Chapter 30
ELLA
HONAU
Ahalf-naked scoundrel stands before me. I avert my eyes, face heating, but not before noticing his tight red curls and bright green eyes, a wide smile spreading across his face. He looks vaguely familiar.
“I’m sorry.” Wilhelm pushes the man backward. “We have a guest who um...”
“Needs to work on his decorum,” Jacob says gruffly, stepping forward as thankfully the green-eyed man tugs a shirt over his head. “Come in.”
I stare at my boots. “I know we agreed to meet at the edge of my field, but lately I’m so tired at night I figured earlier would be better.” What I don’t say is that my attacks are worse at night, and I wanted to avoid the embarrassment of possible screaming.
When I look up at Jacob’s face, he’s smiling like I’m the best thing he’s seen all year. Warmth floods my cheeks.
“Come in,” he says, stepping back to make room. “Stay for dinner.”
My stomach knots, and not because I’m hungry. His voice is rich, easy, like the offer is no big deal, but to me, after feeling isolated and alone at home, this is everything. The air smells like roasted sausages and fresh-baked bread, along with beeswax and aged parchment.
“This man is…a relative of ours.” Wilhelm clears his throat awkwardly. “Distant.”
“Fritz.” The curly-haired man introduces himself and then kisses my hand.
“You look oddly familiar.” I wrench my hand away. Lady kisser, indeed. “Wait! I know why. You’re the merchant who bought my mother’s necklace. Did your stepmother like it?”
“Really?” Jacob’s eyebrows rise.
“Ah, that’s right!” Fritz brightens. “You have an excellent memory. And yes, she most certainly did.”
Once Jacob introduces me as simply Ella, my muscles relax.
The last thing I need is for the villagers to realize the daughter of nobleman Karl von Maier is running about town unescorted.
I’m thrilled to find Otto here, though. In a whisper, he tells me how he destroyed my marriage contract, and I’m so happy, I nearly hug him.
“Thank you for doing that,” I say. “You’ve given me extra time.”
“Now you’re free to marry me instead, if you’ve got the nerve for it,” he says, eyes glinting.
“I’m quite happy to not marry right now.” I turn and take in this shop of the Grimm brothers.
It has a cozy air to it, a mix of shop and living space.
The hearth glows with a crackling fire, and a copper kettle hangs over the flames.
Bookshelves are tucked against two of the walls, tomes lined with perfection and care.
An oak desk is cluttered with an inkwell, papers, and stacks of books.
A honey-yellow spinning wheel is set up next to the large window overlooking the cobblestone street.
We all gather at the large wooden table in the center of the room, where sausages, sauerkraut, and piping-hot, buttery rolls are set out. Wilhelm adds a plate to the table for me.
“So when do we leave?” I ask as Jacob passes me the platter of sausages.
“She’s coming, too?” Fritz frowns, but then suddenly brightens, and he winks at me. “Ah! She’s for the kissing.”
“Kissing?” I drop my fork. This is scandalous!
“Ella, could I have a word with you in private?” Jacob draws me to the far side of the room. “This man is one of the you-know-whos we talked about.”
“The Forbidden?” I choke out the word. “How do you know?”
“He has the mark.” Jacob sighs and glances back at the three. Fritz is digging into his sausages as if he hasn’t eaten for days.
“I don’t see a mark.”
“Only Wilhelm and I can.”
I shudder and adjust my cloak higher around my neck.
“Don’t worry, he’s harmless,” he says. Clearly, he misinterprets my shaking because he takes my hand, squeezing it.
“He works for the king. We’re trying to discover who stole a weapons delivery.
He’s the one who can turn himself into a frog.
The only way he can return to his human form again is if he is kissed by a maiden or if commanded out of him. ”
“He thinks I’m going to kiss him?” I’m horrified.
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks because you don’t have to kiss or worry about him.” He tucks a stray curl behind my ear. It’s far too intimate, and yet, every fiber in me wants to lean into the touch. “Also, how are you? I couldn’t sleep last night. I was worried about you.”
“Right now, I just want to stop my marriage to Dr. Wissen. Otto said he destroyed the contract, but that’ll only slow things down, not end them. If my stepmother has her way, she’d have me married to him by morning without a formal wedding.”
“You’re not marrying him. Not while I’m breathing.
Tonight, we’re going to get his story and rid him from this world once and for all.
” He takes me to the back corner of the shop and pulls back a bookshelf, revealing a wall packed with weapons—knives, axes, bows and arrows, daggers, and the sword I always see him carrying.
“This is…a lot.”
“Take this.” He plucks a dagger, deadly sharp, from the wall. He presses it into my hand. It bites cold against my skin. “Just in case.”
“I don’t even know how to use it.”
He steps in behind me, the heat of his chest warming my back. “Like this,” he murmurs, wrapping a callused hand around mine. My pulse thrums dangerously.
“Keep your thumb here, tip up like a hammer. If an attacker comes at you, target the areas that will disable them, like the eyes, heels, or hands.”
His voice is low and deep, more intimate than it should be for a lesson in violence.
“And if I miss?” I swallow, the air thick between us.
“You’re strong, stronger than you give yourself credit for.” His mouth hugs the shell of my ear. “But don’t worry, I’ll be there if you need me.”
I look over my shoulder, up at him. His mouth is there, waiting for my lips. If I just lean in closer…
“Are you sure you should give a weapon to a woman?” Fritz asks, interrupting us. I stiffen. “She might hurt herself, or worse, hurt us.”
Jacob releases me, shooting Fritz a glare as he hands me a belt for the dagger and reaches for his sword. “Ella is not only capable of taking care of herself, but a whole village, if necessary.”
Then he turns to me and asks, “Do you wish for any other weapons?”
“This should suffice,” I say, hiding my smile as Fritz sputters, trying to recover from his statement.
“Excellent,” Jacob says. “Let’s go.”
Jacob, Wilhelm, Fritz, Otto, and I ride through the village without so much as a glance from the locals, thanks to the excitement for the royal balls.
When we reach Wissen Manor, I suck in a horrified breath.
To think this could be my home makes me sick.
Its tower and stone walls loom dark against the slate sky, illuminated by a thick cream moon. It belongs to a nightmare.
“Tell me you have a plan to enter this forsaken abode,” Fritz tells Jacob. “Surely, we can’t go about knocking and inviting ourselves over for a midnight supper.”
“Hardly,” Jacob says. “And even if we were, it appears Dr. Wissen has company himself.”
“Now that makes things exciting,” Otto says, winking at me as a carriage rumbles up to the house. “Looks awfully familiar, don’t you think, Ella?”
My heart plunges. It bears the Maier crest. “My father must be here to rewrite the marriage license.”
“This complicates things,” Wilhelm says.
The carriage halts at the front steps, and Peter, our driver, rushes to open the door.
I gasp when a woman steps out, wearing a simple gown of midnight blue and a hat with a mesh drape covering her face.
I clench my reins. It’s my stepmother. She must be here to fix the marriage contract.
It makes sense. She’s conniving and desperate enough to risk sneaking into another man’s house at night.
“Looks like your intended is having a midnight rendezvous,” Fritz says.
“He’s not my intended.” I bristle. “And I couldn’t care less who he’s with.”
Except that’s a lie because my stepmother’s appearance changes everything. The woman strolls confidently to the front door and waits, not bothering to knock. The door creaks open, and she slips inside.
There’s no question now. I must sneak inside and destroy that contract. Jacob’s eyes meet mine. He nods once like he knows what needs to be done.
“This is actually perfect,” Wilhelm says. “The doctor will be distracted, and we’ll do our search without him even knowing.”
“We’ll go through the back of the house then,” Jacob decides, dismounting. “And leave the horses here.”
“I’ll stay here with the horses,” Otto offers. “I’m not setting a toe on Dr. Wissen’s cursed property.”
I can’t blame him.
“You do know that means we’ll have to enter the forest,” Wilhelm points out, tying up his horse.
“What’s wrong with the forest?” Fritz asks, peering into the dark woods tentatively.
“I suppose you’ll just have to see for yourself,” Jacob says with a wicked grin. Then to me, “Do you want to stay here with the horses?”
“And me,” Otto pipes up, giving me a toothless grin. “Can’t forget that.”
“I appreciate the offer, Otto, but I’m going,” I say determinedly.
Jacob leads us into the woods, skirting along the house’s bordering wall.
We duck under branches and skirt around the trees.
Jacob’s tall frame is graceful as he melds into the shadows, a beautiful wraith of the brittle night.
I shake my head, reminding myself I don’t have the luxury to even think about Jacob.
The sound of steel shivers against the silence.
“What was that?” I whisper, scanning the shifting boughs.
“One can never be too prepared.” Jacob hefts up his sword. It gleams in the moonlight.
“Maybe we should wait until morning,” Fritz suggests, his voice quivering. “I have a really bad feeling about this place.”
“Makes my skin crawl,” Wilhelm agrees.