Page 85 of Once Upon an Enchanted Castle

How she loathed Lord Vincent at the moment for what he did to Leopold. There was no revenge in the world to exact on the man. Only one thing.

Save Leopold.

Juggling the pages and the book, she pulled the chair closer to the bed and reached for his hand. His skin was cold and clammy, but she did not recoil.

“Leopold, can you hear me?” Her voice was tentative, quiet in the silence of the room.

He stirred, his face twitching as he turned his head toward her. He groaned as though in terrible pain. She clutched his fingers, squeezed his hand to let him know she was there.

“I’m here.”

“Bella?” He croaked her name. His voice sounded scratchy.

She squeezed his hand in answer.

His eyes blinked open. Those beautiful eyes that were so pale brown they were terrifying to everyone else but her. He focused on her a long moment.

“You came back.”

“I had to.” Emotion clotted her throat as she made a valiant attempt to hold off the tears. “I know what happened.”

He grunted, closed his eyes again. “I should have killed him.”

“But you didn’t,” she said.

She noticed then the brand on his forearm. It was red and angry and pulsing, ready to consume him to turn him forever into the beast. The ink was darker than ever, which terrified her.

“Leave me,” he said. “There is no help for me.”

“There is hope,” she insisted as she eyed the brand. “I have found the answer.”

“It’s too late.”

“No.”

She released his hand, placing the book in her lap, and shuffled the papers, looking down at her handwriting that seemed so foreign and strange. She didn’t know how the curse worked, but she suspected she had to start at the beginning and speak the words. With her hand shaking, she reached out and placed it on top of his as she read.

“Shadows stir. The sands of time slip away. Silence forever in the gloaming. In the darkest night, no name remembered. No light is welcome. The hourglass bleeds its last.”

He groaned. She held his hand tighter and forged on.

“When the sky is blind and the stars dare not shine, the final form shall take root. Not beast. Not man. Something in between. Bound by thorn. Named by none.”

Underneath her hand, his muscles twitched. It was impossible to know if it was full on night or not. The castle was constantly shrouded in darkness and shadow, never letting in a drop of sun. Still, she hoped.

“One shall bleed, though no wound is seen. One shall choose, though no path is clear.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes remained closed. Still, she hoped. Still, she read.

“To break what binds, name what was given freely. Not taken, not stolen, not owed. A crown cast down. A heart left open. A vow made in silence. Speak the truth that lives between the thorn and the bloom. Name it, and he shall be unmade and made whole again.”

Leopold inhaled one last breath. His eyes fluttered open. He looked at her one last time.

Her name was nothing more than a whisper on his dry, cracked lips. He closed his eyes once again. And then he was gone.

Chapter 35

No.

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