Chapter 3 - The curse

He continued shamelessly, “This curse that threatens my life and the stability of my kingdom."

I stared at him. Then I laughed. It was not a pleasant laugh. "You need my help? I'm seventeen years old. I have no magical abilities. I've never successfully completed a school examination without cheating, and I was not considered very intelligent. I was considered plain. Plain and difficult. Whoever told you I could break a curse was lying to you."

"None of those facts," Azriel said calmly, "changes the curses' requirements."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "What happens if I refuse?"

For the first time, he hesitated. It was a small thing, a fraction of a second, but I saw it. "I have no intention of killing or hurting you," he said.

"That," I said, "is a remarkably low standard for a captor."

"You will be given everything you need while you remain in the castle," he continued, as if I hadn't spoken. "Food, clothing and comfort. You will want and lack for nothing."

"Okay. I want a door that opens onto the human world. I want to go back."

"No."

I smiled at him. "Then we have a problem. Because if you expect my cooperation, you've made a serious mistake."

Azriel tilted his head, studying me with those golden eyes. "And what mistake might that be?"

I met his gaze, unflinching. "You bought the wrong girl."

He didn't respond. He simply looked at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he turned and walked out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

I stood there, my heart pounding, my hands shaking. I had to find a way to get out of this place, I thought

I turned to the window.

The forest was still there, dark and alien beneath that too-large moon. But as I watched, the glass shimmered, and the view changed. The forest dissolved into a city of white stone and silver spires, gleaming under a sky of deep purple. Then that faded too, replaced by a coastline, the waves crashing against obsidian cliffs, the water black as ink.

The windows weren't showing the forest outside. They were showing different parts of a world I had never seen. A world that was real, and strange, and utterly beyond my understanding.

I pressed my hand against the cold glass, the reality of my situation settling over me like a shroud.

I was not in the orphanage anymore.

I was somewhere else entirely, far and far away from the world I knew.

And I had no idea how I was going to get out.

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I didn't sleep. I spent the night curled in the center of that absurdly large bed, the letter opener clutched in my hand, watching the windows shift and shimmer with scenes from a world I didn't understand. Cities of silver and stone, oceans black as ink. Forests that seemed to breathe. Every few hours, the view would change, as if the glass itself was restless, searching for something it couldn't find.

When morning came, it arrived without warning. The golden light simply brightened, the strange moon fading into a sky of deep violet and rose. I heard footsteps in the corridor outside, and I tensed, my fingers tightening around the opener's handle.

The door swung open.

Azriel entered first, looking as immaculate and infuriating as he had the night before. His black hair was swept back from his face, those curved horns catching the light. He wore dark blue today, the silver embroidery on his jacket forming patterns that seemed to shift when I looked at them too long.

Behind him came a servant carrying a tray laden with food. My stomach betrayed me with a loud growl. Then came another servant, this one holding a pile of clothing in rich fabrics. And finally, a third figure entered, an older woman with sharp features and sharper eyes, carrying a leather bag that clinked with the sound of glass bottles.

"The royal physician," Azriel said, gesturing to the woman. "She will examine you to ensure you are in good health."

I didn't move from the bed. "I'm not touching any of it."

The physician raised an eyebrow. Azriel's expression remained neutral, but I saw the slight tightening around his jaw. "The food is not poisoned."

"I didn't say it was. I said I'm not touching it." I sat up straighter, pulling the blanket around my shoulders like a shield. "You drugged me to get me here. Forgive me if I'm not eager to consume anything you offer."

The physician glanced at Azriel, clearly waiting for instructions. He waved a hand, dismissing her. "Wait outside."

She left without a word. The servants followed, setting down their burdens and retreating. The door clicked shut, and suddenly it was just the two of us.

Azriel stood in the center of the room, his arms crossed over his chest. "You are being difficult."

"I'm being intelligent," I corrected. "There's a difference."

He studied me for a long moment. "What do you want?"

"The real truth." I swung my legs over the side of the bed, the letter opener still in my hand. I didn't bother hiding it. Let him see. Let him know I wasn't defenseless. "How much money did you pay for me? What is this curse you speak of?"

His jaw tightened. "That is not..."

"How much?"

"Three hundred gold pieces."

I felt the blood drain from my face. Three hundred gold. I had stolen a pouch with perhaps thirty coins and thought I was rich. Three hundred gold was enough to buy a small house. Enough to live comfortably for years. Rusk had sold me for the price of a modest estate.

"And who authorized the purchase?" I demanded. "You? Some advisor? A committee of demons with nothing better to do than buy orphan girls?"

"I did not authorize it personally," Azriel said, his voice carefully controlled. "My steward handles such matters."

"Your steward." I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "So you just sent a note saying 'Find me a human girl, any human girl, I'm not particular' and he handled the details?"

"That is not..."

"What exactly do you expect me to do?" I cut him off. "You said there's a curse. What does it involve? Do I need to recite words? Hold a candle? Sacrifice a goat? Am I the sacrifice? What?"

Azriel moved to the window, his back to me. The morning light caught the edges of his horns, making them gleam. "The curse is inherited through my bloodline. And it has gotten worse because of my mixed heritage," he said, his voice quieter now. "It has begun to consume me, the horns and fangs you see on me are as a result of the curse. My wolf nature is turning against me. If it continues, I will lose my mind and become a beast entirely for the rest of my life. My body will twist into something monstrous. I will become a beast forever and destroy my kingdom."