Elias held me while I cried, not speaking a single word. Instead, he just made comforting noises while his hand rubbed soothing circles against my back. I knew that I didn't deserve this kindness that he was giving me, but I couldn't bring myself to try to pull away from it. After days of being with Vladimier and dealing with conflicting emotions at all times, it was just too wonderful to be in the arms of the man that I truly loved."I know you're upset, and now isn't the time to be asking this," Elias began, finally breaking his silence. "You mentioned that you were used to cast the curse."Tensing I began to realize exactly what it was that he wanted to know. He wanted to know if there was a way to break the curse since I knew how to cast it. Of course, I knew how to break the curse, but there was only one way to do it. To break the curse, I would have to repeat what happened to cast it."There is a way to lift it." I responded slowly while sitting up enough to wipe tears from my fa

I felt a shiver rush through me at Elias' sweet words and tender touch. It was definitely going to take a lot for me to get used to him being like this."I think I will go find a healer." Tristan said slowly, drawing my attention to him."You don't have to." I said, quickly blushing ferociously. "I'm really okay."I was okay, truly. However, I wasn't going to be okay. I had almost forgotten what I had been told about slowly dying. That meant that eventually I would start to show signs of the end, and I wasn't sure how Elias would take it."What's wrong?" The man in question asked, immediately catching on to my discomfort. "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?""I'm fine." I assured him, plastering on a fake smile. "I just want to be able to go back to Allsbrook."For now, I simply wanted to go back to the place that had become my home and spend the rest of the time I had left with Elias. I didn't want to have to worry about a major battle or about having to kill someone."Soon," Elias s

For the next few days, Elias and I laid low in the cabin that Tristan provided for us. Each morning, he would bring us food and a change of clothes and then disappear for the rest of the day, leaving us to our own devices. It was a good time for us to grow closer—much closer. It was also a good time for me to tell him a bit more about my past than I now remembered, starting from when I was born to the time I was murdered.I knew that it pained Elias to hear these things, but he listened quietly and didn't ask many questions. Likewise, he told me more about his past, like the time before the curse. Back when he was a happy young boy, the king wasn't so strict and smiled more. It looked like we were a pair of ruined souls that somehow managed to find each other despite the difference in universes and time."You awake?" Elias murmured on the morning of the third day.I was, but I was still thinking about everything, including the fact that I hadn't told him that I was slowly dying. As tim