Page 35

He nodded with alacrity and stalked off without a word.

There he went, being odd again. She would be sure to get to the bottom of his strange behavior today.

She threw open the wardrobe and gasped at the beautiful array of gowns, each one fit for a princess.

She chose one that had a frilly white bodice, and swoopy sleeves in the same color.

The skirt was periwinkle blue and cinched at the waist with a beautiful rose pinned at the waistline.

The skirt itself fell in little ruffled layers, like the petals of a flower in bloom.

She picked out a pair of small silver earrings that lay in a jewelry box on the dresser and fastened them as well before tying her hair back in a half-up hairdo using a blue ribbon.

Posturing slightly in the mirror, she took in her appearance with satisfaction.

If she was going to be trapped in this world, she might as well enjoy the little pleasures they had to offer.

“Pretty, pretty beauty,” sang the sparrow.

She rolled her eyes at them, slipping her feet into a pair of delicate slippers, before exiting the room. Her two winged friends continued to follow her, much to her chagrin. It wasn’t that she disliked them, but they seem to put Grim at edge with their odd pronouncements.

She found him in the main hall, staring at the portraits with a faraway look on his face. He turned to look at her when she approached and offered a smile.

“You look very fetching,”

“Don’t,” she said quietly. “Don’t play with my heart like that.”

He looked as if he was about to argue, but then sighed and looked away. Behind her, the sparrow said to the robin.

“A tricky one, he is.”

“Poor beauty,” agreed the robin.

Grim glared at the birds and swore in a low voice, making them both flap their wings indignantly. She wondered if she should ask him what was wrong, but his stormy countenance made her feel like she would not get straight answers from him right now.

Night fell before she knew it. She had spent all day exploring the castle while Grim was off brooding somewhere for reasons he still refused to tell her.

Quite frankly, she was exhausted from their back and forth and welcomed the break, taking full advantage of the beautiful castle, roaming the halls, looking at the beautiful art, and the best part—discovering the beautiful library in the west wing.

It turned out her winged companions were well acquainted with the castle and were all too happy to give her a guided tour .

But as time had passed, she had started to become progressively more irate with Grim’s silence, and as they sat at the table in the dining hall, she broached the subject again.

“All right,” she announced, putting down her fork, which clattered against her plate, “out with it, what is the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, don’t be obtuse,” she exclaimed irritably. “You’ve been moping ever since Lore told us what story we’re entering.”

“It’s nothing, Serena.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t call it nothing.”

They looked up to see Lore standing in the doorway, twirling a pipe idly in his hands.

The sparrow and robin looked at each other and said in unison, “Bad news, beauty!”

Lore gave them a cursory glance before focusing on the two people at the table again. He was once again in the form of the brown-haired man, and was looking at them with malicious glee on his face.

“There’s something our dear friend Grim has been keeping from you, you see,” Lore sang.

“Shut up,” growled Grim.

“Ever since I’ve met your charming companion, I’ve had questions about him.

Why is a human brandishing spirit magic and hanging around you?

To sate my curiosity, I managed to use some of the resources I have left, and found something very interesting that made me see him as a completely different person. Or should I say creature?”

“Shut up,” repeated Grim, his voice definitely a little panicked now.

Serena felt her own heart react to his desperation, not understanding what was going on between the two of them.

“What are you talking about?” she asked Lore .

“Have you not wondered why the beast has not shown up yet, even when the beauty has?”

She had wondered that of course, ever since she had gotten here. But what did that have to do with Grim?

“The reason for that, my dear, is because the beast has been with you all along.” He waved a hand toward Grim and smiled to reveal his sharp pointed teeth.

What?

She turned to the dark haired man in confusion, and saw that his face had lost all color.

“Serena, I’m sorry,” he rasped. “I didn’t want you to know.”

Want her to know what?

“Maybe it’s best if I just showed you,” said Lore, and a shadow slashed through the back of Grim’s shirt, slicing his skin as well, making him cry out.

“Stop it!” cried Serena, rushing forward.

“Here’s your test, Serena,” cried Lore, his power now making him levitate upward as he grinned maniacally. “How much would you overlook in someone you love?”

Grim’s back was now exposed, and she could see a large black tattoo in the shape of the sun and the moon.

As Lore continued to speak, the tattoo began to glow, and then fade.

Wind whipped around the room, throwing around furniture.

The chandelier swung around dangerously, and the glass cabinets shattered with the pressure.

She put an arm in front of her face and fought against the wind to get to the man who had stolen her heart before she had realized it, the man who was now kneeling on the floor looking broken in a way that terrified her.

“Would you love a monster? A creature so filthy and disgusting that his own parents cast him aside?”

“You bastard, don’t you fucking dare,” roared Grim. “Serena, GET AWAY FROM ME! ”

Serena, who had been about to touch him, flinched, but didn’t retreat.

Lore laughed again—the tattoo was now almost gone, and Grim began to scream in anguish, tearing her heart in two.

“Grim, what’s going on?” she yelled in worry over the sound of the raging wind and magic that was flying around the room.

He didn’t answer, his back arching, and to her horror, his body contorted in a horrible angle, and she heard the sound of bones cracking, and leathery wings broke through his shoulder blades.

He hunched over as if in pain, his hands and feet turning into skeletal paws, the nails elongating into sharp claws.

His eyes seemed to bulge turning red, as his nose morphed into a grotesque snout, fur springing out all over his body.

He looked like a monster.

She clapped her hands over mouth, horrified.

“What did you do to him?” she whispered, and then screamed, “Bring him back!”

Lore cackled.

“Me? I did nothing. This is your beloved Grim’s other form, the creature he keeps trapped inside of him. I simply removed the seal to show you the truth. Tell me, do you think you could accept him like this?”

The monster, no, Grim, roared again, in fury and anguish and she flinched, stepping back, despite herself.

“I suppose I have my answer,” said Lore, amused.

“I wish I could end the tale here, but we must obey the rules. You have until midnight to break his spell. If you fail, you are trapped here forever.” He looked at Serena with an inscrutable expression.

“It truly is a pity. You put up a good fight, but I was always going to win in the end. ”

With those ominous words, he disappeared.

She turned to look at the creature that was Grim and took a step forward.

“Don’t come closer!” it—he—snarled.

She recoiled, frozen in horror, unable to look away.

“Grim…”

“Don’t look at me! DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!

” he roared, and then he was running away, his claws making a horrible screeching sound against the floor.

She stood there still, glued to the floor for a minute, and then stumbled out into the hall where Grim had disappeared.

Crashes echoed throughout the castle as he made his way through it, running away from her.

She kept walking in a daze, unable to make sense of what had just happened, and then broke into a stumbling run. She didn’t know where Grim was or what was happening, but she knew she had to follow him. But the castle was vast, and she didn’t know where he had gone. Soon she found herself lost.

“The mirrors will show you what you need, beauty,” the sparrow said from behind her, and for once it seemed sadder, more serious.

“The mirrors?”

“Come,” it sang, and she followed it into a room that was filled with tall, golden-edged mirrors.

Each mirror was different, engraved with unique designs.

She stumbled toward the nearest one, which had a wolf’s head carved at the top.

Placing her hand on the surface, she peered at it, not knowing exactly what she was searching for.

Something shifted behind the glass, and then she was sucked into a memory.

A young dark-haired child sat on the floor in front of a narrow wooden bed, his arms around his knees, listening to his parents argue.

“I can’t go through it again, Marcus!” came a woman’s agitated voice. “Every time I look at him , I see that…creature. How am I supposed to love something like that? It turns my stomach knowing that monster came from my body!”

“Well, what are we supposed to do?” snapped his father. “We can’t just throw him out; people will talk.”

His mother was weeping now.

“I cannot—do not ask me to keep him anymore. I have tried everything, but that…that demon keeps coming out. That is not my child!”

The child buried his face in his arms, hot tears running down his cheeks at the cruel words, wishing he could block them out.

“The faeries must have cursed us with a changeling,” said his father grimly.

His mother spoke up then, her voice still heavy with tears.

“Perhaps… there is something we can do…”