Aveen returned my stare, her eyes slowly widening. “I don’t know the first thing about curses—or how to break them. You’ll have to find someone else.”
If I could just pick a random person, then this feckin’ curse would’ve been broken centuries ago. It had to be her. Neither of us had any choice in the matter. “I don’t want anyone else. It has to be you.”
“Let me guess,” she sneered. “If I refuse, you’ll slit my throat.”
I could, but then I’d be damning myself to a hopeless future. Not that I’d ever held out much hope for escaping my mother’s curse in the first place. No, death wouldn’t convince someone like Aveen to help me defeat the Queen. I needed to find a different motivation.
What motivated a good person? Goodthings. Foolish things like love and loyalty.
I couldn’t help the smile spreading across my lips. “If you refuse, I’ll ask your sister.”
Aveen’s breathing hitched as she clutched the edge of the cushion. “What do I have to do?”
Destroy the Phantom Queen.
Best get her on my side before telling her that part. “All in good time, my dear. All in good time. First, we must discuss the terms of our bargain.”
“I break your curse, you leave my sister and me alone for all of eternity.”
If she intended to succeed and manage to come out with her heart and life intact, I should probably give her more than just my absence as an incentive. “I’ll do you one better. If you agree to help me, then in addition to your demands, I will grant you one wish.” What would a woman like this—high-born, wealthy, beautiful—want? “Perhaps you’d like a new dress. Or a new horse. How about some diamonds?” A diamond necklace to wear around her beautiful throat. “You women still love diamonds, don’t you?”
“I don’t want any of those things,” she insisted.
No, no. That would be too easy. Someone like her would probably have dresses and diamonds in droves. “What do you want?” I found myself holding my breath, awaiting her response.What do you want, Aveen?
“I . . . I don’t know.”
A woman who didn’t know what she wanted was a dangerous thing. “I suggest you figure it out by the time I return.”
Her hands fidgeted with the edge of the cushion. “When will that be?”
I evanesced to the forest outside, using a simple spell to leave my words behind to slip into her mind like a promise. “Whenever I feel like it.”
Back at the castle, Tadhg had eaten all the pie and fecked off somewhere, probably to join Ruairi or find his own bottle and bed to warm. Eava was still in the kitchen, drying dishes from dinner.
“If Tadhg didn’t wash those, he’s dead.” Eava cooked, we cleaned. Those were the rules. If he’d left her to do it all, I’d have his head.
She set the plate onto the counter with the others. “Don’t ye be worryin’ about these dishes. Tell me about yer woman.”
“She’s not my woman.”
Her brow furrowed as she turned to fully face me. “Yer the only heartless prince I know.”
“Could be metaphorical.”
Eava shook her head. “Ye know as well as I do that she’s the one.”
I knew. I felt it in my bones. Had tasted it on her lips. Aveen was the one. “There was more to the prediction. What was it?”
Eava’s eyes shuttered.“I’m sorry, my boy, but I didn’t get any more than that before the darkness took me. Whoever gave her yer name must be a powerful witch indeed to keep me out.”
If I learned the rest of the prediction, maybe I would find out how to save myself.
4
According to my records,two witches lived in the town of Graystones itself. I planned on starting there and working my way out until I found the person responsible for telling Aveen my name. My first stop was a tiny apartment above the cobbler’s shop. I knocked, feeling no wards. Not that a smart witch would use a ward on this side of the wall, where humans could feel something amiss. When no one answered, I tried the door, finding it unlocked. A prickle of unease crept up my spine.
The stale air inside reeked of cat piss; broken glass glittered across the worn floorboards. Drawers from the sideboard and dresser in the bedroom had been torn out and emptied across the floor. Either she’d left in a hurry, or the place had been raided.