Deceiving the Cursed Beast: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling (Once Upon an Enchantment Book 1)
One - Felix
My hands restedon the handles of the pocket doors separating me from the great hall. I waited a moment, wanting to time my entrance perfectly, then slid the doors open. Too bad they couldn’t slam against the wall. That would have been even better.
The doors might not have made much sound, but my heeled riding boots hitting the polished marble as I stepped into the great hall were still enough to make Cecily notice my presence. She froze, her eyes darting around the room until she spotted me.
“Lady Cecily,” I drawled. I was probably taking a little too much pleasure in startling her, but I couldn’t help it. “I didn’t expect to find you wandering the halls of my home, I must say. You sounded quite certain that you never wanted to look upon my face again when you left last month.”
She tucked a loose curl of blond hair behind her ear, but it wasn’t the only one falling free of her pins. I’d never seen her so disheveled—even in bed. Which was one reason our affair hadn’t lasted long. A woman who wouldn’t allow a lover to muss her up wasn’t of interest to me.
Lady Cecily was the type of woman to have every hair in place and a maid at her elbow, ready to pounce on any strands that dared to show a desire to break free. But no maid had accompanied her today. No footmen. Indeed, she hadn’t taken a carriage to the manor, instead riding up alone on horseback. Had she thought to sneak in that way? For the first time, I was genuinely intrigued to hear what she had to say.
She squared her shoulders, lifting her chin high. “I still have no desire to see you, Felix.”
I continued my slow journey across the great hall, drawing closer to the plinth in the center. The copper saucer filled with flames atop it had to be Cecily”s objective, though I couldn’t understand what she thought she could do with the node. “It is strange, then, to find you in the heart of my demesne. Though it explains why you snuck in through the kitchens rather than waiting for Berklay at the front door.”
She swallowed. “Indeed. I didn’t want to bother anyone. Please, feel free to get back to your evening ride.”
I stopped in front of the brazier, putting myself between Cecily and the pool of magic that resided inside the flames. “You paid close enough attention during your stay to know when I go for a ride every day, but still thought you could sneak up on the node unnoticed? I sensed it the moment you stepped onto castle grounds, Cecily.”
Being the Lord of Truthhold brought with it nearly limitless power. Not because my title was duke. Political power was nothing compared to the strongest magical node on the continent. My ancestor had defied the limits of magic, not only locking the node to his bloodline, but imposing his will on the world and making anything he deemed true a reality. I wasn’t the magical prodigy that my many-times-great grandfather had been, but I was the primary holder of the blood-tie to the node. Even monarchs knew they were no longer in control when they visited Truthhold. A contract signed and passed through the node could not be broken.
“I can banish you from Truthhold altogether,” I continued. I snapped my fingers, the flourish unnecessary, but suiting my mood as I pulled on the magic and set the chandeliers within the great hall ablaze. “Tracking your movements all over the hillside is nothing.”
Cecily flinched, but there were no longer any shadows to hide in. After a moment, she squared her shoulders, her eyes sliding off me and fastening on the flames over my shoulder. One deep breath later, she looked back at me. “It doesn’t matter if you can track me. I had intended for you to wonder why misfortune befell you, but maybe this is better. Now you will know you only have yourself to blame.”
I grinned, not trying to hide my amusement at all. “This should be entertaining. Please do explain.”
She glared at me, and my smile only grew wider.
Her hand scrambled for her pocket, drawing out a folded piece of paper. She waved it under my nose. “I curse you, Felix Truthholder. You lie and use people to your own ends. You care for no one but yourself. You will suffer for how you treat those around you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe for a minute that you would have been satisfied to sneak in here and not deliver that pretty speech.”
Cecily pushed past me, marching up to the copper basin. I let her. The node was locked to my bloodline; she couldn’t actually do anything with the power. Plus, I was too busy trying not to laugh to do much else. Curses were a thing of legend. Without access to the magic locked in the nodes scattered throughout the world, they simply required too much personal sacrifice for even the most powerful—and evil—of mages.
Cecily had a smidgeon of power, but that was all.
I watched her reach toward the flames with her bit of paper. She stopped well short, though the flames were magical in nature and gave off no heat. She looked back at me, and when she saw that I wasn’t going to try to stop her, she pulled her hand back all the way and unfolded the paper.
“Felix Truthholder,” she read, “I name you a beast in the form of a man. Let your nature show true. Until the day you learn to love, and find someone who admits their love for you though you cannot hide your true self, I curse you to wear the form of a beast as matches your heart.”
I lost the battle and laughed. I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my cheeks and I had to clutch at my side. That was her curse? She wasn’t trying to use her power at all, only the node’s. Not that her phrasing would work even if she had access to the node power. She should have at least used contractual language—not that I would have signed it—but at least her belief that the node could power her curse would have made sense then.
Cecily shrieked.
Through my laughter, I saw her thrust her hand into the center of the blaze. A halo of oranges, reds, and yellows wreathed her arm. For a moment, nothing else happened. I tried to catch my breath, intending to explain to my erstwhile lover exactly why her curse had failed.
Then the flames flared. The bit of paper glowed, and Cecily released it, stumbling away from the plinth.
I gaped as the familiar process of the node turning a bit of paper into a magically binding contract played out, even though I was the only person who could initiate that process. Even though Cecily”s curse wasn’t a contract signed and witnessed.
Starting where the paper still floated, the flames began to change colors, turning dark violet. Soon the entire blaze was the same color, and the paper disappeared.
My eyes met Cecily”s, and for a moment we stared, each as surprised as the other.
Then convulsions wracked my body, and I screamed.