Bride of the Sea Monster - Eve Langlais Page 0,1

left, they’d devour themselves.

Snack. Wanna taste. The beast inside me grew eager.

Not right now. I kept holding off for as long as I could. But my hold on myself lessened by the hour.

And it didn’t improve when we finally got the steps to curing my curse.

“Rumor has it you got something official in the mail today.” The intrusion came from my uncle Shax, who was not only my mother’s brother but also related by marriage to the mighty Charon, ferryman of the Styx. He chose to appear as a man of experience, his features somewhat craggy, his hair dark, hinting of silver at the temples, his horns kept intentionally short. Unlike other demons his age, he didn’t bother with great big useless horns to impress folks and kept his magic under subtle wraps. As a scholar, he was above the vanities of those looking to impress. Despite all his time indoors reading, he kept his body thick and powerful. His attitude positive. Although, of late, his usual smile had become a grave expression.

I shook my head. “If you’re talking about our petition for an extension on the curse, then it was refused.” I’d made a plea for help to give me more time to fight this.

“If only that woman would reply to my letter,” my uncle mused aloud.

I shook my head. “It’s too late even if she does.” The she being a woman who provided my only means of salvation. I’d only learned about her recently when I got the extended version of my curse. Because it turned out there was a cure, but the devil was in the details.

In order to break the curse, I needed a woman from the Farseer family—one directly descended from the witch who’d cursed my line—to marry me. And not just marry, but love. In a nasty twist, the bloodline that’d placed the curse was the only one that could break it.

Problem was finding a true Farseer. It turned out they weren’t exactly common.

Once Uncle and I discovered there was a way out, we went on a rampage, searching for the Farseer family. They didn’t breed like demons. The family line proved sparse, which was surprising given they supposedly saw the future.

But after much digging and bribing, we found a few names. The first hit revealed an old man who had slammed the door in my face.

The second Farseer possibility never even opened theirs.

The third and last of the family, Bianca Farseer, had a postal box that apparently wasn’t checked often. Had this stranger read about my plight and callously dismissed it? No amount of bribery could get the mailbox manager to reveal where she lived, and I was almost out of time.

Even as I raged, could I blame them? Forced to marry a stranger, and then to add insult to injury, they had to love me?

“You can’t give up. We need to get someone in that family to talk. We have to find out where she is.”

“There’s no point.” I rolled my shoulders. “Let’s say I do find her. What are the chances we’ll wham, bam fall in love?”

“It happens all the time.”

“In movies!” I scoffed. “Let’s say we meet and hit it off. What sane woman marries a guy she just met?”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if it would save you.”

“She obviously does mind, or she’d have answered our letter.”

“I should have included a picture. You’re a decent-looking boy. It might have helped.” My uncle squinted at me.

“Wow, don’t shower me with praise all at once.”

Uncle Shax grinned. “You already have a giant head. No need to make it bigger.”

“Ha. Ha. So funny. Maybe you should have put that joke in the letter.”

“Maybe I should have,” he huffed. “You’re awfully grumpy today.”

“I’d say I have reason,” was my wry reply.

“There’s still time.”

“No, there’s not. Less than a week until my birthday. Even if I found this Farseer today, we’d never meet the conditions.” Something as big and powerful as love just couldn’t happen that quickly.

“What if you are fated to be together? Think about it. According to our research, she’s the first woman born to the Farseer family in generations. This is your chance. You have to seek her out. Explain the situation. Put on your nice face.”

“I don’t have a nice face.” I scowled.

“Which is why I didn’t include a picture.” Uncle nodded, and I sighed.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done. But it’s time to admit defeat.”

“Never!” snapped my uncle. “You can’t give up.”

That brought a snort. “You’re one to talk. One