Withering Rose (Once Upon a Curse Book 2)

by Kaitlyn Davis

  My father.

  And the faerie.

  "We have two days to figure something out," Cole murmurs into my hair.

  We're lying in his bed, a spot that's become my own personal haven, a spot where it feels like there is nothing we can't overcome. Our legs are entwined and my head rests on his chest, listening to the heavy thump of his heart beating. One of his arms hugs me close, latched around my small waist in a grip that says he might never let go.

  To be honest, I don’t want him to.

  I want to stay here and pretend that the sun will never rise. That tomorrow will never come. For the first time in my life, I wouldn't mind spending the rest of it in the dark.

  "Do you think they'll come back with the medicine for my father? Do you think Asher managed to steal it?"

  Cole runs his fingers through my hair. "We'll wait all day tomorrow for any sign of them. We don't have to leave until the next day. I just want to be out of sight before the bombs start going off."

  I nod. Tomorrow will be the ninth day since Asher left. We might still be pushing it by leaving on day ten when the attack is supposed to happen on day eleven, but this is Cole's gift to me, the one I've come to realize is the most precious of all—time. Time to wait for a miracle, for the one thing that might just keep my father alive.

  "And what are we going to do with her?" I ask, changing the subject. I don’t want to think about my father, not now, not when it's all I've been focusing on for days.

  Cole doesn’t need me to clarify at all. Just like my father occupies all of my spare thoughts, the faerie occupies all of his. "I don't know," he murmurs quietly.

  "I've been thinking," I tell him, twisting ever so slightly so I can stare up at his face. My hands stop caressing his chest and travel up to his cheek instead. Those churning gray eyes find mine immediately. "I don't think moving her will be a problem, because we'd be doing it to save her. The reason Asher and Jade were able to get closer than anyone else, were able to get past the wall and into the castle, I think, was because their intentions were to save me, not to harm her. Everyone else who ever came from the base was coming here to destroy the magic, to destroy her, and that's why her magic killed them. But we're moving her to protect her."

  He smiles softly, but I can tell by the storm still brewing in his gaze that he's already figured that out. My words provide no comfort. His thoughts are further into the future, focused on the riddle we still haven't been able to solve—how to release his people's magic, how to wake her up and restore them.

  I don't let my thoughts linger too long on that question.

  My gut urges me to change the subject.

  "Cole?"

  "Yeah?"

  I want to tell him I love him.

  I do.

  And I've known it for a while. But in these past few days, every time I try to tell him, the words die on my tongue. My throat closes, locking them away, because when they rise to my lips, they sound too much like goodbye. Too much like a concession instead of a promise.

  I don't know why.

  Or maybe I do. But I'm just not ready to admit it.

  "Thank you," I whisper instead.

  "You don't have to—"

  But I place my finger over his lips, stopping him.

  He nips at me.

  And I realize I've inadvertently awoken my beast.

  "Cole!" I shriek, but it's too late. He's already rolled over, pinning me beneath him, weight heavy enough to keep me from moving, but I know it takes all of his strength to not crush me. His muscles are flexed, holding him over me, and with a low growl, he buries his face in my neck, kissing me until I'm giggling and laughing and filling the air around with happiness instead of sorrow. And when his kisses grow deeper, the mood shifts again, and I know the time for talking is over.

  Hours later, the sun blinds me painfully. I roll away, turning in Cole's arms, grumbling. I'm not ready for the harsh light of day, not ready to face a new dawn. But even in my sleepy mind, a thought stops me.

  Haven’t those curtains been closed for days? Haven't—

  Thunder silences my question.

  The ground beneath us trembles.

  An earthquake.

  That same nightmare all over again.

  "Cole!" I scream, shaking him awake.

  For a moment the earth stills. And then again, my world shudders. And I realize, it's not another earthquake.

  It's the bombs.

  Two days too soon.

  We're both awake in an instant, leaping from the warmth of the bed into the cool morning air, shocking any lingering sluggishness away.

  The ground shifts.

  I lose my footing, slipping sideways, stumbling on uneasy feet until Cole's hands wrap around my waist, steadying me. I latch on to him as though he's my anchor in this storm.

  "My father!" I shriek, trying to be heard over the deafening roar of rock splitting apart.

  "Go," Cole orders. "I'll get your father. I'll get the faerie. Just start running beyond the wall, start running toward the mountains, and we'll catch up to you."

  "No!" I shout, shaking my head. I've spent my life running. I need to help. I need to do something. And then I get an idea. "I think I can buy us some time. Go. I'll meet you outside the front gate as soon as I can."

  "Omorose—"

  But I cut him off with a kiss.

  I know he won’t want me in harm's way, but I can't just run. I can't just save myself and abandon him. I have magic. I have power. I have strength. And I can fight to keep us both alive. There's no way Cole will be able to move fast enough to get my father and the faerie into sleds, no way he can pull them both to safety before the mountain crumbles. We need more time. And I think I know how to get it.

  Before he can mutter a protest, I tear our lips apart and sprint from his room. My father's life is in Cole's hands now, and I know there is no safer place for it to be, especially if I can keep the city afloat for just a little while longer.

  The magic surges to my fingertips before I'm even outside. My mind is already diving deep, connected to the soil and rock, sinking down the side of that cliff, searching for any plants and any roots I can utilize. While my feet continue to pound against stone, leading themselves forward, my thoughts are on the mountain.

  Grow.

  Right now, that simple command is the only thing that matters.

  Grow.

  Every plant within the range of my power listens. Roots elongate, wrapping around stone, across cracks, over and under and through in an intricate underground web. Ivy drops over the city wall, twisting and turning, expanding over the cliff face, crisscrossing into a net.

  Another blast explodes.

  The ground trembles.

  But it steadies. It holds.

  Wrapped up in the power, I feel the vines expand and contract, fighting the pressure of the boulders that want to break free, but the net holds.

  For now.

  I blink away the magic, using my eyes to see, and realize I'm standing at the edge of the earth. Fear freezes me, clenching all my muscles, shocking my system. Sky stretches endlessly before me, and the ground is far, far below, clouded by a morning haze. My cloak whips with the ferocious breeze, flapping loudly. Coarse rocks cut into my palms, and I realize I'm on the city wall, gripping the stones to keep my balance as I stand over the edge of the cliff.

  When the magic took control, I let my feet lead me.

  Why did they have to lead me here?

  Another detonation shakes the ground. Hundreds of feet below, a bulbous orange glow angrily stretches into the air. Smoky tendrils stretch for me, reaching up to the vantage point where I stand, trying to pull me under.

  An electric fire pulses up my chest, a scream I can't unleash, and my heartbeat runs rapid. My lips begin to quiver. My hands too. Every single nerve in my body wants to run, to hide, to cower in terror.

  I've never been afraid of heights.

  But then again, until this moment, I've never been fac
ed with the very real possibility of plunging to my death.

  Be brave.

  The thought pushes through the fear.

  My mother's voice. The exact thing I needed to hear.

  With a deep breath, I charge headfirst back into my magic, wrapping it around me and shrugging off the stifling alarm. My focus returns to the ivy and to the roots, stretched so far they're about to snap.

  I grow more.

  I am the earth.

  I am nature.

  Every time the mountain starts to slip away, dropping one inch, then another, I hold tighter to my power, fusing the vines through the cracks, holding every bit of rock that tries to drop away. I'm stronger than the bombs. I keep together what they break apart. For a moment, I truly feel invincible.

  And then heat burns, flaring over my senses.

  I scream, crying out as pain tears through me.

  My hold on the magic vanishes as fire scalds my skin, yanking me back to reality. I rub at my arms, trying to push the flames away, but when I blink, the sky above me is blue. The stone beneath me is cold. The hurt is gone.

  My heart sinks.

  I rise from my spot on the floor and peer over the edge.

  The cliff has become a wall of fire. All the plants I've grown are little more than tinder, feeding the flames. Already, the ground shifts the slightest bit more.

  But it's enough.

  I don’t need my magic to know the vines are burning away, the ivy is shriveling, the roots are tearing apart.

  The mountain is going to fall.

  And it's going to take me with it.

  "Omorose!" Cole shouts.

  He's far away, running across the city wall. Before I can blink, he shifts into the black bear, charging toward me on all fours.

  I try to run to him.

  But the earth shakes and I fall, tripping over my own feet.

  When I slam against stone, a different power takes hold. Lava courses beneath my skin, lava followed by glaciers that bury the heat, replacing it with a deep freeze. My body seizes as the mix of fire and ice rakes through me. The world disappears for a moment as I fall helplessly into the dark core of my soul where the rose waits. Petals peel away, more than I've ever lost before. And for the first time, the bud looks frail and fragile. The bloom is no longer bright red with life, but a deeper maroon, rotting at the edges. My magic is taking payment. The curse is shredding time away, ripping it forcefully from me. And there is absolutely nothing I can do.

  A wet nose rubs my forehead, rousing me.

  He growls softly, a sound of worry and concern.

  "Cole?" I murmur, reaching blindly.

  My fingers brush against velvet fur and latch on as he sinks down next to me. Every ounce of strength I have goes into lifting my aching body from the stone and rolling onto Cole's back, hugging my arms around his neck.

  And then we run.

  Cole's muscles coil and flex beneath me as he carries us both to safety. Huddled against his warmth, I gradually return to myself. The curse falls away. The magic falls away. I breathe in the woodsy, wild scent of Cole, knowing everything will be okay because I'm with him, we're together, so nothing can go wrong. Then my eyes fall open, landing on the one thing I never thought I would see.

  The faerie woman.

  In the middle of the main street.

  Discarded.

  "Cole!" I shout, gripping tighter.

  But he doesn’t respond, doesn’t slow his movements or growl or do anything.

  "Cole!" I try again, thinking he didn’t hear. "We have to get her. We have to save her. We don't know what will happen."

  But then he roars.

  A deep, torn sound.

  And I know.

  He left her to come find me. He knew exactly what would happen. He knew exactly what he was giving up.

  I turn, peering over my shoulder.

  The city has started to vanish. The ground slopes down behind us, cracking and fissuring, as dust begins to fill the air. A snap shatters the sky, and my eyes flick to the castle. The stones have broken in half. I get the briefest flicker of gold as the ballroom twists into view. Sunlight glimmers off the chandeliers, and then the building sinks, slipping farther and farther back, dropping away. Just like that, the only home I've known in the past ten years disappears, falling out of sight, soon to be a pile of rubble on the ground far below.

  The mountain trembles so violently that my teeth begin to chatter as we run.

  Cole slips, but he doesn't fall.

  Only his instincts keep us alive.

  Every time I glance behind, more of the land has disappeared. We run and run, but not fast enough. The edge of the cliff is creeping closer. And when I glance back to the faerie woman, she is no longer resting peacefully. The sled holding her is sloped, slipping backward, sliding closer and closer to oblivion, taking any chance Cole has at reuniting with his people with her.

  I lose sight of her golden glow when we reach the front gate of the city. Cole leaps from the wall, not even glancing behind, focusing only on the open wilderness ahead. Without pause, he clasps his jaw around the rope attached to my father's sled, dragging us both away from the growing precipice as fast as he can.

  "Cole!" I shout, trying to make him stop.

  But he's a bear.

  And I'm a girl.

  Not really a fair fight.

  Suddenly, I understand what Asher was talking about all those days ago. About sacrifice. About how sometimes the people being sacrificed for might not want to live with the guilt of what was lost.

  I can't.

  I won't be the reason Cole loses everyone he loves.

  A whole race of people.

  An entire kingdom of innocent lives.

  I won't let him make that sacrifice.

  So I dive back into my magic, biting my lip so hard that I bleed, ignoring the metallic taste rolling over my tongue. The curse has depleted my strength. I'm spent. And reaching for my magic is like tugging on a locked door, futile. Still, I yank and pull with all my might until my fingertips start to tingle with power. And it hurts. My body is so weak that even just touching my magic has ignited the curse. My heart burns as more time is ripped away before I've even done anything. But I clench my muscles, fighting the pain, and reach out with my other senses.

  I feel her immediately.

  The magic calls to me, and I respond, wrapping her in vines, coiling them around the sled, and then sending them toward me.

  "Cole," I whisper, trying to get his attention.

  This time, I really think he doesn’t hear. I can barely hear myself.

  So I do the next best thing, I let go of his fur and fall, landing hard against the snow. That pain is nothing compared to the torment of the curse rolling through me. Cole stops immediately, turning toward me with those smoky gray eyes, more mournful than I've ever seen them.

  "Pull," I cough hoarsely.

  I can see he doesn’t understand what I'm trying to say.

  Using more magic, I wrap the vines around his paws, struggling for words as the power and the curse rip through me, euphoric and excruciating all at once.

  His eyes go wide.

  He lets go of the rope connected to my father's sled and sinks his teeth into the vines. He pulls.

  The magic vanishes as the final ounces of my strength give out, and I collapse against the frozen land. At the edges of my vision, I see the faerie. The ground to either side of her is gone, and I know her magic is the only thing keeping her escape route intact, as though it knows we’re doing everything we can to save her. The last remnants of the city wall crumble. Slate roofs all around her drop away. The front gate falls sideways, crashing against the ground and rolling back before disappearing over the edge.

  Cole yanks.

  The sled moves closer. And with each inch of ground gained, the empty road behind her drops away.

  A boom splits the air, the sound of the city shattering against the ground far, far below. A cloud of ash and dust
erupts, shrouding the faerie in darkness.

  For a moment, the earth stops.

  There are no sounds.

  The mountains are still, silent.

  Rocky particles glimmer like ashen snowfall, almost beautiful.

  And then a dull, golden light shines through the shadows, too low to be the sun. Cole grunts, but he doesn’t stop until the sled is right next to my father's, using his claws to slash through the vines my magic created.

  The faerie woman is peacefully asleep.

  Unchanged. Unaffected.

  Cole collapses, discarding the form of the bear and landing on his knees, head bowed to the floor as his fists clench tight in an emotion I don’t know how to read. Relief I think. Overwhelming relief.

  "Cole," I murmur, trying to find my voice. "You…you risked everything."

  He looks up, capturing me with his fierce gaze, charged with lightning fire. "Omorose, you are everything," he confesses softly. I breathe in deep as those words steal all the breath from my chest. "I'd do anything to keep you safe."

  I don't know what to do as he crawls closer, pulling me into his arms, burying his head into my neck, breathing in my scent. I want to throw my arms around him. I want to kiss him, to hold him, to tell him I love him.

  But I'm frozen.

  You are everything.

  I’d do anything to keep you safe.

  Everything.

  Anything.

  Suddenly, I'm nauseous.

  Cole risked everything to be with me. He'd do anything to keep me safe. Because he doesn’t know. Because I never told him.

  He thinks I'm his forever.

  And I wanted so badly for that to be true.

  I wanted so badly to be his forever.

  But time is my curse. Time is the one thing I can't give him.

  I'm going to die. The magic is going to kill me. He's going to be alone, and I'm going to leave him broken and crushed.

  Unless…

  The idea I’d been pushing away flies to the surface, no longer able to be ignored. I've known for a while how this would end, ever since I first touched that faerie and felt her magic pull me under. I wasn't ready to face it then, but now, I am. Knowing that Cole loves me, that he was ready to give up everything for me, makes me want to do the same for him. So I open my heart and my soul and let the truth wash over me.