Page 139 of Of Curses and Courtship

“Keep going,” Ophelia says. “We only need a big enough hole to climb through.”

With each swing of the axe, the wood cracks and breaks.

Ophelia.

I can finally see her, just through the tiniest hole. She’s a mess of frizzy hair, a tearstained face, with the same gown she wore last time I saw her.

Any doubt of whether she loves me or not dissolves.While she looks at me with great terror, love still exists behind her gaze. There will always be love between us, whether or not she chooses to marry me. I believe that.

I swing the axe again and again. Helena cheers, Ophelia sobs, and soon they’re free. I drop the axe to the floor with a loud thud. There is no time for what I want to do—to kiss Ophelia, to embrace her, to fly with her pressed to my chest.

“Hurry,” I say. “We must leave at once. The lady of the house is set to return hours from now, but?—”

The front door opens with a loud bang.

“Run!” Raia’s squeaky voice echoes from downstairs. “She’s here. She’s?—”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

OPHELIA

The beauty of my new life has always been unbelievable. Escaping my stepmother, falling in love, and becoming a princess… it’s far too good for me.

How could I possibly have thought I was allowed to have such lovely things? This is always how it was going to end.

The moment of warning Raia gives isn’t enough for us to escape the dreaded sorceress. Lady Ashbridge lingers mere feet behind her, blocking the front door.

“To the garden.” I run in the other direction. “Follow.”

Helena and Emyr run behind me, closely accompanied by my stepsisters. Lightning strikes as the weather takes a sudden turn, rain tapping against the windowpanes.

“Almost there.” I move faster, gliding through the house with my wings carrying me.

Emyr takes my hand in his, offering me a soft grounding moment. The back door, the one that leads to the garden, is just within our reach.

Lady Ashbridge must be behind us. She is older, but she can catch up to us at any time, and I’ll no longer underestimate her magic. That she’s silent rather than screaming onlycontinues to unnerve me. It pushes me to run, sprint—faster and faster. Emyr’s wings wrap around me when we step outside, as if he means to block me from the rain.

“Do we have a carriage?” I ask.

Emyr’s chest puffs. “No. I arrived in a portal.”

“A portal. How did you…?” I shake my head; it’s not important. Not now. “We must run, then. I can’t—I’m not the best at creating portals.”

Especially under pressure.

“Yes,” Elisa shrieks. “Run!”

I huff and puff. “In an orderly fashion.”

My stepsisters are joining us, or so it seems, and I’m unsure if I have the energy to instruct them through what comes next—whatever that may be.

Before we can reach the garden gate, a puff of black smoke appears with Lady Ashbridge within it.

And… and…

Princess Minetta? She’s bound at Lady Ashbridge’s feet, her lips pressed together as if a spell is silencing her.

The smoke curls into my nose. I cough, covering my face with my mouth, and lean closer to Emyr.