Curse of the Wolf King - Tessonja Odette Page 0,128
in the courtyard, fighting. My heart—or whatever is left of it in this strange place—clenches tight as I see the hate written over my face. I’m relieved when the scene disappears and brings me to the night before that, the night he told me he loved me. I watch everything in reverse, from our tangled naked bodies to our first kiss in the library. My only regret is that I hadn’t told him I loved him then. At least now I finally have.
The play of light and memories continues, and I watch it all. Watch every moment I experienced with Elliot, all the way to a scene where I crouched down at a wolf’s side and discovered he was smeared with tomato sauce. I remember how furious I was then, but now all I can do is laugh. And cry. The two are mingled now. Sweet and sorrow.
The voice speaks again. “This is your greatest treasure? Your time with the Wolf King?”
My heart sinks with the full weight of truth. “Yes.”
The violet light shifts again, and I see a vision of myself, walking down the streets of Vernon. My smile is cold, cruel, and haughty. I make eye contact with no one. Handsome gentlemen stop to tip their hats, but I pay them no heed. I’m too wrapped up in my false persona to notice. Then Imogen is at my side and we are chatting on the sidewalk. Ember stands off just to the side and smiles at me. I acknowledge her with a smile of my own, but I know we’ll never be friends in this version of reality. In this version, all I can focus on is scheming my way out of the conversation. I’ll never open up to anyone, never tell a soul the truth about what the scandal in Bretton did to me. I’ll only ever be fake. Protected. Afraid.
This is the person I return to being if I sacrifice how Elliot has changed me.
“This is what you are willing to trade your greatest treasure for?”
I already know my answer, but I take a few moments to consider it. Even though Elliot has made my life better—made me better—my life isn’t over. If I found the ability to love and trust once, then I can do it again. Even if I can’t, knowing what I know now, that Elliot and his wolves will be alive with their memories if I make this sacrifice…it’s enough.
“Yes, I am willing.”
The ethereal voice speaks one last time. “Then the curse has been served and severed.”
The violet light disappears in a rush, flying all around me and away from me like a violent storm wind. Then it’s gone, leaving me right where I was before in the rose courtyard.
Time comes unfrozen, and Elliot dives for me, nearly tackling me in the process. He fumbles for my hands but finds them empty. “The rose,” he gasps.
I look over my shoulder, expecting to find it still there, to discover the last few moments in that strange, magical place was nothing more than a dream. A hallucination. But the rose is gone.
Elliot takes me by the shoulders, eyes swimming. “What did you do, Gemma?”
Words dissolve from my lips. I’m too afraid to speak, too terrified that if I do, I’ll be whisked away to that reality I glimpsed. The one where we never met. The one where I forget him.
All I can do is stare, memorizing the color of his eyes, the shape of his mouth. The way his hair falls into his eyes. The sound of my name coming from his lips. The timbre of his voice, rumbling low in his chest. The melody of his heart.
Take it away, I think. I’m ready.
“Say something.”
A flash of light, brighter than the sun, comes from behind Elliot. We both startle and face it, but no sooner than it arrives, the light goes out, leaving a shockingly beautiful female in its place. I know at once that she’s fae. Even from several feet away, I can tell she’s at least an inch or two taller than me, with a slim, willowy build, pale skin, and pointed ears. Her hair is a silvery shade that reaches just below her chin. It’s smooth and straight, slicked away from her face in a style I’ve never seen worn by a female. Her clothing is most unusual, with tight black pants and a slim-fitting shirt that looks more like a waistcoat than a proper top.