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of the man now. “I know how you can break the curse, Seth. I
know what you have to do.”

Chapter Five
     
     
    Awareness hit Kira layer by layer. First, her
trembling made itself known. And then after the trembling, it
struck her - Oh, I’m cold .
    After looking down at her arms and realizing
no jacket covered her, it became a debate. Leave the tree and get a
jacket? Stay cold? Why was it so hard to make a decision?
    A cloak settled over her, and strong arms
encircled her from behind. The embrace was familiar, so why bother
questioning further?
    Welcome sleep overtook her.
    When Kira opened her eyes next, full daylight
was hitting her eyes, and her wince against the light was quick and
total. “Morning,” a familiar voice said softly behind her.
    She didn’t say anything back. She snuggled
into the arms and stayed silent. Talking meant acknowledging, and
she wasn’t ready to do that yet.
    “I’ll confront my father.”
    “No.” No, Seth was absolutely not allowed to
confront the king. That was a non-negotiable.
    He stroked her arms, the light touch of his
fingers apparent even through the fabric of her shirt. “Do you hate
me?”
    The self-loathing in Seth’s tone startled her
and she turned to him. “How can you think that?”
    “My father said you were to be my companion.
Somehow your being here is connected to me.”
    Kira took his face in her hands. His warm
blue eyes were so full of concern for her that it helped melt some
of the ice surrounding her own feelings.
    She took a deep, cleansing breath. “I don’t
know what’s going on, but I’ll never regret us. Nothing in this
world is powerful enough to make me feel that.”
    Relief etched itself across his features. “I
hate that you’re hurting, but I can’t imagine my life without you
in it.”
    There was no response to that. It was the
truth, but she was still too raw to continue with the conversation.
Instead Kira burrowed into Seth’s chest and wrapped her arms around
him, while his strong arms circled her and cuddled her close.
    She fell asleep again, and the next time her
eyes opened the sun was high overhead. “I’m sorry,” she said.
    Seth gave a soft snort, not bothering to look
down at her or stop combing his fingers through her hair. “About
what?”
    “You can’t be comfortable.”
    “Don’t care as long as you are.”
    He was so perfect. Why was he so perfect? He
was her heart made free outside her body, and she would never be
able to reclaim it.
    No father, no lover, all alone, to always be
on the outside looking in.
    “Stop.” His breathy whisper floated past her
ear. “You can’t do that.”
    How did he always know what she was
thinking?
    “You’re very easy to read.”
    “Well, all-knowing one, what do I do?”
    He chuffed at her snarky tone and pressed a
kiss to the side of her head. “Do you hate him?”
    She shrugged, snuggling back into his chest.
“I will later, I think, at least a little bit. I can’t now. I can’t
feel anything more now.”
    “Yeah.” He drew long patterns on her arm, his
thinking gesture. “I’ll hate them enough for both of us.”
     
    ***
     
    “He told me how to break the curse.”
    They were walking back toward the castle, and
Kira tripped over her feet, stumbling enough that Seth held out his
hands to steady her, though the gesture was ultimately unnecessary.
After she regained her dignity she looked at him, her eyebrows
drawn so tightly together the two became one. “You mean my – Taren
told you? How? Why didn’t he ever mention this before?”
    “He said he didn’t know until now.” It had
been so suspicious, how suddenly Taren knew. A mysterious visitor
came and told him, the same one who advised him that he should tell
Kira of her origins, but he refused to divulge who the visitor
was.
    It was suspicious, and with anyone else, Seth
would have the person investigated to see if she or he was somehow
connected to the curse. But this was Taren, and the