips. Jaya felt a tiny spark of surprised joy; it was one of the few times she’d seen Grey Emerson smile at anyone, let alone her.

  “Hey.”

  “What’d you end up buying?”

  They pushed through the glass door and back out into the cold, both of them putting on their coats. Grey pulled a paperback book out of his plastic bag and showed it to her.

  “Napoleon: An Exhaustive History,” she read. “Er, great! I’m glad that looks, ah, interesting to you.”

  Grey snorted. “Right.” He put the book back. “I also got this.” Grey pulled out another book, a hardcover this time.

  “Twenty Places to See During Your Gap Year,” Jaya read.

  “It’s for you,” he said gruffly, thrusting it at her. “Just in case you decide, you know, to do it.”

  Jaya took the book, feeling ridiculously touched. “You… you bought this for me?”

  “Because of what you told me on the school shopping trip,” he said, frowning down at her. “How you think about—”

  “I remember,” Jaya said softly. “Thank you, Grey. This is very thoughtful.”

  He waved her off, his cheeks going pink.

  In her coat pocket, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and answered it.

  “Princess Jaya? It’s Silas from St. Rosetta’s Fine Jewelers.”

  “Oh, hi, Silas.” That was fast. She raised her eyebrows. “Is it ready so quickly?”

  “I think you’d better come on back to the shop,” he said in a strange voice. “I’ve something to show you.”

  “Okay.” Jaya met Grey’s eyes. “We’ll be right there.”

  Grey

  Grey’s hands shook while he stood by the spotless glass cases of opulent emerald earrings and blushing garnet rings, waiting for Silas to emerge from the back room. The recessed lighting caused all the gems to twinkle, as if they were winking at him, beckoning him closer. No, thank you. He’d had enough of jewelry to last a lifetime, probably more.

  He loosened his uniform tie so he could breathe better, and looked over at Jaya, who smiled hesitantly at him. It had been nice of her to invite him along, especially considering (1) she thought the curse was bullshit and (2) it was her necklace.

  Things had been different between them since the Aspen shopping trip—less tense, less fake, more real. Jaya wasn’t finding reasons to touch him anymore, nor was she laughing that throaty laugh all the time. It was like some barrier of inauthenticity had crumbled between them on that ski slope when they’d yelled at each other. Grey was glad. Dishonesty was one thing he couldn’t stand. His father might’ve been cruel, but he’d never lied to Grey, at least. He’d always been up-front about how he felt about him. Grey respected that.

  And somehow, seeing the real Jaya Rao, Grey was realizing a little more every day how much he was coming to enjoy their time together. He was still a misanthrope, but she didn’t seem to mind his misanthropic ways. And when he caught sight of her waiting for him after class or in the common room before breakfast, it made him… happy. He thought back to the night of the hot tub, or even just to earlier that same day, in the bookstore. For the first time, he was letting himself get closer to a girl. For the first time, he felt like any other dude in high school.

  Grey was becoming more aware with every passing day that Jaya was changing him. Maybe because she was the only person who knew every part of him and still wanted to be around him anyway. Bit by bit, she was chipping at the block of stone he’d always surrounded himself with. Bit by bit, she was unearthing who he really was underneath. And to his astonishment, Grey was okay with that. He was kind of excited to see who he was underneath too, even if just briefly.

  “Welcome back, Lord Northcliffe, Princess Jaya.” Silas walked out just as Grey finished that last thought, snuffing out his brief spark of optimism. He held a big piece of black velvet cloth, folded in half and sandwiched between his hands, and gestured for Grey and Jaya to follow. “Here we are,” he said, walking to his mahogany workbench.

  Grey’s legs felt like Jell-O as he made his way to the bench.

  “Hello, Silas. So what seems to be the problem?” Jaya said, watching as he lifted the velvet cloth to reveal the necklace and turned on his work light so they could all see it better. “Wait.” She peered closer. “You haven’t added in any new rubies.”

  Grey stayed back and kept his distance, just in case. He could see fine from here.

  “No, I haven’t,” Silas said, a rueful half smile on his face. “But it wasn’t from lack of trying.” From a drawer, he extracted a small metal box, which he opened with a small key he produced from his pocket. The box held six rubies. “I shall demonstrate for you, Princess.” He sat on his stool and adjusted himself in front of the necklace. Next, he applied a dot of jeweler’s epoxy into one of the empty sockets. Then, very carefully, using special tweezers, he set one of the rubies into the empty, epoxied socket of the pendant. It was a perfect job; Grey could see no visible imperfections at all. Silas looked up at the both of them appraisingly. “There. Now we’ll let it set. Does that look all right?”

  Both Jaya and Grey nodded uncertainly.

  “Now,” Silas said, reaching into an interior pocket for a gold pocket watch. Of course he had a pocket watch. “The epoxy instructions say to let it set for four minutes. We’ll give it five just to be sure.” He stood and walked to Jaya and Grey, who were standing by a brass statue of a knight.

  “But what—” Jaya began.

  “You’ll see, Princess,” Silas said. “Let’s give it a few minutes.”

  “I’m not sure what we’re doing,” Grey said, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.

  “In just a few moments, Lord Northcliffe, I shall show you.”

  “Well, this is all very intriguing,” Jaya said. “But if the product is defective in some way, I’m sure my father would want to know and take action. It’s very important to him that the things he pays for are reliable.”

  “It’s not that the pendant is defective, exactly,” Silas said. “But perhaps your father should return it anyhow.” He paused. “Are either of you… superstitious at all?”

  Grey glanced at Jaya and found her looking right at him. He turned to Silas. “Why do you ask?” he said carefully, keeping his face blank.

  “There are many accounts, going back thousands of years, of cursed jewelry. More skeptical minds than mine have referred to these as ‘irregular properties,’ ” Silas said. “The Delhi Purple Sapphire, the Hope Diamond, the La Peregrina Pearl… it is not unheard of. I wondered if either of you—”

  A phone in the back rang. “Forgive me,” Silas said, bowing slightly. “I shall return momentarily.” And he walked to the back room again.

  Grey turned to Jaya. “I wish he’d just get to the point.”

  A few minutes later, Silas hurried back, slipping his pocket watch back into his coat pocket. “Thank you for your patience. It’s now time for me to show you why I called you here.”

  “Great,” Grey said tightly. Jaya glanced down at his hands, and it was only then that he realized they were shaking again.

  They walked with Silas back to the workbench and the necklace. Grey wondered if this was what it felt like being led to the gallows. His footsteps felt leaden; he felt like he must weigh a thousand pounds.

  Silas went around the workbench and picked up the pendant very carefully. Then he tipped it over. The ruby, the one he’d set with epoxy, fell out.

  “I don’t understand,” Jaya said. “I thought you used the epoxy to secure the ruby.”

  “I did, indeed,” Silas said, his eyes watchful as he took in their expressions. “And I should note, this is the very same epoxy I use for all my projects. I’ve used th
is brand for decades now. It’s never not worked before.”

  Grey swallowed and heard the clicking in his dry throat.

  “So, what are you trying to say?” Jaya said, shifting beside Grey. Her tone was somewhere between disbelief and defensiveness.

  Silas shrugged. “I’m not attempting to convince you of anything, Princess Jaya. I am merely showing you what I have experienced.” His light brown eyes slipped to meet Grey’s. “What do you make of this, Lord Northcliffe?”

  Grey shook his head. He could feel Jaya’s gaze on him. “I… I think I need some air.” He glanced at Jaya quickly. “Will you finish this up and meet me outside?”

  She nodded, her brow furrowed. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine.” He nodded in Silas’s direction without quite meeting his eye. “Thank you for meeting with us, Silas. It, ah, must’ve been something I ate.”

  “Of course, Lord Northcliffe,” Silas murmured.

  Grey tried not to run to the door.

  * * *

  He paced outside in the frigid cold as the sun set on the mountains, plunging the world into shades of gold-dusted plum and rose-tinged blue. Why, of all the families in the world, did he have to be born to the Emersons? Not only were his ancestors morally repugnant, but his own father had virtually disowned him, and now… For the umpteenth time, Grey wished he could walk away from his life, from his father, from everything that felt like manacles around his wrists and ankles.

  If there had been even a sliver of doubt in his mind about the pendant’s provenance, it had disappeared completely. It was all true. He lived in a world where nanotechnology and ancient curses lived side by side. Grey barked a laugh, then was immediately afraid that he was losing his mind.

  “Grey.”