Beauty in Autumn (Beauty #3)(3)

The door opens before I can make it up the dirt path to her door, and Leta appears. She gives me a tiny smile, one of her brows arched as if she's not surprised to see me. I figured as much.

"Come in," she says. "I've been waiting for you."

"I don't have much to pay," I offer as I enter her small home. The interior is dark, a fire at the hearth, and a spinning wheel in the corner. Herbs of all kinds hang from the ceiling, drying in bundles, and there's a small bed in the corner. I'm surprised, because I thought it'd somehow be more...sinister. More wise-woman-ish. This looks like any other cottage, except for perhaps the sheer volume of herbs.

"I won't take your money," she says. "Keep your comb."

I stare at her in surprise.

Leta pulls up a stool at the small table near her hearth. "Sit. You have questions."

"I do." I wonder how many I'm going to be able to ask, and decide that I need to just focus on the truly important ones. "I'm going to be the one picked to be his bride, aren't I?"

Leta sits down across from me. She has a wooden bowl in her hands and as I watch, she opens a small pouch and sprinkles herbs into the bowl, then adds water from a pitcher. She stirs it with her pinky finger and then offers it to me without a word.

"Is this my answer?" I take it in my hands and sniffing the herbs. I don't recognize which ones they are.

"You ask a question you already know the answer to," Leta says bluntly. "Is that truly the only thing you came here to ask?"

"No," I say, thinking hard. "I want to know how to defeat the curse. How to free the beast."

"Your answer lies there," she tells me, gesturing at the bowl.

I peer into it, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to read something in the leaves, or ask her a question, or what. Perhaps it's a magic potion? Am I supposed to drink it? I consider the bowl, and Leta's impassive face.

Time to take a chance, I suppose. I lift the bowl to my lips and take a sip, then set it down and look at her expectantly.

She looks fascinated, her pale eyes glittering. One hand goes under her chin. "What made you decide to do that?"

"To drink from it?" I study the bowl, then her interested face. "I thought it might be a magic potion. I came to you for help, so I thought this was the help." I don't feel any different, though. "Should I take another sip?"

"No need. The one was enough."

"What's in it?"

"Tea." She smiles. "The magic is in your response. You took a chance, without knowing the risk. Why is that?"

"Because..." I think for a moment. "Because I'm not going to die here. It doesn't serve any purpose if I do."

"Precisely. You used your wits, even if it seemed like a strange choice. You let logic guide you." Her eyes glitter. "Now ask your question again."

"How do I break the curse?" I ask her. "If I'm to be picked as the bride, how do I break the curse so I can save the beast?"

"You are the first one that has ever asked me that, you know." She takes out her herb pouch, sprinkles a bit into a cup, and then adds water, stirring once more. This time she sips her own tea. "Normally when I am asked about the curse, I am asked how it affects them. They do not care about the beast, they only care about themselves. When they arrive, they ask if they will be the one picked. They do not ask how to help another. It's a curious thing, don't you think?"

"It's hard to care about a beast when he has no face and you've never met him," I say. "I understand this."

"Ah, but you have met him, haven't you?"

My eyes widen. "In my dreams...how did you know?"

"Because you are not afraid," Leta says enigmatically. "You do not weep or bemoan your fate. Your eyes are wide with curiosity, and you ask how to remove the curse instead of what this means for you." Her mouth curves into a smile. "You want to know the man behind the curse."

I can feel my cheeks heat as I think of my dream again. "Is that so bad?"

"No, actually. It is very, very good." She takes another sip of her tea. "I have the answers you seek."

"You do?"

She nods. "But are you prepared to listen? More importantly, are you prepared to do as you are told? There is a way to lift the curse, but it will not be easy."

"How do you know?"

Her eyes narrow on me. "Do you think he is the only one affected by the curse?"

Oh. My hands tighten on the bowl. "Tell me what I need to do, Leta. I want to know. I want to learn."

She leans forward. "You must do exactly as I tell you. As I have said, it will not be an easy thing. You will be frightened. You will not want to do as I have said. But it is like the bowl in your hands. Listen with your heart and not your head, and you will know the truth of the matter."

That...doesn't tell me much. "Go on."

"The curse is specific. From the moment you are chosen to enter the forest, you must never look upon his curse."

I frown, not entirely sure what she's saying. "What do you mean?"

"You will travel through the cursed forest. Leaves will crunch under your feet while you are on the path, and the birds will sing in the trees. As long as you stay on the path, you will be safe. The beast will meet you. He will demand things of you. He will ask you to look upon him." She sips her tea. "And you must be blindfolded the entire time."