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ROSE FELT HER HEART squeeze as she hurried up the tower steps. She was not sure how she managed to find her way to this place, of all places, but Theo’s voice called to her. There was no ignoring it.
Just like there was no ignoring the sinister aura coming from the other side of the tower door.
Rose hesitated for the last second. She felt afraid, more afraid than she had ever felt before.
And then she shook her head and pushed the door open.
As she stepped into the room, she gasped. “Theo.”
He stood at the far end of the room, as a familiar-looking fairy with black wings and broad shoulders held him captive on his knees. There was also a wooden spinning wheel waiting beside him.
Rose narrowed her eyes at him. “Everon.” She reached for her sword, realizing it was not there. She had left it behind in her room when she had changed into her wedding dress.
“Princess Aurora,” Everon greeted her. “I’m glad you were able to join us. And I’m sure your groom is also happy to see you ... aren’t you?”
Theo remained still, only letting Rose meet his gaze. There was something somber in those familiar green eyes, and Rose knew at once that they were trapped.
But that did not mean she would not fight.
“I asked you a question,” Everon muttered to Theo, before slamming his sword hilt into Theo’s torso.
“Stop it,” Rose said. “Tell me why you are here.”
“You should know why,” Everon snarled. “But then, I suppose you must not know, if you have yet to run away.”
“I’ve never run from a battle,” Rose said. “And I won’t start now.” She stepped into the room slowly, trying to find a way to keep Everon distracted while she put a plan together.
“That is good to hear,” Everon said. “But I don’t plan to battle you.”
Rose frowned. “What do you mean?”
Everon, keeping the sword tight against Theo’s neck, nodded toward the spinning wheel. Rose could see a glimmer of light shining on the spindle.
She understood at once.
“This is the spinning wheel of my true love,” Everon told her. “Your true love, this scum here, killed her without mercy.”
“She killed others, and sought to harm plenty,” Rose objected. “And you killed his family, too. If you expect mercy where justice is due, you are only going to be disappointed.”
“Rose,” Theo said. “Please.”
She turned to him. His eyes were soft with sadness, and she felt all of her former despair flood her again. “This can’t be happening.”
“Oh, it is,” Everon said, a wicked smile on his face. “And to make sure things work out the way I want them to, I’ll need you to get rid of that ruby on your wrist first.”
“No,” Theo said. “No, just kill me, Everon. Do it and be done with it.”
Rose unlatched the bracelet from her wrist.
“Toss it on the floor in front of me,” Everon ordered.
Rose frowned. “Let Theo go free,” she said.
“Toss me the Rose Ruby,” Everon said. “Annalora deserves to have it, not you.”
“Don’t do it, Rose,” Theo said. “Don’t do it. Just run and get out of here.”
Rose heard a small whimper escape her—before she remembered. “He can’t do anything,” she realized. “The Rose Ruby will cancel out any magic on it. Even if I can’t use it, he can’t, either.”
“Toss it here then,” Everon ordered. His voice was strangely calm, but Rose watched as he pressed the tip of his sword into Theo’s neck.
I can’t watch him die, Rose thought. She tossed the ruby onto the floor in front of Everon and Theo, and hoped that she would be able to get a hold of it before Everon used any spell on her.
“Good.” Everon moved forward. Rose desperately hoped Theo would be able to find a way to get free from him, but as soon as Everon moved, she realized Theo was trapped by more than just Everon’s sword. He was under a spell, unable to move.
Rose blanched. She had gambled on being able to free him, and she lost.
Everon held up the sword in his hand. “Before I destroy this ruby, I really must thank you for allowing me to borrow your sword.”
Rose gasped as she realized he was wielding the sword of Queen Lucia.
“So you will kill me and the one I love with my own sword,” she whispered. “Why? That won’t bring Annalora back, or your mother.”
“I could care less that you killed my mother,” Everon said. “She might have wanted me to avenge her, and I will, but only because Annalora is gone. My mother hated her, but they were both right in the end. The only pursuit worth chasing is power. If I had more, I could have prevented them both from dying.”
If he was not about to kill Theo, Rose might have felt some sympathy for Everon.
She had even less as she watched him use her sword to strike into the heart of the Rose Ruby.
The ruby cracked as the dragon’s blood flowed from her sword, blackening as it split into several shards.
Rose glanced back at Theo, who was just as horrified as she was. She glanced back at Everon, as he returned to his position, standing over Theo.
“Now that I’ve taken care of that,” he said, “I think it is time we turned our attention to you, Princess. We have business to discuss.”
“I know Magdalina wanted me to marry you,” Rose said quietly. “And if you spare Theo, I will agree to it.”
“No!” Theo yelled. “No, Rose, don’t do it. I’m not worth it.”
Rose gasped in horror as he flung himself forward. “No, Theo,” she cried.
Everon stepped to the side, jerking the sword out of Theo’s way, laughing as Theo fell forward onto the floor, still trapped by his magic. “How noble,” he said mockingly. “You have one brave knight here, Princess.”
“Please, Everon,” Rose said. “We can be married right now. Everything is ready to go. Just let him go, and the kingdom will be yours to rule, and yours to rule rightly.”
Rose did not look at Theo as Everon considered her offer.
She was startled when Everon only laughed a moment later. “There is no reason for me to marry you,” he told her. “I can take over the kingdom when you are gone. After all, everything is already in place. Everyone else is already asleep.”
“Rose, just get out of here,” Theo told her. “Run. You can run away and live to fight him another day.”
“I won’t leave you.”
“Yes, you will.” Everon told her. “I didn’t just bring Annalora’s spinning wheel here for show, Princess. It is time that I avenge both Annalora and my mother—for even as much as I despised her, she fought for me, and I should honor her.”
“I killed your mother,” Rose said. “Her curse won’t work.”
“Her curse has no power over you,” Everon said. “But it will still work. You just have to choose whether or not you would like to sleep forever. Either that, or I can kill your love, and then kill you.”
Rose glanced back at the spindle, the small spark glinting in the dim light.
“You know I’m right,” Everon said. “And truth be told, I would rather not kill you. Not when I know there are worse things than death. Don’t you agree, Theo?”
“No,” Theo called out. “No, don’t do it, Rose. I changed my mind. I don’t want to marry you. I don’t love you. I don’t want you, Rose.” There was an uncharacteristic harshness to his voice, but Rose never faltered.
Before he could say anything else, Rose reached out with her hand and let the spindle slide deep into her forefinger.
As she held herself there, sucking in her breath at the small, sharp pain, she turned back to Theo. “I know you’re lying,” she told him, as her blood trickled down the silver spindle and drippled onto the floor.
Power and light danced before her blurry eyes, before she fell down in surrender to the power of her curse.
“No!” Theo yelled as his heart tore in two, watching as his beautiful Rose withered and tumbled down. Her hair fanned out behind her, the short locks offering their softness as a small pillow.
He struggled against Everon’s hold once more, more desperate and determined than ever to get to her. Theo was briefly distracted as he suddenly found himself free.
Theo glanced up and stared. Burning white light began pouring out of the spindle alongside a shadow; the two shades, one of light and one of darkness, danced together, battling each other, before exploding into pure, bright light.
A half of a second before it exploded through the room, Theo heard Everon scream in agony. He peeked over and squinted over at his enemy. He watched in painful awe as the light was burning him, the darkness was binding him, and then everything went bright and silent.
The silence was terrifying.
Theo felt his heart racing as he opened his eyes once more, surprised to see that he was unaffected by the explosion. He saw the empty space beside him.
Everon was gone.
There was nothing of him left, and Theo could not bring himself to feel anything over it. Everything in him cried out for Rose.
“Rose,” he gasped, hurrying over to her. He cradled her gently against his chest, pulling her into his lap. Theo frantically began searching her for a pulse, looking for any sign that she would be alright.
After all, he reasoned, Everon is gone. Magdalina is gone. The curse should no longer affect Rose ... right?
He did not want to think about how she was not supposed to fall asleep, how she was not supposed to prick her finger at all, following Magdalina’s death.
At his touch, she sighed deeply, and at the warmth of her breath on his cheek, he stilled. “Rose?” he whispered. “Rose?” His hands framed her face, pushing back her hair, allowing him to see her fully.
There was no answer.
“No.” Theo felt his heart as it collapsed inside of him, as he waited for a response he feared would never come. He pulled her face to his, laying his forehead on hers. Theo could not stop the rush of tears as he held her close, burying his face into the crook of her neck, seeking warmth where there was only the chill of sleeping death. “Please, God, no.”
As he held her, he recalled what Thad had said before, about true love’s kiss. Was it possible that it would work?
Theo pressed his lips against hers, tasting nothing of her former warmth. He felt disappointment sink in as he slowly pulled away from her.
Theo could barely see through his eyes, as his teardrops fell onto Rose’s cheeks.
“Rose,” he said, his voice hoarse, his heart aching. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. I don’t know if there was ever a moment, in all the years I’ve known you, that I didn’t love you. I promise I won’t stop loving you, not now or ever.”
He gripped her hands, surprised to feel a bracelet on her arm. Theo looked to see the familiar gleam of his rosary beads. He touched them lightly, as he had before when she would sleep, praying Rose would dream of him, of all the good times they had with their friends and with each other.
As despair took him, he leaned down and kissed her once more, lingering long enough to taste the saltiness of his tears as they mixed in with the sweetness of her lips.
“God,” he whispered. “I don’t know why bad things happen. I don’t know if there is any true good left in this world. But I know you are good, Heavenly Father, and I know you have the power to set the captive free, just as much as you can give peace that passes all understanding. And even though my heart is broken now, I can only thank you. I didn’t deserve her at all, but I was able to have her, to call her mine, for a short time. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, for your gift. For your love. God, I love her so much.”
He embraced Rose again, sadness overwhelming him once more. He barely noticed that her body was suddenly warm.
But when she shifted beneath him, ever so slightly, he went completely still.
“Theo?”
Rose’s voice was a hushed whisper against the quiet of the room.
“Oh, God, thank you,” Theo cried. He could not stop the rush of grateful pleasure as she stirred. “Rose, you’re awake!”
Her hands twitched, and then she reached for him. “Oh, Theo,” she whispered again. “I am awake, aren’t I? But it still feels like a dream.”
“Rose.” Theo gripped her lightly as he kissed her again, unable to keep himself from her any longer.
She gave him a shaky laugh as she pulled back. “Careful,” she said. “I might faint.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be,” Rose said. “If anything, I’m the one who is sorry.”
“What?” Theo glanced up at her, stunned. “You just sacrificed yourself to save me. You have nothing to be sorry about.”
She began brushing away his tears, tenderly running her fingertips over his face. “Yes, I do. I’m so sorry. When I was sleeping, I saw Amalia again.”
“Amalia? The one who guards the Serpent’s Garden?”
“Yes,” Rose replied. “She said that she had a message for me.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me I would wake up and come back to you, for one,” Rose said. “It is really amazing how what we fear turns out to be nothing to fear at all.”
“I wonder if she was the one who killed Everon,” Theo murmured, glancing over near the spinning wheel.
“She said his time had come for judgment,” Rose said.
“I wasn’t sure it if the spell had gone wrong, or if it was something more—”
“That’s not the important part of what Amalia told me. What is important is that I know now that I never saw past my own curse,” Rose explained. “And for that, I am sorry.”
Theo kissed her palm, letting her fingers rub into the grainy stubble of his cheeks. “But you did,” he protested. “You traveled the world and helped people as you looked for answers. You gave back, Rose, despite having everything you wanted out of reach.”
“But I never saw that you were cursed, too,” Rose told him. “Magdalina was the one who cursed me, but you were the one who was hurt more because of it, and it was because of me. All because you loved me.”
Rose pulled him down to her, kissing his chin softly. “I never saw how much you were cursed by loving me—and even when I did, I pulled back from you, no matter how hard you fought for me, no matter how long you searched for a way past my defenses.”
“Every knight of Rhone has to go on a quest,” Theo reminded her. “And every moment was worth it, because in the end, I was rewarded with true love’s kiss. Or maybe I should say we were rewarded?”
Rose returned his teasing smile, before she sighed happily. “Amalia said that you had a gift for me, and it was time to wake up so I could finally claim it as my own.”
“I don’t really have a gift for you.”
“Yes, you do,” Rose said. “The gift of yourself—the gift of your heart.” She placed her hand over his heart, letting her hand press into the sweaty fabric of his tunic.
Her eyes met his. “I asked before you why God allowed me to be cursed. I knew Magdalina cursed me, but I never realized that, even though I was cursed, I still had his gift right in front of me, the entire time. I see it now. Every step of knowing the truth about my curse, you were always there for me. You are the real beauty in my life. That’s the real magic, isn’t it?”
“Oh, Rose. There is no magic here,” Theo said. “Only love.” He kissed her again, pulling her closer. Theo could not stop his hands from running through her hair, running down her back, touching her skin. He had almost lost her, he realized. He had come so close to losing her.
Never again, he vowed to himself, sealing his promise with his kiss.
“Ahem.”
Theo and Rose glanced up to see a sleepy Mary at the door.
“I guess everything is okay now?” she asked.
“Actually,” Rose said, “everything is better than okay.”
“Rose is right.” Theo smiled down at her. “Even though I think we are late for our wedding.”
“It seems we are all a bit late,” Mary said. She saw the spinning wheel behind them. “I will have to hear the story later, when you get a chance, Rose.”
As Theo held her arms, lending her support, Rose stood up and brushed her wedding dress off. “Theo can tell you all about it,” she said, surprising them. “After all, he is the one who promised me a long time ago that he would write down my legend.”
“That is true,” Theo told her. His eyes roamed down her body possessively, before meeting her gaze once more. “I guess I should probably write everything down. So I can tell the whole story to my children one day.”
Rose’s eyes watered with happy tears as she leaned in and kissed him again.
“You two are getting as bad as Isra and Philip,” Mary said. “So come on. You’ll have plenty of time for that later. Your grandfather was complaining earlier about having to wait so long. I can’t imagine he’s any better now, even though we all had some unexpected sleep.”
“Well,” Theo said. “I can sympathize with him for that. I think we have waited long enough, too.”
“Yes,” Rose agreed. “We have.”
Together, they made their way down from the tower, and headed to the main ballroom, where their friends, family, and future were all waiting for them.