Itransmute a cloak from the wardrobe into a simple one, and it appears around my shoulders moments later. Arabella stares at it, but it isn’t the fabric she’s staring at, it’s the air surrounding it. I’ve suspected this for a while now, but I believe she’s able to see the energetic trail that alchemy and magic leave behind. More than once, I’ve seen her stare at the air just after I’ve transmuted something, and she’s done the same whenever Elaine casts a spell, but I have a feeling she isn’t aware that it’s a rare ability. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that she grew up in a country that punishes what it does not understand, to its own detriment.“We’ll be going into town disguised as a regular couple,” I explain, reminding myself that patience is what I need. It’s not my strong suit, but with Arabella, I must have it. My people need her, and I cannot force her to help them. I’d hoped she was capable of killing me, that the prophecy related to her wielding a weapon, but since it appears not, the answer must lie in her powers.I offer her my arm, and she hesitates before taking it. “Under normal circumstances, it would be possible to walk to the nearest town,” I tell her. “But it is too cold to do so, so there is a carriage waiting for us.”She nods, her eyes gleaming as though she’s soaking up every bit of information I’m giving her. My wife is terribly easy to read, and she doesn’t even realize it. “Trying to walk would mean certain death,” I warn. “It is too cold, and though the palace is relatively safe, there are magical perils outside of it, courtesy of the curse.”Her expression falls a touch, and I bite back a smile as I lead her down the stairs, acutely aware of her proximity. I don’t recall the last time a woman held my arm the way she does now. I’ve slept with women, but there’s never been any kind of true intimacy. It’s novel, and I’m surprised to find I don’t despise her touch.She falls into step with me as we exit the palace through the servants’ back door, and I wonder what she sees as she takes in my kingdom. To some, the snow is beautiful, but others see it for the curse it is. I know I should speak to her as we walk toward the carriage, but I can’t think of anything to say. Every time I speak, I seem to push her further away. I’ve always gotten far through brute force, but perhaps that was not the right decision when it comes to Arabella. Perhaps I should have taken Elaine’s advice and courted her. If there had been time, and the boy she ran away with was not a problem, I might have considered it, however foreign the concept might be to me.“Careful,” I warn her as rose plants slither through the snow, their thorns out for blood. One of the plants approaches us, no doubt hoping to slither its way around our legs to draw our blood, and I grit my teeth as I transmute the air around us in an effort to keep it away.Roses were my mother’s favorite flowers, and from the day I was born, they have haunted me, appearing in the palace like harbingers of doom. I’m so consumed by the hatred I feel that I fail to notice that Arabella is shaking. I pause and glance down at her to find her eyes filled with fear. No doubt this is the first time she’s experienced anything like this.“Arabella,” I whisper, turning to face her. I brush her hair out of her face, my heart sinking when I see the fear in her eyes. This is the same woman who viciously stabbed me in the heart on our wedding night, yet the magic around us scares her.“These rosebushes feed on people’s life-force. Their roots extend to the core of our lands, feeding the curse. You must be cautious around them, but never fear when I am with you. I will always keep you safe, wife.”She looks into my eyes, and the cautious trust she gazes at me with does something unexpected to me. It fills me with tenderness, something I’ve never felt before. “The roses in the courtyard,” she begins, her voice trembling as I hold the carriage door open for her. It’s been enchanted to look common and avoid attention, but it’s luxurious on the inside.“No,” I tell her, offering my hand as she gets into the carriage. “Those roses are different. It’s unclear why, but every time a sorcerer or sorceress in the palace is lost to the curse, a new rose blooms on the courtyard walls, almost instantly freezing over. Though their thorns are sharp, those roses aren’t sentient like the ones we just saw, and they won’t harm you.”noveldramaShe nods and stares out the window, trying her best to see through the glass and failing. “I remember when these fields used to be filled with flowers.” My voice is soft, filled with regret. “Rolling green hills, stunning flower fields with winding rivers flowing through them. Eldiria used to be the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”She looks into my eyes, and for once, she looks disarmed, compassionate even. I gaze down and wrap my arm around the back of the seat, my arm just about touching hers as I transmute my own body heat to warm her, frost running up my spine. My wife sighs happily as she looks out the window, and she leans into me just a touch. It would’ve been imperceptible to anyone but me, and the implication gives me hope. She no longer fears me as much as she did on our wedding day.“We’re here,” I murmur, jumping out before reaching for her.Her eyes widen when I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her out of the carriage, trying my best to remember not to use alchemy on her. She tenses when I wrap my arm around her shoulder, and I lean in. “We’re pretending to be an ordinary couple, remember?”She sighs as I lead her through the alleys toward the town center. Arabella is visibly shocked when she sees the elderly managing the stalls, many of them looking weary, and far too many of them dressed in too few layers.“The curse’s effects keep getting worse,” I tell her. “There hasn’t been a child in well over a decade now. It’s surprising how quickly liveliness turns to longing, playfulness turns to wishfulness. There’s no laughter, no playing, no children running in our kingdom. The curse keeps us trapped here, with few resources to sustain ourselves.”Arabella inhales shakily, almost as though the curse didn’t seem real to her until now. I pause as we walk past a row of beggars and transform some of the gold hidden in the embroidery of our cloaks into coins to give to them.“Homes regularly collapse. Each time someone attains a small sense of happiness, it’s ripped away from us. Misfortune follows us all. The stalls here are all wooden so they can be rebuilt with ease, but they do not provide warmth.”I can tell that she’s struggling to comprehend what I’m telling her. It’s hard to, when you have never suffered the effects of a curse so cruel. “My people are going hungry, and so many of them have lost their homes. No amount of money can rebuild this country when every attempt leads to repeated destruction. Just as the woods can’t be cut down, some homes cannot be rebuilt, and some lives cannot be saved. Those who possess magic suffer worse. There aren’t many of them left. Many of the ones who remain have joined our army.”Arabella turns toward me, concern laced with curiosity in her eyes. I think it might be the first time she’s looked at me without her guard up. “What happens to those who possess magic?”I grimace and look away, my mind drifting to Raphael, my closest friend—perhaps my only true friend. Elaine’s continued allegiance isn’t to me. Not truly. Her loyalty has always been with him.“Their power is leached out of them over time, and they must constantly fight to stay in control. The curse makes them go mad with pain, whispers into their ear to surrender. Eventually, most give up, their magic bleeding into the ground, strengthening the curse. The curse takes from them until nothing but a rose remains. Their bodies vanish, and a new rose blooms in the palace.”She looks as heartbroken as I feel, and some of the guilt that courses through me is put to rest. Arabella must have realized why I’ve brought her here—to show her the suffering of my people, to show her that it isn’t just me she’d be helping if she breaks this curse. It feels manipulative, but I’m desperate, and so are my people.“Some pretty earrings for you, my lady?”I turn toward the jeweler and nod at Arabella, who approaches his stall. She takes the earrings from him and holds them up, attempting to see better in the dark. They look like green sapphires to me.“Only eight hundred silvers,” he tells her. “But for a pretty maiden such as yourself, I’ll make it seven hundred and eighty.”Arabella gasps and hands him back the earrings in a rush. “That’s too expensive!” she says, and I stare at her in surprise. She’s a Princess of Althea. I didn’t expect her to have a notion of what anything costs at all. Most princesses I’ve met have never paid for anything themselves. What kind of life has she lived?Howard’s smile drops, and he cradles the earrings gently. “You must be traveling through via the trade routes,” he says, his voice weary. “Everything here is more expensive, my lady. After all, we risk our lives every time we go out to import goods. The ice is nothing. It’s the woods. They don’t want to let us leave, and each time we try, we risk never making it back home.”She looks shaken, no doubt remembering the way the forests opened up for us. Coming back is easy; leaving is a different matter.“I’m looking for a ring for my wife, Howard,” I tell him, and he freezes, his eyes sliding toward me. I’m barely recognizable in the cloak that covers my face. It’s identical to the ones we all wear to keep us warm, but he’s familiar with my voice.When he looks back at Arabella, his eyes are filled with awe. He straightens, and then he bows to her. “Your Excellency,” he says to her, “forgive me my ignorance. I heard rumors, but I didn’t dare dream it could be true. The end of this curse is in sight for us at last.”I wrap my arm around Arabella’s shoulder, and she leans into me, surprising me. She seems shaken. I suppose hearing others speak of the curse so freely makes it all more real for her. “A ring, Howard,” I remind him.He nods and takes out a velvet box for us, filled with exquisite rings. I stare at Arabella while she stares at the rings. Her eyes fall to a thin band with a small diamond. Not at all what I’d expect her to choose. I expected her to go for the biggest diamond Howard has, and I’d happily have given it to her.I reach for the ring and grab her hand. “I have to get you some gloves, too,” I murmur as I slide the ring onto her finger. It’s too big, so I resize it for her as it lies around her finger until a small ball of residual gold hovers in the air. I push it toward Howard, and he nods. “We’ll take it.”I hand him a bag of gold coins, but his focus is entirely on Arabella. He’s looking at her like the beacon of hope she is.“Come,” I tell her, “let’s get you some gloves before we head to dinner.”She nods, and this time when she looks at me, there’s no venom in her beautiful eyes.