Cursed: Briar Rose's Story - Kaylin Lee Page 0,85

“But does it have to be you two?”

“I think it always had to be us,” Tavar said. He put his arm over my shoulder again, pulling me to him and kissing my forehead. “And Bri is brilliant for coming up with this plan. Best wedding present ever.”

Ella sighed. “Well, when you put it that way …”

We were silent for a few moments, all staring at Nikolai as he played with Ella’s dress, and then she looked at me. “Lady Falconus will be here soon,” she said, a glint of humor in her eyes. “We’re starting a mage-craft jewelry shop together. She’s relentless. Never stops working.”

Tavar raised his eyebrows. “But Weslan’s mother is a Procus lady, not a merchant.”

“I think Lord Falconus is in awe of her. Too happy she’s alive to quibble about how hard she works. He keeps giving us more and more money to invest in the business.”

Nikolai’s grandmother arrived a moment later, knocking once and then sweeping into the parlor and scooping up the baby. “Hello, Briar Rose and Tavar,” she sang, twirling Nikolai around. “Young love! It’s so inspiring, isn’t it, Nikolai?”

She bent to greet Ella with a kiss on her cheek, then straightened and twirled Nikolai again. “I hope you’re ready, Ella dear, because I had several new ideas last night. Find your notepad. I can talk and snuggle the baby at the same time.”

Ella winked at me. “I’ll be right back. I’ll get fresh coffee, too.”

Lady Falconus sank gracefully into the worn, leather couch beside me and Tavar, then took her jeweled headband off and handed it to Nikolai to chew on. “I have ideas for you two, as well,” she whispered. “The princess is recruiting mages now that you’ve gone public with the plan. I signed up to help with the technical side of things.”

My mouth dropped open. “Are you sure? I mean, thank you!”

“Oh, yes. I was up half the night jotting down notes for the project. It’s time,” she said firmly. “I’m only sorry it took us so long.”

Chapter 51

“What is it called again?” Another wave of golden hair floated to the floor in front of my face. I fought the urge to sneeze, mindful of the sharp scissors my sister wielded just in front of my eyes. I’d spent all day holed up in Belle’s office, going over mission plans with her and Tavar. My head was swimming with lists, maps, and books on mage-craft engineering, and when I got home, Alba had offered to take my mind off work with some sisterly bonding time.

I hadn’t realized it would involve cutting quite so much of my hair.

“The old Western magazine I found called it a fringe.” Alba blew a few stray strands off my cheeks.

“How’d you find this magazine, anyway?”

“You weren’t the only one with a secret stash.” She wiggled her eyebrows smugly as she combed out another section, then clipped it. “And I’ll have you know I translated nearly the whole section on hair styles a few nights ago. So I’m almost certain this will turn out well.”

“Almost certain? That sounds hopeful.” I felt my brow crease. “Wait, why aren’t you doing it on yourself?”

“I’m experimenting on you first.” She leaned back and appraised me for a moment, then came forward with the scissors again. “Practice makes perfect.”

“Just as long as I don’t look silly when Tav comes to pick me up tonight.”

“You’ll look stunning.” Alba clipped another lock of hair. “Trust me. And if you don’t like it, I can probably make it grow back by your wedding with a bit of magic.”

My wedding. I felt a goofy smile spread across my face. “Can’t believe it’s just a month away.”

“Me either.” Alba’s eyes sparkled. “I’m glad you and Tavar had the strength of will to wait to say your vows until we got back from the Badlands. It would have crushed me to miss it.”

“I don’t know about strength of will. More like we’ve been so busy planning and preparing, we’ve managed to distract ourselves. Mostly.”

“Well, I’m grateful.” Alba finally leaned back and set the scissors down. “Done,” she murmured. “You look beautiful.” She grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around to face my mirror. “What do you think?”

I stared at my reflection. The fringe framed my face prettily, making me look oddly delicate, more feminine than I’d ever seen myself.

“I look young,” I blurted out. “It’s weird.”

Alba squeezed my shoulders, then released me. “You are young. At least now you look it.”

She nudged me aside