Beauty in Autumn (Beauty #3)(16)

Light...trees?

I touch my face. There's no blindfold.

"Oh no," I breathe, horrified. Have I already looked at too much? Have I ruined things?

Behind me, Ruari kisses my shoulder. "You said you could be rid of it on the morning of the third day. I took it off while you were sleeping. I wanted to see your face, my love."

Oh no. Please, please no. A sob builds in my throat and I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't. I can't come so close only to lose everything. "Oh, Ruari."

"Look at me, my Willow," he says softly. "Don't you want to see me?"

Hot tears spill down my cheeks and I swipe them away. I'm so terrified of what i'm going to see, but he's right. I do want to see him, if only one last time before I get turned into one of the enchanted roses. I want to look at my Ruari.

I roll over slowly, still keeping my eyes tightly shut. I turn in the bed until I'm facing him, and then slowly open my eyes.

The man before me is...beautiful. Bright red hair, warm brown eyes, and a strong nose with just a hint of a bump on it. His mouth is just as full and lovely as I thought it would be and his body looks as sculpted as a statue. He's gorgeous, right down to the spatter of freckles on his face and chest.

"Am I as horrible as you imagined?" He looks grave. "You are silent."

A choked laugh escapes me and I fling my arms around him. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"I...am?"

"The curse. It's broken! See for yourself!" I can't stop laughing with pleasure, not even when he scrambles out of the bed, naked, to the mirror on the far side of the room.

He touches his face with wonder, staring at the mirror. and then turns to look at me with an expression of pure joy. "You've done it, Willow! You've broken the curse!" He rushes to the window, then points below. "Look! Come see for yourself!"

"I can see plenty," I tell him, gazing firmly at the freckled bottom of my rather sexy lover. I'm almost disappointed I didn't see his beast form. Almost...except the un-enchanted Ruari is so handsome that I don't mind in the slightest. I'll let my imagination fill in the blanks. I move to his side and there below, the flowered hedges are slowly transforming into...women. Girls of every hair color, every dress, some in old-fashioned frocks with strange braids, and one I recognize from a Harvest festival a few years ago. They've all been freed.

"You did it," Ruari tells me, an incredulous smile on his face. He pulls me against him, cups my face, and brings my mouth to his in the sweetest of kisses.

It was worth the wait, I think, as I twine my arms around him. Because this kiss - like my Ruari himself - is just plain magical.





Epilogue





Eleven Months Later





WILLOW


”You have a visitor at the royal nursery," a guardsman tells me as I gently rock my son against my breast.

I glance over at him, a curious look on my face. "Who?"

"She says her name is Leta. Shall I send her away?"

"No, let her in." I swaddle my little Connall tighter in the blankets and wait. It's been months since Leta was seen in the village. She disappeared the same morning that all the enchanted girls swarmed out of the forest and descended upon Windybrook. Not long after, the minister ceded the throne back to my Ruari, and he's ruled as king ever since. The kingdom is still struggling, but things are getting better day by day under my love's firm hand.

We married a scant month after the curse was broken, and our son was born eight months later, on the nose. Windybrook prospers at the edge of the forest, woodcutters and hunters move through its paths regularly, and my parents have apartments in the castle befitting the family of the queen. Life has been magical, and I'm happier than I've ever been. Truth be told, I'd be happy to be in a hut somewhere with Ruari, but rich and powerful is also good.

A woman sweeps in, dressed in opulent skirts that rival my own and a jeweled headdress. It looks like Leta, but she's radiantly beautiful, her hair a pale gold. Her eyes are a riveting green and she looks...otherwordly. Like a fairy princess. I stare at her in surprise, clutching Connall tightly to my chest.

"Come," Leta says in a musical voice. "Did you think Ruari was the only one affected by the curse?" Her smile is impish.

"Who are you?" I ask. "Truly?"

"Someone who has been freed, just like all the others." She gives me an enigmatic smile and moves toward me, extending her hands. "That's all that I will tell you for now. Come, let me see the child."

I stand and offer her my small, sweet son, wondering what she'll think of him.

She takes him and pulls the blankets away, holding him toward the window. Even without the sunlight, it's obvious to see that my son has a pair of tiny horns on his forehead. His round eyes are an otherworldly yellow shade, but he otherwise looks like any other baby. Leta examines him, and then glances back at me. "You let him come inside you."

I blush. "We ah, were caught up in the moment."

"Clearly." Leta shrugs and hands him back. "I foresaw this happening, though he's much cuter than he was in my visions. I suppose it was bound to happen, given your impulsive nature. It's served you well in the past, though I've come to offer you a second warning."