I sat the plate, with ritual symbols carved into clay, on the ground. The book lay open on a spell, but my master would not grant me the power for even a tiny spell unless I did his bidding first.
“Kill them, or I’ll kill you. I will not ask again.”
His hold on me grew tighter by the day, strangling my soul. It was an itch too deep to scratch, an ache too strong to ease. I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly.
“Please, don’t,” I whispered aloud.
“I will bequeath great power unto you. I will give you everything you desire. Beauty. Strength. Vengeance. All you must do is take one life.”
I swallowed hard, pulling my fingers up to my throat and gently caressing the skin. “One life and no more,” I said, relenting. “Just one.” I ran through a list in my head. I could have taken one of my sisters’ lives, releasing me from my vengeance, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt my family, no matter how estranged I was. Perhaps Zalia’s lady who had followed me… She would have deserved it, but then Zalia would have suspected me.
The smooth walls around me felt like they were closing in, and the strings of my corset too tight. The silver, ornate framed mirror reflected over my room, above the unlit fireplace. Walking lightly over smooth stone floor, I approached my reflection with a solemn stare. Touching my cheek, I pondered what life must’ve been like for the beautiful. I could’ve had it all. To be in the highest of service to my people, a servant to the kingdom—a queen. My tiara could have been traded for the crown that sat upon my father’s young curls, youth bestowed to him with a ring that granted him the immortality of a fae. No one could take it from him unless he chose to relinquish.
Unless I could.
With my master’s power. There was no more evading. It was time.
I grabbed my traveling cloak, red with white trim. I pulled the hood over my face, then turned to the secret passageway that led out of my room and past the guards. They linked the old part of the castle with the newer rooms, but over time, they’d become a maze only I knew.
“It is time then,” I said to myself, pulling strength into my trembling bones. “To kill.”
* * *
There she was. The girl who had lived. She couldn’t be allowed to leave. My master had already declared it so; she would die, and I would be the one to tear out her heart. He was growing impatient. He needed a young soul. I didn’t know what for, but I knew better than to ask questions.
She sat surrounded by friends on a window ledge. Had she not learned her lesson? She threw her head back laughing at a joke I couldn’t make out. In the daylight, I could see her better. She wore imperfections that made her look more human than flawless, like freckles smattered around her button nose and dark creases under the eyes that she’d done her best to conceal with white powder.
“Spying on girls you’ll never have as friends? It’s creepy.”
I whipped my head around to look at Zalia. She pointed at the pimples covering her otherwise flawless skin. “They’re still there.” She growled under her breath. “When will your curse wear off?”
I tilted my head to the side, smirking. “Oh, that is unfortunate. Although, I think it is quite the improvement… Perhaps they will stay for good.”
“That better not be true!”
“Evangeline.” Caspian ran toward us, his breaths quickening.
Wide-eyed, I looked from Zalia to him. “I’ve found you…” He paused when he saw Zalia. “Your highness.” He bowed. “Pardon the intrusion.”
“I am amid a conversation with my sister.”
He squinted under the light. “Sister? Wait, you’re a princess?”
Zalia rolled her eyes. “How do you know one another?”
I looked at Zalia. “I bumped into him in the gardens. That was all.”
“Well…” Zalia exhaled wearily. “Stay back in your room. If I found out you’ve left again for another midnight stroll, Father will rain his wrath down upon you.” She snapped her fingers at Caspian. “As you are a guest to the court, faery, you may leave us.”
He burned red, balling his fists at his sides.
“You must take my advice and stay away from this one,” she stated. “She is nothing but trouble.”
He unclenched his fists, then grinned, making me smile too. “I happen to like trouble, princess.” He spat the word like venom. He was growing on me.
Her eyebrows wrinkled. “Disgusting.” She shook her head, then pushed us apart. “I will have your chambers checked in an hour,” she warned as she walked away.
Once she was out of earshot, I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Princess.”
“Yes.” I flushed red.
“You left that out.”
“I’m not an important royal. I was locked away.”
“Why?”
I looked at him incredulously. “Look at me. I’m hideous.”
Confusion swept his features. “Evangeline, you are the most beautiful woman at this court. I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted you alone, then you seemed to shy. It was surprising.”
“You must be joking. I’m a beast.” I ran my fingers over the bumps in my skin. “Every time I look in the mirror, I want to cry.”
His eyes widened, then he tapped his finger against his chin. “Have you always been, um, forgive me for using your words, hideous?”
I inhaled sharply. “No.”
“It just happened one day?”
I nodded.
“Ah. That makes sense.”
“What?” I asked.
He shot me an amused look. “I don’t see the ugliness you persist is there.”
“Don’t be kind.”
“Really. You’re beautiful.”
He paused, spending far too long staring at me. I looked away, feeling naked and vulnerable. I wished he would stop staring. “You must be cursed.” His tone was steady. Not a single shred of humor laced his words. He was being serious.
“I’m sorry?”
“Us faeries can see through curses and glamours. It’s the only explanation I can think of as to why you do not see what I do. I see the real you, Evangeline, and regardless of the curse, it really isn’t about how one looks when I choose who I befriend. Although, I admit it is why I first approached you.” He placed his hand on mine, sending shockwaves through me. “I am immortal. Looks fade in time, but loyalty, strong spirit, and intelligence last a lifetime. Don’t let anyone make you feel less than what you are, and more than that, don’t let yourself believe it. You have such spirit. You do not see us as lesser than you. You were disgusted seeing the dragons’ eggs. You have more kindness in your little finger than most have in their entire bodies.”
My shoulders slumped. How I wished it were true. “You don’t know me.”
“I see you, Evangeline.”
Tears fell thick and fast before I could catch myself. “I’m sorry. This is the first time…” I trailed off.
“You’re overwhelmed. It’s okay. You are okay.”
His words grounded me. I felt the dagger inside my robe, and it weighed heavier than ever. I swallowed hard, attempting to remove the lump in my throat. “I must leave for my chambers.”
“Wait.” He grabbed my arm, lightly. His touch felt like stars. “I need your help.” His eyebrows drew together, wrinkling his forehead. The light from the moon shone onto his face, paling his features. I could hear the ladies in the background, around the corner from us, too busy in their rowdiness to hear our conversation. “Can I trust you, Evangeline?”
I knew I could not lie to a faery. “You can trust me not to go to my father about what you say.”
He smiled. “Ah, you’d do well at our court, you know. Dancing around the truth.”
“What is it you need?” I questioned.
“My people are in the dungeons, being tortured.”
I shuddered. It was what I had feared. “How did you get past the guards?”
He tapped his pocket, and the sound of coins clashing together told me he had bribed them.
“Disloyalty,” I grumbled.
“They are tormenting them.”
“I know.” I hesitated, fumbling my fingers. “Who sent you here?”
“The king, or should I say your father, believes me to be the ambassador to aid in negotiations after his treaty with my people, but my king sent me to find out the truth. There were rumors about the sorcerer’s treatment of our people, and now it is confirmed. I must free them, then flee.”
“You’ve risked a lot by telling me this.”
He grabbed his hands in mine and squeezed slightly. “I have learned, over time, who to confide in and not. I do not understand why, but I feel a pull toward you.” He reached up and brushed his hand down my cheek, then my neck. “You are a princess, but one so carelessly thrown away. Help me take revenge against those who would suppress not only me, not just my people, but you too.”
“You saw a kindred spirit,” I said slowly, uncertain in his trust.
“I tend to look for these traits.”
I looked down at my feet. It was growing colder, not for anyone else, just me. My master was at the end of his patience, freezing me from the inside, forcing my hand until I took another’s life. I needed to get away and kill before I was the one murdered. “No,” I said, hoping it was enough to excuse myself, that he would let me leave. “Understand I will not tell my father, but I cannot aid you. My loyalty is to Berovia.”
He let go of his grip on me and stepped back. “What has Berovia ever done for you?”