Page 29 of The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities

Apollo was saying something, his deep voice reaching me like sea foam. Every time I was about to grasp it, it retreated into the arms of the ocean.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I mumbled, my eyes trailing back to the arch.

Apollo took my jaw in his rough hand and squeezed my cheeks hard enough to hurt. “At the edge of Fairyland, there is a bridge we’ll have to cross. Once we reach it, we’ll be safe. But until then, you cannot, under any circumstances, wander off and certainly not look behind you. You should never look behind you in Fairyland. That’s how they trap you. Most fairies are incorporeal until you acknowledge them. Once you do, things can get very real, very fast. So no matter what the fairies tell you, you cannot believe them.”

“Why shouldn’t I believe them?” I manage to form the question, my voice echoing in my ears.

“Because one’s greatest desire is oftentimes one’s greatest prison,” Apollo said.

There was something about his words and his tone that jolted me a little. “Apollo—” I heaved. “I’m aCuriosity.I don’t know if I can do this. I would want to look—I already want to.”

Inexplicably, Apollo gripped the edge of his shirtsleeve and ripped it off the seams.

“What are you doing?” I squeaked.

“Making sure you don’t become some capricious fairy’s slave,” he growled as he brought the fabric over my eyes and tied it in an almost painful knot behind my head.

Once my eyes were covered, my senses resharpened. Apollo’s fresh scent, the warmth of his body, his fingers on my face—everything became stark again, and my previous fascination morphed into ice-cold fear.

“Can you see anything?” he asked, adjusting the blindfold lower on my face.

I shook my head. “No, nothing. Willyoube okay?”

“Magic is an emotional practice. I don’t have the heart to be affected by it,” he explained, guiding my hand to his arm so I could hold on to him.

“You sure you’re ready?” he insisted.

My fingers tightened on his bicep. “Just…don’t let go.”

Apollo released a breath. “Right back at you.”

The first few steps were easy. The ground beneath my boots was smooth and sturdy. I could tell that we had passed under the arch because the very air in my lungs changed, sweetened, and the scent was weirdly nostalgic, reminiscent of golden summer honey and crisp autumn apples. The silence thickened, too. Nothing moved in the undergrowth, nothing shone through the fabric of my blindfold, nothing chirped between the boughs.

“Apollo?” I whispered, digging my nails into his arm.

“I’m right here,” he reassured. “I got you.”

Then the voices came.

Low, clear, mirthful voices caressed my ears like a lover’s whisper, enticing and seductively irreverent. A cool breeze rushed through me, raising the hairs at the nape of my neck. My skin pebbled. My breath caught in my throat.

I’m right behind you, one warbled, and indeed something like vaporous hands fiddled with my hair.If you turn around and play with me, I’ll make sure your life is always filled with magic and curiosity.

I bit down on my tongue, trying to keep my senses taut. But my body felt nearly afloat, drifting by into some pretty, otherworldly realm.

Different voices reached me, all cheerfully impatient.If you stay with me, I’ll show you the face of your one true love—But if she stays with me I will show her the world—Yes, but I will show her the stars—Νo, the moon—No, the Realm where the gods bask in their eternal glory.

Then came another voice, and unlike the others, it was deep and vast and exceedingly dreadful. It crawled inside me and grasped my tender little heart into its claws. It squeezed it until I was certain it had crumbled, that I would return home an empty vessel.

No,it cooed, she’ll stay with me. Because I’m the only one who can save her from him. What? Don’t tell me you believed him, Nepheli. A heartless man’s promise? Darling,it mocked, its tone growing dauntingly similar to Apollo’s,he’s going to devour you whole. He’s not helping you. He’s taking you to his lair. You’re almost there. Just lift your blindfold and see for yourself.

Suddenly, I became hyperaware of Apollo’s body next to mine, his strong hand slipping to my waist to press me to his side. Pressing and pressing until I could no longer breathe. My vital organs were pressurized into my ribcage, and my heart had no other choice but to rise to my throat, and—Here he holds you like a gentleman, but there’s the dagger, shining in his other hand. A pretty betrayal. He’s going to carve your heart out and eat it raw.

And we all know he is going to do it slowly,a shy little voice considered.

So, so slowly,one added.

Then a cruel little laugh.And no one will come to save her. That’s for sure. Her family left her behind. Her lover too.

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