Ihaven’t been able to stop smiling all day. Memories of yesterday have kept the fire in the library going for hours now, even as I read. It’s giving me hope that Elaine’s plan might actually come to fruition.I sigh happily, recalling the room Felix created for me. I noticed how tired he was afterward, but he didn’t complain once. The sunshine, the peonies… and Felix. The way he touched me last night, the jealousy and possessiveness in his eyes. He made me feel so wanted. I never expected there to be such power in feeling like you belong with someone, but there is.“Daydreaming, Your Excellency?”I slam my book closed and jump at the sound of Elaine’s voice, the flames flickering. I only barely manage to keep the flames alive as she sits down opposite me, my concentration waning. Elaine chuckles as she spots the title of the romance novel I’d been reading. “I have a lot more of those in my room. The ones in the library are the tamer ones,” she says with a wink.I chuckle and clutch my book to my chest. “I may have to ask you to lend those to me.”“Of course, Your Excellency. I’ll have the very best ones sent to your room.”Elaine leans back in her seat and sighs softly as her eyes roam over the library. “You know, my betrothed loved this space as much as I did. In fact, it was our joint love for reading that brought us together.”“Betrothed?” I repeat, confused. None of the books ever mentioned Elaine being engaged, but then again, there is not much our history books got correct.“Raphael,” she whispers, his name a prayer on her lips. I think back to the conversations Felix and I have had, certain that he’s mentioned Raphael before.“This is something not many people know, but Raphael and I are heirs of rival kingdoms that were both overtaken by Theon. Neither of our kingdoms were prosperous, and both lands benefited from the improvements Theon made, so neither I nor Raphael held any grudges. If anything, we were beyond grateful he saved our people when both our parents had been failing, so when Theon asked, we both joined as his advisers. If anything, I jumped at the opportunity, since I was barely tolerated in my own kingdom due to my strong magic, but here, I was appreciated in a way I never could’ve imagined. You see, while I inherited my mother’s magic, I was always taught to hide it, which only made me want to explore it more.“Neither Raphael nor I realized the other had joined, and neither of us was pleased to find the other at court. We hated each other.”She smiles to herself then, seemingly lost in thought, and I realize that this is the first time I’ve seen her so relaxed. In all the months I’ve been here, this is the first time I’ve seen true happiness reflected in her eyes.“We would constantly fight each other, destroying parts of the palace that Theon then had to fix, and at some point, I was certain he would kick both of us out. Except… Theon saw something neither of us could.”She smiles at me then, a knowing look in her eyes. “I finally understand it now. At last, I understand how he could be so certain when neither Raphael nor I could see it.”Her tale sounds so romantic, yet my heart bleeds because I know it must end in tragedy. “So how did reading unite you two?”“I suspect the reason Theon did not kick either of us out, when we certainly deserved it, is because we had both befriended him, and he valued us equally. So when Theon asked that I read several books about curses to help us prevent some of the damage we were seeing, I agreed. Unbeknownst to me, Raphael had been tasked with reading the same books. We ended up in the library together for hours every single day. Back then, the library was still filled with scholars, so there was no way we could argue with each other the way we usually would. Though it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. Raphael and I exchanged many torn pieces of parchment with insults scribbled on them, but as time passed, the tone of our notes changed, until they turned into letters that allowed us to truly get to know each other.”I smile and sigh happily. “You fell in love.”She nods. “We fell in love. We were so nervous about telling Theon that we attempted to keep our relationship a secret. By the time we gathered the required courage, everyone already knew—we just didn’t realize it. Theon gave us his blessing, and that should have been the start of our future together.”She wraps her arms around herself and looks away. “You see, Your Excellency… Raphael had a secret he didn’t share with me or anyone else. I suspect he feared it would cause me to see him differently, but I never would. In the end, it was his lycanthropy that made the curse too hard to withstand. It’s different for those of us with a regular supply of magic, but even more so for lycans. From what Theon and I have gathered, it appears lycans are worse off than humans. Humans at least have a natural resistance against the curse’s pull. Raphael must have fought so hard, yet in the end he lost the fight.”She bites down on her lip, visibly emotional, and my heart breaks for her. This curse has taken so much from everyone around me.“He is the reason why I stopped you that night in the caves, Your Excellency,” she tells me, her voice breaking. “It’s just… you are my last hope, and I couldn’t… Fates, I hope that someday you’ll be able to forgive me for it.”I reach for her hand and squeeze gently. “I forgave you for that long ago. If not for you, I’d have missed out on so many experiences and memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I’d never have learned to harness my powers, and I’d have gone through life believing I was a cursed being unworthy of existing.”Elaine looks up at me, her eyes shimmering.I reach for her and swipe away her tears. “How do you maintain the will to fight?” I ask, my voice soft. I can’t imagine how much pain she’s gone through, how much she must continuously be in due to the curse’s pull.“The only way for me to ever see Raphael again is for this curse to break. When he disappeared, a new rose bloomed in the atrium, and I just have this feeling that he isn’t truly gone forever. I keep fighting because it’s the only way to get to him.”I hear the unspoken words and lower my eyes. “I’m scared I can’t break the curse, Elaine.”She smiles at me, quiet confidence in her gaze. “You’re wrong, Your Excellency. I can see what Theon once did. You might not realize it yet, but you’re falling for our emperor. I truly believe that love is the most powerful force in this world. In time, you will see that, too.”Her words both surprise and scare me. Falling in love with Felix never seemed like an option, yet within the span of a few days, it has crossed my mind several times.noveldramaCould he and I truly find love together? And if we do, will it in turn save those we love?