Pythia’s words keep resounding through my mind, keeping me awake in the bed I expected to share with Felix.Your blood will spill on these very floors, and your life will be lost.I’ll die here without ever breaking the curse. I had so many more questions for her, and after she vanished, I waited for hours in the hope of her returning, but she never did.How do I die? Do I die at Felix’s hand? Will the curse concentrate right here in the palace now that I’ve made so many parts of the country inaccessible to it? How will it adapt to our efforts to fight it? Were our attempts to mitigate the curse’s effects doing more harm than good?There is so much I need to know, so many questions unanswered. Oddly enough, the thought of dying doesn’t scare me. What I fear more than anything else is what it’ll do to Felix if I were to die by his hand, even if not by his choice.I understand it now. I understand why he became more distant the longer we were away from the palace. If I’d known that he pushed me away in an effort to protect me, I’d never have provoked him the way I did.I sigh and slip out of bed, my eyes roaming over the bedroom I’ve come to consider mine. Tonight isn’t the first night I’m in Felix’s bed without him being here with me—this is exactly how we started our marriage. I still remember his words, his plea to give our marriage an honest chance in case it might break the curse. It was a foolish notion, and it seems even more so now.I lift my hand and let my robe float through the air until I step into it. I was powerless when I arrived here, and despite all I’ve learned, I’m still powerless today. I can’t save my marriage, and I can’t break the curse that will eventually take my husband. If Pythia is to be believed, I can’t even save myself.noveldramaI step out of my bedroom, pausing when the candles in the hallway light up, clearly trying to guide me somewhere. I smile to myself, at ease with the palace’s quirks now when once it terrified me.The doors to the library swing open as I approach it, and I pause in the doorway. Felix is seated behind his desk, his eyes filled with profound torment as he looks up. “Arabella,” he whispers.I suspected he was still at the palace, but I wasn’t certain, since he’s made every effort to avoid me in the last three days. I smile tightly and walk in, noting the way Felix’s eyes roam over my body. It isn’t just desire I see in them; there’s a different, deeper kind of longing, too.He drops his quill and leans back in his seat, the sadness in his gaze resonating with the aching of my heart. “I thought you were asleep.”I pause in front of his desk and shake my head. “No. I’ve been unable to sleep for weeks now.” He tenses, guilt flashing through his eyes, and I shake my head. “I’ve grown so accustomed to being in your embrace that I struggle to sleep when you aren’t there.”His eyes roam over my face, as though he can’t quite believe I’m standing in front of him. “What are you doing up so late?” I ask, my eyes dropping to the papers on his desk.Felix inhales deeply as he pushes a piece of parchment toward me. “This is what you asked for when we came to an agreement. I’m ready to grant it to you now.”I lift the document, my heart stopping. “Annulment papers,” I murmur. I look up at him in shock. “Why?”“I received reports from the cities we’ve visited. The ground is heating, and the snow has melted in most places. There are no more reports of natural disasters or misfortune. Your fire is keeping the curse at bay, just as we suspected. I’ve asked the sorcerers in our safe havens to visit the affected areas and help grow crops, and the results have been promising.“When I asked for your help, I told you I’d let you go if you were able to help me lessen the curse’s effect on my people, and you’ve done just that. There’s nothing more I can ask of you. I took you from your kingdom, from the man you love, and despite that, you’ve given my country more than we ever should have asked for. The only thing I can offer you in return is freedom.”I stare at him, anger rising from the pit of my stomach, until I can feel the pressure in my head. I set the parchment on fire and watch it burn to dust before brushing my hands off.“I didn’t mean a word I said to you about Nathaniel, Felix. I was angry that you’d been pushing me away. I was hurt, and I set out to hurt you in return. You may have told me that you struggled with the curse’s effects, but you never told me how bad it’d gotten. Instead of continuing to confide in me, you pulled away, leaving me to make assumptions about what might be on your mind.”He nods as he pulls out another sheet of parchment. “I suppose I’ll have to draw up another document,” he says, his voice devoid of emotion.“You may if it pleases you, but know that I’ll set that ablaze, too.”“Arabella, this is what you asked for, isn’t it?”I look away. “Felix, that’s what I asked for before I even got to know you. My dreams and wishes have evolved since then. Our marriage has become a true one. You once asked me to give our marriage a chance, and I now ask the same of you.”“I have,” he says. “I gave it a chance, and we were unable to break the curse. I don’t see the point in continuing this charade. You’re young, Arabella. You have a whole life ahead of you, but not here, not with me. You aren’t the only one who looked into the Mirror of Pythia and asked what our future holds.”I freeze, a chill running down my spine as I recall Pythia’s words.“If you stay here, you’ll die, Arabella. I’ve seen what your future holds if you leave, and your happiness lies in Althea. I suppose you and I always knew that. You were always meant to return home to the life that’s waiting for you there. I can’t be around you. Even as you stand here in front of me, I feel the darkness rise within me. I suspect that it knows you’re the one reining it in, and I can’t protect you from it, not when it resides within me.”Your blood will spill on these very floors, and your life will be lost.No matter how badly I want to stay, I can’t. For a moment I felt like we’d defeated the curse, giving our people some relief from the damage it causes… but with every win comes devastating personal defeat. I should have known that we couldn’t win. Not truly.I look into Felix’s eyes, his expression unreadable. I inhale deeply as I drop my gaze to the stack of parchment on his desk and turn around, snapping my fingers as I do so, engulfing his desk in flames as I walk away.It doesn’t soothe my aching heart, but it brings me peace to know he’ll struggle to draw up new papers tonight.