Chapter 55

Ruby

As I get ready for my lesson with Robert, the image of Atwood looking so weak doesn’t leave my mind. Why is he so weak? Is it something to do with the curse? My wolf doesn’t seem to have any answers either; she only knows that there is some kind of sickness in him, but she doesn’t know what it is exactly or why it’s plaguing him so.

Perhaps whatever this sickness is would explain his cruel behavior and sickly appearance. Even though I still plan to escape on my birthday, it makes me curious nonetheless.

I change out of my damp clothes from earlier and into something warm and comfortable: a tight-fitting shirt, a black cardigan, and a pair of warm trousers. As I dress, the snow picks up again outside. The sky darkens and the wind howls against the sides of the castle. Under other circumstances I would be thrilled to be warm and cozy inside during this type of weather, having always enjoyed snowstorms, but now I’m just afraid that Bears will show up.

Robert is already in the library when I enter. As always, he’s seated hunched over at one of the desks, vigorously reading a book and muttering to himself. When I approach him, he jerks his head up so hard that his glasses fall off.

“Oh!” he exclaims, picking up his glasses from the floor. He blows on them to dust them off before placing them back on his long, narrow nose. With his button-up shirt, knit vest, and wiry hair, he looks like he’s stepped straight out of the book Sleepy Hollow.

“Ah, Ruby,” he says, standing and tucking his book under his arm with a smile. “How have you been enjoying your book on hybrids?”

“I actually just finished it,” I say as I follow him over to the chalkboard. I pull it out of my bag and hand it to him. He takes it, looking pleased and surprised at the same time.

“You’re a fast reader.”

I shrug, but can’t help but feel a little happy for his compliment. “There’s not much else to do when it’s snowing like this,” I say, looking out the window. The sky has grown so dark that it almost looks like dusk outside, even though it’s only nine o’clock in the morning.

“Our lesson today is going to be on the final summit between the Lycans, the Bears, and the Swans,” Robert says, picking up the chalk and scrawling on the chalkboard with his back turned to me. He’s still holding his book under his right arm as he writes with his left.

“You see, there was peace for centuries between the three kingdoms,” he says. “Every year, the three leaders -- the Bear King, the Lycan King, and the Swan Queen -- would meet at the highest mountain top in all the kingdoms… It was called Mount Cygnus, named after the first Swan Queen to fly there many centuries ago. At these summits, the three leaders would essentially hash out any grievances they had with one another, which allowed them to rule their kingdoms peacefully. They would also perform the Alliance Ceremony, in which the three leaders would each take turns performing the traditional dance of their people and offer a gift to the other leaders.”

Robert pauses to take a sip of water, then continues.

“At the final summit, however, the Lycan King and the Swan Queen both performed their dances and presented their gifts. The Swan Queen gifted both Kings a feather headdress plucked from her own molting feathers, as well as sixteen white horses for each of the Kings. The Lycan King gifted a fur cloak to each leader made from the skins of elk that he hunted himself, as well as chests of rich spices from our territory in the south.”

“What did the Bear King present as gifts?” I ask, looking up from my notes.

“Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the others, the Bear King had been plotting against the Lycan King for a year,” Robert replies solemnly. “He performed his dance, then presented his gifts… He presented the other leaders each a wooden flute carved from the spruce that are native to his territory, as well as twelve barrels full of the delectable berries that can only be foraged in the north. The Lycan King’s wife, who had a particular love for these rare fruits, immediately ordered her servants to open one of the barrels. She ate a single berry -- only one -- and within minutes, she was dead.”

“It was poisoned?” I ask, enthralled with the story.

Robert shakes his head. “No,” he replies. “Cursed.”

My eyes widen with shock. A curse? Is this the same curse that plagues Atwood? Is this the same curse that will kill me if I mate with him?

“What happened after that?” I ask, swallowing my fear.

“The Swans left their gifts and flew away, holing up in their kingdom and cutting off all trade and contact with the other two kingdoms. Meanwhile, the Lycan King and the Bear King fought each other in their animal forms. They fought so hard that they…” Robert pauses, taking in a ragged breath before continuing. “They both died. They killed one another. Their heirs went on to take over control of the kingdoms, starting a war that has lasted for two hundred years and continues still today. Lycan Atwood’s great grandfather was one of those heirs.”

I don’t say anything for some time, although Robert continues with his lesson. His voice quickly fades into the distance as I ponder this information. If this is the same curse as the one that inflicted the Lycan King’s wife, then… that means that it must be extremely powerful to still be harming the King’s mates today, two hundred years later.

Now, more than ever, I want to run away and get as far from this curse as I possibly can. And yet, there is something inside of me that is curious and wants me to get to the bottom of this.

“...So you see, the Swans-” Robert’s voice fades back into existence in my mind, but I interrupt him.

“Will you give me a lesson on curses?” I ask, causing him to stop his writing in its tracks, his back still turned to me.

After a few long moments, Robert sets the chalk down and turns around to face me.

“Ruby,” he says grimly, “curses are caused by a terribly evil form of black magic. Their history is fraught with death and gore. I’m not so positive that Lycan Atwood would be pleased with such horrors filling your young mind.”

I push my chair back and stand without entirely meaning to. “Please,” I say quietly. “It’s really important to me.”

Robert sighs, passing his thin hand over his face before nodding wearily and crossing the room to a locked cabinet with rows of books behind thick glass. He pulls a key out of his pocket and unlocks the cabinet, pulling out one of the books and walking back over to me. He hands it to me, and I read the cover as he walks back to the chalkboard.

“The Dreaded Witches,” it reads. I open the cover and thumb through the yellowed old pages, coming toward the end to realize that a page has been ripped out.

“There’s a page missing,” I say, holding the book up and turning to Robert. However, he doesn’t seem to be listening. He’s already packing up his things and clearing the chalkboard. I decide not to push any further, and slip the book into my bag.

Without another word, I leave the library and decide to head to my room to get some privacy so I can start reading the book. As I walk, I pull it out of my bag and start flipping through the pages, looking at the faded drawings.

I run into something rigid and look up to see none other than Atwood, once again. It’s almost like he stalks me around the castle like some sort of wraith. He says nothing for a moment, just staring down at me with his bright orange eyes.

“I can smell his wolf,” my wolf says angrily with a growl. “When will you let me mark him? It’s fate. You can’t escape it, Ruby.”

I choose to ignore my wolf.

“Good afternoon, Atwood,” I say quietly, shutting my book and tucking it under my arm. Atwood’s eyes flicker to the book for a moment, but he doesn’t mention it. He looks back at me, eyeing me almost hungrily. I feel as though his wolf is also begging to mark me. I find it odd that he hasn’t simply marked me himself yet if he wants me so badly.

“You look beautiful,” Atwood says quietly. He reaches out to touch my cheek, and I let him. His hand is cold.

His words and his touch cause me to soften a bit, and my cheeks flush a deep scarlet color. My heart pangs a bit as I remember my kiss with Cayden.

Even if I did decide to mark Atwood despite the curse, would he forgive me for kissing someone else?