The haunted expression on his face pierced her heart.
“This is for the best.” She found the courage to voice the words that had been plaguing her. “You will find someone else to love. Someone to whom you can give your whole heart and soul.” Her voice broke. “You are the lucky one. At least you have a choice in the matter.”
“Will I now?” The words came out soft and mocking.
“Aye.” She bit her lip and looked away, trying to hold back the sob that was building in her chest. She was making the right choice, but it cut her to the core. She wouldn’t let him see her fall apart. She had to be strong for the both of them.
Silence shrouded them.
He gave her a hard look. “So, this is it then. This really is goodbye.”
“Aye,” she croaked. “This time, it really is goodbye.”
He seemed to reach a decision. “Very well.” His eyes locked with hers. “I will leave you alone and never bother you again.”
She was hearing the words, but they weren’t ringing true.
“That is what you want, is it not?”
“‘Tis the only way,” she said quietly.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, princess, thy wish is my command. I will not keep thee from thy prince any longer.” Accusation flashed in his eyes, sending a sharp burst of anger shooting through her. Her first instinct was to lash out at him, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
She gave him one last look, trying to commit his face to memory. “Goodbye, Rushton. I shall never forget thee,” she uttered, turning to walk away.
“Wait.”
She turned. “What?”
“Surely you do not expect me to give you over to Edward without getting something in return.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What do you want?” she asked cautiously.
His eyes raked over her in a leisurely way that turned her knees to mush. “You know what I want,” he murmured. She hated the way her heart skipped a beat. Hated the power he had over her. Just thinking of Rushton’s lips on hers made her warm all over despite the cold.
“I am not doing this!” She really did start walking away this time, but he headed her off.
“One kiss. Give me one kiss before ye go.”
She gritted her teeth. “This is ludicrous! I am to be married … to the crown prince. Do you know what risk I took by simply coming here? What they would do to us if they found out we met here tonight?”
“One kiss, and I will go,” he said firmly. “For old time’s sake.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Why do ye always have to make things so difficult?”
He chuckled. “Since when is kissing me difficult? You did not think it was difficult before.” A wicked light flickered in his eyes. “In fact, I think you rather enjoyed it.”
She looked at him, pleading. “I cannot. Rushton. I cannot take this anymore. Please … just let me go.” She turned away from him and forced herself to start walking.
“I could make thee come away with me.” Desperation coated his voice.
She stopped and turned. “What?”
“I could make thee come away with me,” he repeated harshly as a brazen expression came over his beautiful face. He held up a vial—a shimmering substance that seemed to contain the contents of glittering stars.
Her eyes were drawn to the sparkles, and she had to pull her eyes away from them. “What is that?” Warning bells sounded in her head as apprehension clawed up her spine.
“One drop of this, along with my mother’s love spell, and you will willingly go wherever I request.”
Fury ignited over her. “You wouldn’t!” The sparkling liquid caught her eye as if beckoning her to take a drink.
He thrust out his jaw. “Wouldn’t I? I love you, Cinderella, and you love me! I would do anything to keep you. ‘Tis magic that tore us apart, so I will use it to right the wrong and bring us back together.” There was a ruthless look in his eyes.
“Love spells are temporary.” Just one drink, the shimmering liquid seemed to whisper as the promise of something wonderful seeped into her pores.
“Aye, but the spell would work long enough for me to persuade thee to come away with me.”
She gave him a speculative look. “I do not believe you. You are bluffing. Your mother would never give you her potion and love spell. She hates me. ‘Tis thy mother who caused our troubles to begin with.”
“My mother owes me!” He let out a harsh laugh. “She did not want me to take the potion and love spell, for she says no good can come of it, but if it gets me you, then it is worth the risk. No risk is too great for you,” he finished meaningfully.
They stood there eyeing one another to see who would back down first. “Nay,” she finally said, straightening her shoulders. “You will not use a love spell against me. I would hate thee for it in the end.”
She could tell that he was mulling it over.
“It would destroy all trust between us,” she continued, the truth of her words settling between them.
Finally, to her relief, he placed the vial back into the pouch around his waist. “Fine. You win. I will not use magic.” He caught her eyes with his. “Look me in the eye and tell me you can simply walk away.”
“Stop this!” she hissed.
“Tell me,” he commanded.
“I am walking away,” she said firmly.
He took a step towards her. “Say it again.”
She jutted out her chin. “I—am—leaving—NOW!”
He stepped so close that she could feel his breath on her hair. “Say it again,” he murmured.
“This is madness, Rushton.” His nearness was intoxicating, and she closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of him.
Gently, he brushed a stray lock of hair that had fallen from her braid. “Say it,” he implored, looking down at her. He lifted her chin with his finger. “Look at me,” he urged.
She opened her eyes. “I am leaving—”
The rest of the words got drowned out as his lips came down on hers. She protested at first, but it was no use as all of her carefully constructed defenses crumbled to ash. A groan issued from her mouth, as she flung her arms around his neck. “Oh, Rushton,” she breathed. He pulled her to him, deepening the kiss, sending fire licking down through her toes. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and tried to pull away from him, but he held her fast. She knew he could feel her heart, racing at full speed.
“Come away with me. I do not need magic to convince thee, only our love.”
She pounded his chest with the palm of her hand. “Stop this! I must leave this moment,” she said, even though her feet stayed rooted to the ground.
He tightened his hold on her. “I will never let thee go,” he said fiercely.
She looked up at him, realizing in that moment that she would never be strong enough to resist him. She didn’t want to keep resisting him. She loved him, and that love would never diminish. Life in the palace … Edward … everything paled in comparison to him. It had always been Rushton … from the very beginning. “What are we going to do?” Regret hung heavy in her voice.
“Over there!” A voice cracked through the stillness.
“By the trees,” another voice shouted.
They looked at the hooded figures on horseback, charging at them full speed. Cinderella clung to Rushton, terror causing her knees to buckle. Time seemed to split from itself, and she felt as though they were suspended over a cliff—impending doom below. “Oh, no! They have found us.”
“Run!” he urged, but it was too late. They were surrounded.
* * *
The next moments would forever remain etched in Cinderella’s mind, and she would relive them over and over—trying to imagine what might’ve been had she simply burned the letter and remained in the palace that fateful night.
“Ye are hereby charged with treason against the Crown Prince Edward de Moncier of Aandover. Seize them!”
Cinderella recognized the
speaker as the captain of the guard. Edward had introduced her to him on one of their tours. He’d seemed so noble and kind to her then with his distinguished features and graying temples, but tonight his voice cut her like a blade, letting her know there would be no mercy either for her or for Rushton. Run, her mind screamed. Run to where?
The guards dismounted from their horses and stepped forward to lay hands on them, but Rushton intervened. “Let her be!” he said, unsheathing his dagger and pointing it toward the guards. This sent off a ripple effect, causing all of the guards to draw their swords.
“Put down thy dagger, or we will run thee through!”
Rushton scoped out the situation as if he were weighing his options. Cinderella saw him tighten his grip on his dagger and knew he was going to attempt to take them on. “Don’t,” she said, touching his arm. He wouldn’t stand a chance against all of them. A look passed between them—his savage and hers pleading.
Begrudgingly, he threw down his dagger … for her. “The princess has done no wrong. She was sent here to deliver a message from Prince Edward. Nothing more.”
A tremor of shock ran through the group. The captain cocked his head and looked at Rushton incredulously. “Thou art telling me that Prince Edward sent this lady on an errand to deliver a message to thee? All alone? In the middle of the night?”
“Aye,” Rushton said, but he didn’t sound as convincing as he had earlier.
“Further evidence of thy treason against the prince,” the captain roared. He motioned, and an invisible line seemed to part the guards. Cinderella gasped when she saw him step through.
“Edward,” she uttered. Her shame was complete. She would’ve died a thousand deaths rather than face the accusation she saw burning in his eyes. “I am so sorry, Edward. I never meant to hurt you. If only you will allow me to explain—”
“Enough!” The bitterness in his voice stopped her cold. “I trusted you.” She looked into his eyes, trying to find a semblance of mercy in them … some hint of the man she knew—the man she was going to marry, but all she could see was hatred.
“I am so sorry,” she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes.
He dismissed her words as if she were lower than the mud on his boots and turned his attention to Rushton. “You betrayed me,” he said through gritted teeth. “I loved you like a brother—gave you everything, and you betrayed me.”
“You gave me nothing,” Rushton said, meeting his glare full on. “I have earned everything I have ever gotten, unlike you who have been handed everything. You don’t own her, prince,” he spat. “She has a right to choose whom she loves!”
“Treason!” the captain yelled. “Silence him!” Two guards encircled Rushton. When he protested, one of them hit him in the face, knocking him to the ground. A trickle of blood ran from his mouth.
Cinderella was sobbing. “Stop it! You are hurting him!”
A guard was on top of Rushton, his knee in the center of his back, pinning him down. Rushton craned his neck to look up at Edward. “Is this how you fight your battles? By getting your guards to do it for you? That’s mighty princely, your majesty.”
Without another word, Edward turned and regally walked away.
The guards fell upon Rushton, beating and kicking him. Rushton thrashed around, wildly. “Edward! Come back! This is not over! Edward!”
A guard grabbed Cinderella and jerked her arms behind her and began binding them with a rope. The full scope of the situation settled in at that moment, and Cinderella felt as helpless as a squirrel caught in a trap. The fringes of hysteria were clawing at her sanity, making her voice shrill. “Stop it! This is a mistake! Stop it!”
“Leave her alone!” Rushton said. “I demand that ye release her at once or I’ll—”
His words got snuffed out by the sound of a fist hitting bone. Not just any bone, but Rushton’s. It was too much. The world started to spin. The last thing Cinderella heard was Rushton’s ragged cry tearing through the night air. Then everything went black.
Chapter Six
Shadow Crawlers
Elle purposefully waited until all of the customers had left The Chocolate Fountain and the “closed” sign was on the door when she looked Adele squarely in the eye. “Something happened to Edward and me last night. Something strange and terrifying.” She shuddered. “I want you to tell me what that thing was.”
Adele’s eyes went wide behind her spectacles, and she started arranging the brownies on the tray and putting them into the glass case. “I’m not sure what you mean, dear,” she blustered.
Elle caught her arm. “Please, tell me.”
Adele stopped and looked at the ceiling and then back at Elle. She glanced over her shoulder. “Come, let’s go up to the study where it is more private.”
Private? Elle scrunched her nose. It was only the two of them. How could it get more private than that? By now, she was growing accustomed to Adele’s eccentricities. “Okay,” she agreed, “let’s go to the study.”
When they reached the stairs, Adele paused. “Oh, dear, I forgot something. Go on up, and I’ll be right there.”
“What did you forget?” Elle fought the urge to roll her eyes. They’d only decided to go to the study a few seconds ago. What could she possibly have forgotten?
“Go on, I’ll be there directly.”
Elle shook her head and walked up the stairs to the study. Adele was just odd. That’s all there was to it. Still, she was starting to care deeply for her aunt. She sat down in one of the wingback chairs. A few minutes later, Adele came into the room, carrying a silver tray with two truffles—one white chocolate, one milk. A sense of déjà vu wafted over Elle as she watched Adele sit down and place the truffles on the ottoman. There was something she was supposed to remember about those truffles. What was it?
Adele shifted, making herself comfortable. Then, she pushed her seafoam spectacles back up on her nose and looked at Elle. “Tell me exactly what happened … in great detail.”
Elle told her about how she and Edward had just finished dinner and were looking at the stars when something dark and slithery surrounded them. “It was more of a feeling than anything. We couldn’t see it, but we could feel it.”
Adele nodded.
It struck Elle that her aunt was not surprised in the least by the strange narrative. Goosebumps rose over her flesh. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? What was it?”
Adele hugged her arms as a grim expression came over her face. “It was a shadow crawler.”
Dread pummeled over Elle. Still, she leaned forward, her need to know outweighing her fear. “What is a shadow crawler?”
“The most loathsome of creatures—part man and part monster.” Adele’s eyes took on a far-a-way look. “A long time ago, a wicked sorceress used her beauty to ensnare noble men—knights, royals, kings—they were all playthings to Griselda. She trapped them and turned them into miserable monsters, doomed to do her dark bidding.”
For a split second, a shadow crossed over Elle’s heart, and she felt again that cold ruthlessness of the shadow crawler. Then her rational side took over, and she wanted to start laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of what she was hearing, but too many strange things had happened. If she’d not experienced a shadow crawler first hand, then she would not have believed it; but now she was starting to consider things she’d never thought possible before. Then she realized that Adele was giving her an admiring look.
“Good for you. You’re starting to open your mind a bit, dear. You’ll come to learn that this newfound understanding is a good thing.”
“I know you can read my mind.” The words were spoken with certainty but without accusation. Adele made no attempt to deny it. She only sat there, staring back at her with that enigmatic smile. “Who is Griselda?” A chill went through the room.
Adele looked nervous. “Sorry, I’m not at liberty to discuss that topic.” She looked at the ceiling.
Elle resisted the temptation to also look at
the ceiling. She switched gears. “What did that shadow crawler want with me and Edward?”
Adele’s mouth moved like she was going to answer the question, but then she looked at the ceiling. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, I can’t tell her. She needs to know.” The corners of her mouth turned down into a frown. “Puddle wax,” she muttered, looking at Elle. “Merek says I can’t tell you, but I’m going to tell you anyway. The shadow crawlers have one purpose—to gather information and take it back to their master.”
“To Griselda.”
She nodded. “The shadow crawlers feed on fear, and when the mind is in that terrified state, they can access your thoughts and feelings, learning all they can about your weaknesses.”
A shiver went down Elle’s spine. “Why me?”
“Because you’re—” Adele made a gurgling sound, and her hands went to her throat. Her eyes began to bulge.
Panic clawed at Elle. Adele was choking or having a seizure. She sprang into action, jumping out of the chair. “Are you okay?” she screamed. She pulled out her phone and was about to dial 911 when Adele’s throat opened, and she drew in a ragged breath.
“Thank goodness, you’re okay.”
Adele began muttering under her breath. She scowled at the ceiling. “Was that really necessary?” She rubbed her throat. “Ye of little faith. I wasn’t going to spill the beans, Merek.”
Alarm went through Elle. All this time, she’d believed that whenever Adele was talking to the ceiling that she was talking to an imaginary person, but now … There was no way Adele could’ve fabricated that choking incident. Elle was starting to think there might really be someone called Merek. This time, she looked at the ceiling.
“Oh, fiddle faddle! See what you’ve done.” Adele shook her head. “Now, she’s really starting to wonder what is going on here,” she muttered. “Men! You can’t live with them and can’t live without them.”
“So, is Merek your …” she sought for the right word “ … boyfriend?” The term boyfriend sounded juvenile where Adele was concerned, but she didn’t know how else to phrase it.
Love Spell: Book 2 of The Grimm Laws Page 8
