Page 38 of Of Curses and Courtship

But my chest aches. It’s a weight pushing. In the same breath, my heart threatens to explode. I inhale, sharp and desperate for air.

Calm down. Please.

My exhale comes out shaking, ragged, forced.

“Ophelia?”

My eyes open wide at the sound of Helena’s voice.

She’s a good roommate. Helena may be more talkative than I’m accustomed to, but I don’t mind the chatter. She’s tidy, knows when to be quiet, and has done a good job showing me around the castle.

Usually, she looks at me with a smile, but terror wells in her mossy eyes now.

An orb hovers over me like a rain cloud, casting the room in blue light. Harsh. Heavy. Weeping… and magical.

“What is it?” I sit upright, clutching the thin blanket to my chest. “Did something happen?”

“It’s your magic, dear.” She frowns and sits on the edge of the bed. “Is it always so unruly?”

Mymagic? Helena can’t know that I have no magic. She can’t understand what I am, lest she look at me with the same terror for the rest of our days together. Perhaps she’ll even tell Lucille that I’m a halfling, and I can’t risk being exiled once again.

I shake my head. “I’ve never—never known it to do such a thing.”

“No? I’ve heard of empaths losing control before?—”

“Empaths?” I rub my forehead. “Is that what this is?”

Her eyes narrow. “It’s a pretty common gift for Moon Fae, yeah. An emotional sort of magic. You can harness feelings and use ‘em, I suppose—just don’t use mine without permission.”

She finally smiles, but I don’t have the energy to return it. Perhaps she can’t know all my secrets, but… there are a few I can share.

“I would have to knowhowto use the gift to do that. Mortals raised me, and they never taught me to use my gifts.”

I hold my breath, anxiously awaiting her response.

“Ah.” She clicks her tongue. “Sometimes it even happens the other way ‘round—fae with mortal babes.”

There’s more I long to say. To have one living person who knows I am half mortal may take some of the weight off my chest. The thought alone makes the blue orb grow, shaking, nearly losing control.

What will happen when it bursts?

“I don’t know how to get rid of it,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“Let me help. I may not know much about moon magic, but… I can give it a little company. Sometimes that’s all we need.” She waves a hand, channeling a ball of yellow light. “The moon and the sun are partners, y’know?”

With a flick of her wrist, her orb glows and joins mine.

I peer up at the pulsing magic, and though hers does little to lessen my intensity, she’s right. Having a friend at my side feels better.

“Can you feel it? The energy…”

“I’m afraid I can.” She shudders. “It’s heavy. Is there something you’d like to chat about?”

“No, no. Only the woes of leaving my family behind.”

“You can tell me more about that, if you’d like. I understand better than you’d think.”

As kind as Helena is, it would be foolish to trust her. I shake my head. “That’s all right. I’m not ready to speak of them yet.”