She does have a point.
But I sort of like the cold—it's an easy excuse to keep Cole close, my own personal furnace. Even now, the warmth from his body presses into my back, blocking out the cold air leaking through the slits in the tent.
"Cole?" I murmur.
He understands, handing me his knife.
I step closer to the faerie, unable to stop a little smile from twitching at the corners of my lips as I realize we're both staring at each other with the same look of mutual disgust. By now, I would have thought my frustration with her would have ebbed. After all, I've been in this tent countless times in the past two weeks, going over every detail of my sister's face that I could remember, planning how to get her back. I even let the faerie use a touch of magic to see into my mind and relive those last few moments of my life when the curse passed over, giving her every ounce of knowledge of my sister's whereabouts that I possess. Yet, for some reason, she just knows how to get under my skin and stay there.
When we're within arm's distance of each other, I stop, not getting any closer than I need to. And the way she's wrinkling her nose makes it clear she doesn’t want me to come any closer anyway.
Gritting my teeth, I make a small cut across the palm of my hand and hold out the knife. She does the same. The moment we hold hands and the wounds touch, I sense the magic pulsing between us. A faerie blood oath is supposed to be an unbreakable bond, one Cole and I discovered in our research. But I never truly believed what I read until right now, feeling the power start to bind us.
"Do you swear to find my sister as soon as you can and to return her to me, unharmed, as quickly as you are able?"
The magic tightens, waiting.
I hold my breath.
The faerie looks at me, raising one brow as though bored. "I swear to find your sister as soon as I can and to return her here to you unharmed as quickly as I'm able."
I don't let go. The tingle of magic washes over me, buzzing, standing each of my hairs on end. The faerie shakes out of my hold, wriggling free of my grasp with a frown on her lips.
Our hands fall apart.
But the touch of magic lingers.
An invisible tether crosses the space between us, tying us together.
The oath.
Instantly, the weight on my chest lightens. It worked.
"Anything else?" she remarks, voice dripping with sarcasm.
I lick my lips, pausing. Then I sigh. "Be kind to her, please. She's just a little girl who's all alone. And," I pause, and reach into the bag I dropped by the entrance of the tent, pulling out the old tattered bear that's comforted me so much in the past ten years. It's time to return Mr. Winky to my sister. He always belonged to her, and now she's the one who will need to be brave, who will need the comfort and strength a little piece of home might provide. "And give her this."
The faerie holds my gaze for a moment and I can't help but notice there is something sweet in her expression, something tender that I've never seen directed toward me before. But her eyes flick away, landing on Mr. Winky, and whatever I thought I saw vanishes. She uses her thumb and pointer finger to grab the little bear by the ear, holding him as far away as possible. And then, as always, she opens her mouth and completely ruins whatever little moment I thought we'd been sharing. "What in the world is this?"
I wince as he dangles precariously between us. He's already missing an eye, and I can just see the seam of his ear begin to rip. "My sister will understand," I say roughly, grabbing Mr. Winky and stuffing him into the faerie's bag before she has the chance to say no. "When you find her, just give him to her and tell her he's from me. Tell my sister that I love her and that I'm waiting and that I wish I could have gone with you. Tell her not to be afraid of the magic, tell her I know how to keep her safe. Please, just..."
I lose my words.
They're choked off by a lump in my throat.
A flicker of compassion passes over the faerie's face, a glimpse of the heart I know must exist somewhere inside of her. But then she flinches, as though annoyed with herself for softening even a little, even for a second.
"I'll be her fairy freaking godmother, okay?" the faerie snaps. And then she sighs, waving a hand over the front of her face and mumbling too quietly for me to hear.
Immediately, her body begins to fade, vanishing in midair.
The room is empty.
The faerie is gone, as though she never existed in the first place.
"Did you know she could do that?" Cole asks, utterly confused.
I shake my head, glancing around the room, trying to find a trace of her. "No," I mutter, brows coming together tight. "If she could have left us the entire time, why did she stay? Why did she swear the oath? Why is she helping us?"
"I don't know." He sighs, reaching out to grasp my shoulders, turning me around so I'm looking into his eyes and not at the vacant room. "But she did," he urges. "She swore the oath. Everything will be all right."
I nod absently. "I just wish I could have gone with her. I hate that someone else is saving my sister. I hate that I'm not helping."
"Your father needs you here," he murmurs gently, cupping my cheeks, trying to soothe me with the timbre of his voice. And it works. A little. "Besides," he continues, "You saw what the faerie just did, you saw her magic. She's faster alone, without either of us helping. Your sister will be here before you know it, and by the time she arrives, we'll have figured out how to save her. We'll know how to break her curse."
I try to smile, but it doesn’t work.
Because I want to believe him but I'm not sure I do.
"You never told me her name," he comments, trying to change the subject, to get me to think about something else.
"Eleanor," I tell him, voice heavy with all the worries I'm too afraid to say. "But we always called her Ella."
"Ella," he repeats, voice light, cheerful. Cole lifts my chin, trying to tug a grin out of me.
It doesn't work.
A moment later, I find myself swept up in his arms, unable to stop from laughing just a little.
"Cole! Put me down!"
"No," he replies easily, leaning down to press his lips against my neck, eliciting a soft sigh.
But then I remember who's right outside those doors.
And I have a feeling, even as humans, his uncles have the ears of wolves.
"Cole," I warn. "Put me down."
He purrs against my skin, making me shiver.
"Cole," I protest.
Weakly.
So weakly.
He continues dancing light kisses across my shoulder, up my neck, just below my ear.
"Cole…"
The word comes out as a sigh.
But then a soft chuckle makes its way through the slit in the tent, before fading into a cough.
"Cole!" I shout, fully alert, flinging myself from his arms. Before he can say or do anything, I jump out of the tent, cheeks burning with a blush. I keep my eyes on the ground below my feet, not making eye contact with anyone.
Behind me, a gruff growl breaks the silence of the day as the tent flap is thrown violently open. The slap of tarp is followed by some under-the-breath comments I don't quite catch.
"Tamed…"
"She-wolf…"
"Happens to the best of us…"
Cole roars.
His uncles howl.
And before I realize what's happening, I've been tossed over a very broad shoulder, suddenly airborne again.
"Cole."
"Omorose."
"Cole," I repeat, voice harder.
He shifts, sliding me around so I'm nestled in his arms with my head pressed against his chest. And then he gruffly mutters, "I think I liked it better when we were alone."
But he's grinning.
And his smoky, gray eyes are streaked with those midnight-blue highlights I love so much. The sight of them steals the protest from my lips. So I wrap my arms around his neck, trying to ignore the gentle catcalling drawing everyone's
attention to us. But my cheeks still feel on fire.
"Where are we going?"
He glances down at me with a look that sends heat all the way to the tips of my toes. "Somewhere with a little bit of privacy."
A delicious sort of anticipation builds, making my nerves go haywire, driving me wild. I have to look away because otherwise I'm afraid my inner she-wolf will emerge, making me want to maul him in front of everyone anyway. And I know in that moment, his uncles are wrong. I definitely didn't tame my beast. There's nothing tame or broken about us.
We set each other free.
I press my head against his chest, listening to his heart beat just a little bit faster with each passing moment, and I let him carry me away. Because I know I'll go wherever he wants to take me.
In these arms, I found a place where I belong.
In these arms, I know everything will be all right.
In these arms, I fell in love.
And I'm never letting go.
###
Thank you for reading! Don't miss
Once Upon a Curse Book Three
The classic fairy tale of Cinderella gets retold—only this faerie isn't a godmother, she's a priestess, and it's not Cinderella she wants, it's her magic! Add one prince. Subtract one pumpkin. And don't forget the glass slipper…
Coming in 2017!
Sign up at the below link to be notified the morning it goes on-sale!
TinyLetter.com/KaitlynDavisBooks
Want more from Kaitlyn?
Don't miss her other series—Midnight Fire and A Dance of Dragons!
Midnight Fire is a bestselling young adult paranormal romance perfect for fans of The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The first book, Ignite, is free!
A Dance of Dragons is a young adult fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Graceling, and Game of Thrones.
The A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle is free!
About The Author
Bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis writes young adult fantasy novels under the name Kaitlyn Davis and contemporary romance novels under the name Kay Marie.
Always blessed with an overactive imagination, Kaitlyn has been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to share her work with the world. When she's not daydreaming, typing stories, or getting lost in fictional worlds, Kaitlyn can be found indulging in some puppy videos, watching a little too much television, or spending time with her family.
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Withering Rose (Once Upon a Curse Book 2) Page 21
