Bound by Curse

The Unknown Truth

The door closed, and the room went quiet.

Then Isabella laughed.

It was soft at first, then louder. She walked in a slow circle around me, her wine-colored dress whispering on the rug. Her face was no longer sad. It was bright and glowing.

"Oh, Rebecca," she said. "Look at you. I could not have dreamed of a better sight."

I stayed on the floor. My throat burned. My lips were cracked. "Leave."

"A few days." She held up her fingers. "Only a few days since the wedding, and you are already in hell. I am so happy. Truly. I was afraid you might find peace here."

"What do you want, Isabella?"

"I want to look at you."

"Then you have looked." I pressed my hand against the bed and pushed myself up. My legs shook, but I made myself stand. "Why are you really here? You never do anything without a reason."

I had watched her in the doorway. I had seen how she lowered her voice for Draven. How she tilted her head. How she looked at him from under her lashes, soft and sweet and slow. I knew that look. I had seen it on her face years ago, whenever William walked into a room.

"If you came to see me suffer, you have seen it," I said. "Now go. You do not need me anymore."

Isabella stopped walking.

Her smile slowly changed. It was not cruel anymore. It was calm, and that was worse.

"I did not come for that," she said. "I came to take back what is mine."

My heart gave a hard knock. "What do you mean?"

"Draven." She said his name like it tasted sweet. "He was mine, Rebecca. He was always mine."

"What are you talking about?"

"Father promised him to me." She lifted her chin. "Do you think a king like that would marry the cursed daughter first? No. The marriage was arranged for me. Father needed it badly. He was losing deals everywhere. A marriage to Draven would have saved everything."

I stared at her. My head was spinning. "You were supposed to marry him?"

"Yes." Her eyes flashed. "And I refused."

"Why?"

"Because of the rumors!" She threw her hands up. "Everyone said he was an ugly old beast. A killer. I cried for days. I begged Father on my knees. I said I would rather die than marry that monster."

"So you gave him to me."

"I told Father to give you instead." She shrugged, as if it were nothing. "He was afraid. He said if Draven found out he was given a cursed girl, he might destroy him and the whole kingdom. He said I was the best choice for Draven."

"And you said no."

"I said Draven was perfect for you." She gave a small, cruel smile. "A cursed girl deserved a ruthless beast. It seemed right. So Father found a way. He told Draven before the wedding. That his daughter was cursed. He begged him to take you anyway, because he knew a man like Draven could not be touched by any curse."

My whole body went cold. A king your curse cannot touch. My father's words came back to me. I had thought he was selling me. I had not known he was also planning it.

"And to our surprise," Isabella went on, "Draven said yes. Just like that."

I swallowed. "You were happy."

"I was thrilled. I thought, let her rot in the arms of that old beast." She stopped. Her face changed. Her eyes grew soft and far away. "And then I saw him in the throne room."

"Isabella..."

"I could not breathe." She pressed her hand to her heart. "He was not old. He was not ugly. He was the most handsome man I have ever seen. Like something from a dream. Like something God made on His best day." Her voice shook. "And I had thrown him away. I gave him to you myself, with my own mouth."

For the first time, I heard something real in her voice. It was pain.

I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"So you came to take him back," I said slowly.

"Yes."

I could not believe it. All this time, they had hidden it from me. My father. My stepmother. My sister. They had arranged my whole life like a game, and I was only a piece they moved.

My hands began to shake, but this time it was not fear. It was rage.

"You lied to me," I said. "All of you. You let me think I was just unwanted. You never told me the king was meant for you."

"Why would we?" She laughed. "You would only have cried."

"I would have known!"

"And what difference would it have made?" She stepped close. Her perfume was sweet and heavy. "You are a cursed girl. You were always going to be the leftover."

I stared at her. My chest rose and fell. Then I stepped forward until we were face to face.

"I will never let you take him from me."

Isabella blinked. For a moment, she looked shocked. Then she laughed again, loud and cold. "Him? Listen to yourself. You do not even like him. He locked you in a room. He has started to punish you."

"It does not matter."

"He called you nothing in front of the whole court. I heard the guards talking in the hall."

My chest burned. That hurt more than I wanted it to. But I did not look away. "You gave him up yourself, Isabella. You wrinkled your nose and said he was a beast. You had your chance. You lost him, and you deserve it."

Her face went white.

"You dare..."

"Yes. I dare."

Her hand lifted, and for a second I thought she would slap me. But she lowered it slowly and smiled instead, thin and sharp.

"You are very brave for a woman who has nothing," she said. "What can you do, Rebecca? You are worthless to him. He said it himself. You are only a crown on a stick.

I did not answer. My hands were so tight I felt my nails cut my skin.

A knock came at the door. A key scraped in the lock.

Two guards stood in the doorway with their heads low. One held out my small silver key.

"Your Majesty," he said. "Forgive us. The King has ordered you released."

I stared at him. "Released?"

"Yes, my lady. You may leave your room."

"Why?"

The guard hesitated. His eyes flicked to Isabella. "The King said it is for the sake of your sister. She has come to visit, and he does not wish her to see you locked away."

The words fell into the room like stones.

For the sake of your sister.

Not because he was sorry. Not because he had changed his mind. Because of her.

My fingers closed slowly around the key. It was cold in my hand.

Isabella pressed her fingertips to her lips, and her shoulders shook with laughter.

"Oh, Rebecca," she said sweetly. "I have only just arrived, and he already likes me. Imagine what he will do for me if I stay a little longer."

I said nothing. I could not.

"You are being released because of me," she whispered, close to my ear. "Remember that. Every time you think he cares, remember that."

She swept past me to the door. At the threshold, she looked back over her shoulder, her golden hair gleaming in the hall candlelight.

"I think I will stay for a while, sister," she said. "A long while."

She walked out, her laughter trailing behind her.

I stood alone in the middle of the room with the key in my hand. My stomach cramped and my head spun.