A hurt expression flashed across his face and disappeared without a trace. He nodded once, as if he understood and agreed with my rejection of his proposal.
The young prince bowed to me, then turned and walked away.
I stood alone in the center of the ballroom. All eyes were on me, but there was only one pair of eyes that I feared. And when I turned, I saw her gray eyes raging with fire. The witch wrapped her gloved fingers around my elbow and led me off the floor, all the while hissing in my ear. I was trapped. There was no way out. And though my words wouldn't save the prince, they would push him away long enough to come up with a better plan.
CHAPTER EIGHT
An hour passed as I stood with the witch. My toes were aching, pressed together tightly within the glass slippers. I wished I could kick them off and run through the room barefoot.
But I knew that wasn't possible. Many things were not possible.
The witch did not waste time scolding me. Instead she wanted every detail of our conversation from the time before the Prince stormed off. Because that was what it had looked like to everyone else that I'd said something that angered him. Prince Phillip had left the room and not returned. At the toll of the clock, my heart lurched. It was past eleven. Normally, I would be leaving now. But not tonight. There was no escape from the witch's control, and she wanted me to remain until the prince claimed me as his bride and went to the gardens.
She smiled while she spoke, If you are not withholding anything from me, then I am certain we can fix this, quickly. We must have you home by midnight. She fussed with a stray curl, putting it back in place. Listen carefully. The spell upon you makes other men covet you. Simply dance with another and the charm will invoke the Prince's lust for you. She spoke so coldly. Her mind was such a twisted web of thorns that she didn't notice that I truly cared for him. The Duke's son smiled at me. A girl slightly older than I was, was on his right arm. My mother stepped in front of the boy, causing his date to step aside. May I have a word, your eminence?
The boy smiled at the flattery and bowed his head acknowledging my mother. She said quietly, I believe my daughter has offended the Prince. But since we are mere women, we cannot figure out what it was that she has done.
Perhaps you would find it in your heart to dance with the girl, and help her discover her mistake?
The boy's eyes widened. There was a second's hesitation.
But, he extended his elbow for me, and I held on. He led me away from the witch and to the dance floor. I smiled and nodded, playing along as the dumb girl trying to mend her mistake with the prince. Before we circled the ballroom twice, the Prince appeared. I felt his eyes on the back of my neck, slipping across my cheek, and finally meeting my eyes as we danced by. Others approached the prince, but he was despondent. His eyes were transfixed on me. When we were to pass the prince again, he stepped in front of us, blocking our path.
If I may... Prince Phillip said, and cut in. His hands gripped me hard as he took the boy's place. As we danced away, I saw the Duke's son back away with sorrow on his face. My mother's spell was thick, and it was as if the boy mourned me, though he only spoke to me for a moment.
I felt my mother's eyes on me. I couldn't speak here. She'd know what I'd said.
The prince seemed irritated, and immune to the spell that seemed to enchant the rest of the men in the room. All male eyes were on me, staring. All female eyes were enraged as they coaxed their dejected men to dance.
Prince Phillip seemed not to notice. He spun me once, and pulled me tightly to his chest. What have I done? What would make you say such a thing? And don't deny that you love me, Ella. I see it in your eyes. Year after year. It grows stronger, as do we. Tell me. I won't let you go until you tell me why we can't be together. He turned and a several pairs of dancers moved between the onlookers in the crowd, including my mother.
I spoke softly. Quickly. Take me somewhere we can be alone. Take me to your bedchambers. Now. I looked into his eyes, begging that he would understand. If he couldn't detect that something was very wrong, we would both die. Before he could say anything, I added, tilting my head toward the guards Tell them you're going to the gardens. Make certain that no one knows.
His perfect lips were silent as he nodded. The last time I was up there in his bedroom, we were children sneaking away from a party. Now we were adults, and it would look quite different if we were caught. Go up the servant's stairs, he whispered. I'll meet you there.
I nodded once, and smiled shyly. I was aware of my mother's gray eyes on my face. I turned to smile at her. It was the sign I was supposed to make when the prince was to take me to the gardens. It was the signal for her to take over. I was to leave the palace and return to my prison as I'd done so many times before.
When the prince moved away from me, he walked towards his guard. This was to be expected. He would tell them to keep their distance while he proposed to me. The clock, with its hollow bells, chimed that it was nearly midnight. After I walked out of the ballroom, and away from prying eyes, I clutched the skirt of my gown in my hands and ran. But my shoes didn't want to stay on my feet. And they were so noisy that it sounded like a pot clanging on stone every time my foot struck the ground.
Stopping, I hopped and pulled the shoes off. Running barefoot, I held one shoe in each hand and darted up the servant's staircase on the far side of the castle. The narrow passageway was empty as all the household staff was tending to the ball.
When I reached the upper-landing, I looked out into the garden. My mother sat shrouded in darkness, waiting for a prince who wouldn't come. Her wrath would be worse than anything that the people dancing at the ball would do to me. Turning quickly, I sprang down the long hallway, and through a doorway.
I emerged in the Prince's bedchamber and slammed the door behind me.
Prince Phillip rushed at me, throwing his arms around me, and kissed me hard before letting go. His kisses were like last year, but also different and terrifying.
When he broke the kiss, he asked, What's wrong? What's happened that you're acting like this?
He held me in his arms, and I felt like I could tell him anything. That he'd protect me from her. That he'd rather die than see something happen to me. He'd said so many things to me, and I believed every single word. My mother was wrong.
The prince loved me. He would always love me, no matter what.
I felt my lower lip tremble as I looked into his eyes, and took the chance. I told him the truth. The woman who came with me tonight... she's been holding me prisoner since I was a child. This is the first time that she hasn't had an enchantment on me that sealed my lips and prevented me from speaking of her. Phillip, she'll kill me if she knows what I've done. We must run away. There is no other way. I looked into his green eyes as I spoke. His hands clamped around my waist, leaving no space between us. I would be queen if we stayed here, but it wasn't worth risking him. I had no power to overthrow the witch. I couldn't kill her.
The prince soothed me, holding me tightly in his arms. I'll take care of it, Ella. There is no reason to run. I'm a prince, and after tonight you'll be my princess and one day my queen. We do not run. My guards will take care of this woman, and punish her for what she has done to you. He paused, his eyes drifting lower, staring at my shoulder. He released me, and turned me slowly. His fingers pressed into the smooth bare skin on my back, where he'd seen the marks from the branding iron long ago. But now they were gone. He swallowed hard. She did that to you, didn't she? And she used magic to remove the scars for tonight? Ella you've always had those scars. I remember them. I remember asking you how you got them, but you wouldn't say.
It was done by the same person, wasn't it?
Phillip, please. You don't know what she's like. Please believe me. We need to run. If you and I are to be together, we cannot stay here. She'll figure out we aren't coming to the garden at any moment. Pulling on his arm, I tried to get the prince to walk towards the servant's stairs and run. But he wouldn't move.
r /> Phillip shook his head, Do you not think I can protect you? Ella...
My Prince, that is not the problem. She is not what she seems. She has power that is unnatural, and has already killed.
Please. We need to go now...
He allowed me to pull him two steps toward the door and then stopped me. Turning me to him, he said, What is she? Tell me if you know. There can be no secrets between us.
Staring at his dark green eyes, I answered, She's a witch. A powerful sorceress. I paused, swallowing hard, and added, And she's my mother. I stared at him waiting for him to answer, but his mouth fell open.
He breathed, You're a witch, too? A sorceress? I didn't recognize the expression on his face. I didn't know what he was thinking.
I nodded, heart hammering in my chest. Yes, but I have no power. I have not used it, despite her. She has killed before. She slayed my father because he defied her. She killed your brother when he was a child, and she intends to kill you tonight. I can't stay here another moment. She'll destroy me when she learns what I've done. I have to run, with or without you. I turned to flee down the stairs when I felt his hand on my shoulder. He gripped me hard and turned me back to him.
Did you think I would shun you? Did you think that I would despise you when you revealed to me what you truly were? Ella... answer me, he demanded.
There wasn't time for this. We had to leave. But his grip on me was too tight. I closed my eyes, trying to hush the roaring of my beating heart in my ears. When I looked up at him I said, Love forgives many things, but blood so vile... I don't know.
Without a word he pulled me to his lips. His warm body pressed against mine as the kiss deepened. When he pulled away we were both breathless. I have always loved you. My heart has always been yours. It always will be, Ella. Forever. There is nothing you could do that would make me stop... He smiled at me. He took my face in his hands as he spoke of his affection for me.
My shoes were in my hand, clutched between my fingers, as I stared up at him. His words melted into me, making every lash of the witch seem like it'd been worth it just to get to this moment in time. I was in his arms. And he loved me even though I was tainted by my wicked mother even though I was a witch.
I barely recognized the toll of the clock. Midnight. From that point, things changed so fast that I didn't know what was happening. But I could feel it. Something within me awakened.
The prince's eyes changed from adoration to horror, as I felt my body thirst for something I didn't know I needed blood.
He backed away from me, saying, Ella, what's wrong?
What's happening?
But I didn't know. My face felt hot. Every part of me was screaming like I was going to die. I no longer knew who I was or where I was. The man standing in front of me was not someone I knew. All memories of him vanished, as my gaze transfixed on the thick vein on his neck. It pulsated like a frightened animal, making my instincts completely overpower my mind.
I lunged at him, dragging him across the room, and pressing him onto the massive bed. Phillip's back hit the bedpost before his body fell on the mattress. He let out a gush of air as his eyes widened in terror. The blow to the head made him weak, too weak to fight me off. He tried to free himself from my grip, but was unable. He screamed for help, but no one came. No one knew where he was. There wasn't a guard nearby to see what was happening. No one could save him from me.
Clutching the slippers in my hand, I swung them at the stone wall. The shoe shattered into a million pieces. Without a thought, I picked up the longest, sharpest piece. My hands ripped open the prince's shirt. Wildly, I pressed my fingers into his flesh looking for the pulsing spot. My fingers pressed against the rib, feeling the soft skin right below. Without a word, I plunged the glass shard into his chest, tearing an opening large enough for my hand to pass through. The prince screamed so loudly that I nearly stopped, but when his warm blood covered my hand and dripped off my wrist, the insatiable thirst returned.
On instinct, I cut the prince's heart from his dying body.
Blood soaked the bed, as the prince screamed with mortal terror.
His blood stained every inch of my white gown as I worked the organ from his body. But it didn't matter. I had the thing I desired. I watched the prince's heart beat in my hand.
There was no comprehension of what I'd done. I spoke to Phillip like he was still alive. I told him what I thought our future would be like, and that I'd wanted him since the first time I saw him. It wasn't until my mother stood in the doorway that I noticed something was wrong.
Bring it here, Ella. Her voice commanded me, but I didn't move. She had no power over me. And her golden hair had grayed at the temples. That meant she'd used much of her power to stand before me at that moment. And when she aged this time, she would die. That I knew. I felt it within me. Something that said blood allowed us to live. To survive.
No. His heart belongs to me. He said so! I expected Phillip to speak, but he didn t. His body lay still where I'd slain him. Clutching his heart close to my chest, I said, You cannot have it. He's mine!
My mother took a small step toward us with her hand outstretched. It was like she was trying to coax a madman with a knife. Yes, your prince is yours. Let's put his heart in the golden stone before it dies, Ella. You did what you came here for. The guards are coming. We must act quickly.
But her words threatened me. She would not take his heart from me. His heart belongs to me. You cannot have it! I shouted despite her protests. My mother aged before me as she tried to use her power to make me surrender his heart. But I would not release it. Power flowed from somewhere within me, refusing to let him go. As the witch withered back into her ancient form the guards appeared in the room. They surrounded us, pointing their weapons at my mother and myself.
The captain of the guard's jaw fell open as he took in the scene. I was covered in the prince's blood, and there was an enormous hole in his chest. When the guard's gaze landed on me, he shouted, She's killed the Prince! Take her! As the solders approached, they tried to take Phillip's heart from my hands. At least that was how it seemed. My aging mother used the little magic she had left until a spear embedded itself in her chest.She cried out to me, Ella! Save me! A drop will save me!
Please Ella! But her cries fell on deaf ears. No one else would have his heart. No one else could share him. Phillip had accepted me. He didn't care that I was a witch. And as long as I held his heart in my hands, as long as it was the twelfth hour, I would know no different.
The guards came at me, but I killed every last one of them.
In the end, their armor didn't matter. I was able to cook them like meat in an oven by heating their protective metal. When no one threatened to take Phillip from me, I sat on the bed, and lay down next to him. His beating heart slowed, but I held it next to mine. I awoke when the clock chimed one; I saw what I'd done and Phillip's heart was gone.
CHAPTER NINE
I stood before a vast hole dug into the earth. Cold wind tugged at my hair. My tattered gown still had Phillip's blood crusted to the bodice. My mother was right about everyone, except Phillip, which made what I'd done even worse. When the guards came and captured me in Phillip's room, I was instantly damned. There was no trial, since there was no question that I was a witch. But there was one thing that terrified them most of all. And they hesitated to kill me until they learned where it went. Where was the prince's missing heart? They asked me over and over again.
I stared at the hole in the ground blankly. I recalled the fuzzy state of the nightmare that started at midnight. Phillip had just said he loved me. That he accepted me and my vile blood.
But when I awoke, he was dead. His heart was carved from his chest, and the only other person who was still breathing was me.
They peeled me from his cold lifeless body, as I cried. Phillip may have accepted me, but it didn't stop what I was... what I was capable of.
I found out later, after it was too late, that the evening a witch becomes of
age, she will feed off her lover's heart, much like a black widow spider devours her mate. When the clock chimed twelve, in the dark of night, I became something else. I was a dark creature that needed that boy's heart to live. My mother knew this. She tried to make it less painful for me. I didn't understand. I didn't know what I was or what I was capable of.
A large man with a large gut hollered at me one last time, Where is the crown prince's heart! This is your last chance.
I did not answer, as I could not. I didn't know where his heart went. When my haze of bloodlust lifted, his heart was gone, evaporated into thin air like all our hopes and dreams.
The large man screamed again, demanding that I tell him.
When I did not answer for the third time, he shoved me. My hands were bound behind my back as I fell into the pit they'd dug out for me. I fell on my back and was unable to get up. This would be my final resting place. This is where I would die, slowly, horrifically as my mother had warned.