Page 55 of Vanish

I squeezed her hands and searched her gaze as I gathered the courage for my next words. “I will do anything to rebuild the trust we were starting to find…if it’s not too late to continue where we left off.”

I waited with bated breath for her decision and felt a surge of relief when her lips twitched up into a soft smile. “It appears this will be our third courtship.”

“What better way to commence it than by wooing you over curse research.”

She laughed, a joyous sound her previous shyness had once prevented me from hearing. “You are quite the charmer.”

“I just want to do all within my power to keep you forever.”

Vulnerability tinged her quiet joy, evidence of the insecurities she battled—a fight I would join as many times as it took to finally rescue her. “Are you sure it’smeyou want rather than whatever suitable match your father is attempting to arrange?”

I enfolded her hand between mine, her form more solid after our conversation than it ever had been before. “I only want you. I love you, Lisette.”

While she didn’t express the heartfelt love I yearned to hear from her lips in return, I detected a hint of the tender emotion in her eyes that I would do all within my power to nourish until it bloomed into confident, joyous love.

I wanted to bask in this romantic moment forever, but I knew that we needed to return to business, breaking the curse placed upon her if we had any hope of preserving our time together. “If you knew of my deception, why did you still feel compelled to return?”

“I’ve discovered a possible lead in our research…at least that’s the reason I used to convince myself. In truth I’ve missed you and wanted to believe your affection was real.” A blush brushed her cheeks and she shyly averted her eyes.

Hope swelled that despite my mistakes it wasn’t too late for us. “What have you discovered?”

She lifted the pendant she’d worn around her neck for as long as I’d known her. It possessed not only a unique artistic design, but an unusual glistening oval stone embedded into the metal that was far different from the jewels that normally adorned the woman of the court.

My brow furrowed. “What type of stone is that?”

“I believe it’s a phanite. I managed to identify it in one of Prince Ryland’s petrology books, but couldn’t uncover any more information on my own and need your help.”

My chest warmed that despite my mistakes she still wanted to work together. “From what I remember, it’s one of my kingdom’s minor resources, though to my knowledge it doesn’t possess any particular properties.”

“There’s a possibly it might emit magic—I’ve sensed power from it the more tangible my body has become, making me wonder whether it’s what has prevented me from fully disappearing and whether it could be the missing piece in saving your kingdom.”

Her words stirred dormant knowledge pertaining to the villages that had disappeared that had initially seemed inconsequential. “There just might be a connection.”

I took her hand and eagerly started towards the door, but felt her tugging against me. Confused, I turned back to find her face twisted in discomfort. “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable with my proximity while you process everything I told you?” I dropped her hand.

She shook her head. “No, I have no reservations towards you; I fully trust in you and your love for me. But I recently discovered that I’ve also been lying to you, though it didn’t start out intentionally…” Her voice trailed off and she wrung her hands.

“Please don’t be afraid to tell me.” I gently took her trembling hands to still them and she slowly lifted troubled eyes to meet mine.

“I’m afraid this may change everything between us,” she whispered. “I promise I thought you knew…or at least I didn’t immediately consider that you might not.” She paused to draw a shaky breath. “The King of Thorndale is my father, but the queen…is not my mother.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before slowly opening them a sliver to take in my expression.

I tightened my grip on her hands. “It appears that your confession is similar to mine in that you shared information I already possessed.”

She gaped at me. “You’ve known all this time?”

“No, but Castiel recently informed me…or rather he mentioned it in passing, assuming I already knew.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lisette murmured. “I never meant to continue our engagement under false pretenses. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it earlier, but I know that Brimoire would never allow a—”

“Stop.” I laid a finger on her insubstantial lips. “I believe that you had no intention of misleading me. There is nothing to fear—I care about you foryoursake, not for your title.”

She stared at me wordlessly, the heartache slowly fading from her eyes as she took in my words. “But how can you accept an illegitimate bride?”

“Your parentage is not your identity. Some princes have taken commoners as wives, or women with entirely unknown backgrounds. The supposed purity of your blood has nothing to do with your ability to rule well. No matter what,youare the one I want at my side…if that is also your desire.”

Though she still looked a bit uncertain, she gave a faint nod. “For now, let’s focus on the potential discovery regarding the curse.”

Anticipation pounded my heart as I kept hold of her hand and led her through the corridors to the royal archives, where we stored the records detailing all the information we had about the curse’s effect on the kingdom. While there were still an abundance of mysteries, we’d carefully chronicled the information we’d managed to discover even without understanding the meaning about these scattered pieces.

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