Page 27 of Apples Dipped in Gold

I hesitated.Oh, she was challenging.

“I suppose that depends on the offense,” I said.

She watched me, and I waited, anxious for her approval.

“I do not think anyone deserves to be cursed,” she said. “But if the purpose of a curse is to learn a lesson, what is yours?”

“I was not cursed to learn a lesson,” I said.

There was no point in loving someone who did not love you back. Whoever had brought this upon me—likely one of my beastly brothers—intended one thing—torture.

I turned and began walking again.

“But isn’t that how curses are broken?” she asked as she followed.

“Not this one,” I said.

“Then I do not understand how I am supposed to break this curse.”

“You aren’t going to break it,” I said. “You will wish it away.”

It took me a moment, but I soon realized that Samara had stopped following. I paused and turned, but she was gone. Instantly, dread pooled in the pit of my stomach.

“Samara!” I jogged back to the place where I’d seenher last and looked in all directions but saw only dense, green foliage. It was as though she’d vanished. “Fuck!”

“You dimwit,” said the fox. “You scared her!”

“I did not intend to!” I said. “She didn’t even give me a chance to explain!”

“She told you she did not trust you,” said the fox. “Yet you led with a wish!”

“I am aware,” I snapped. I had a feeling she would remind me often, with her actions and her words, but if she’d given me a chance, I’d have told her about the wishing tree and its magic. “Fuck,” I muttered again, scanning the ground for signs of her footsteps when I noticed a sprawling shrub with leafy, dark green vines. Purple flowers grew in clusters along their stems, and some had turned into bright red berries. It was bitter nightshade, and like all plants of its kind, they were singing.

There once lived a prince of poison

Who marked a mortal as his chosen.

But she did not want to be his wife

So she severed his hand with a knife,

And now his heart is broken.

I ground my teeth. Despite my power, I often battled the singsong nightshades. The forest had influence first, and she took great joy in taunting me, which had given me a specific reputation among the fae, since no one heard what I heard.

“I will poison you to the root if you do not tell me where she has gone,” I growled.

The nightshade shivered, and their tune changed quickly.

Look close, Prince.

See our limbs, they are limp.

See our leaves, they are ripped.

Your lover, she came this way.

Your lover, she ran this way!