“What aren’t you telling me?” I interrupt him.

“Nothing.” His face gives that lie away. “I just want to know the time so I can see if everyone will be back…And by ‘everyone’ I mean Sola—who thought this was a very good idea, by the way—and…”

“Sola and who?”

“I forget the girl’s name.” He’s paling by the second. “Is it Ella?”

“Belle?”

“Yes, Belle.”

I stand to my feet. “You have five seconds to tell me where they fuck they went.”

Finding Another Way

Belle

The Eighth Kingdom lies at bottom of a hill, tucked between a green river and an abandoned village.

The castle at its center is covered in overgrown rose vines, and from where Sola and I are standing, the causeway looks as if no one has crossed it in years.

“Are you sure about this, Belle?” Sola looks over at me. “You’re confident this can work?”

“No, but if I told you otherwise, you wouldn’t have come.”

She lets out a sigh. “You’re wrong…I would do anything to see my family again.”

“Where are they exactly?”

“Inside that castle,” she says, pausing. “They’re all frozen in stone…”

“Not for long.” I pull the reins on my horse, commanding it to ride down the hill as Sola follows.

From what I’ve gathered about the curse from Gabriel, there’s a way that he and his brother can break it without killing each other, without both rushing to beat the final petals from falling.

At least, I hope I have this right…

We move across the fog-covered causeway in silence, shooting looks at each other as the cobblestones creak beneath us.

The front gate bears a golden sign with the Kingdom’s name, but there’s small print underneath it:

Our kingdom welcomes all nomads in search of a home.

Love,

The King & Queen of Roses

& our sons, Prince Gabriel & Prince Charlie

Hopping off the horse, I tie him to the gate and run my fingers along the engraved words.

“Come on, Sola.” I motion for her to follow me under the arch. “Let’s see if we can find a way inside.”

“We?” She looks over her shoulder. “I um…I’m not sure if I should go inside. It’s been so long, you know?”

I clasp her hand and pull her alongside me.

As the sun falls behind us, we walk around the grounds—looking up at every opening, but there are no signs of life.

When we reach the east wing, Sola points to a candelabra flickering in a window.

The arms of the candelabra sway and move, and I’m tempted to write it off as nothing more than an illusion, but a woman in a beautiful golden dress suddenly picks it up and twirls around a room.

Izzie?

I watch as she laughs and dances without a care in the world, and my heart begins to ache.

I’d believed Gabriel when he said that she was more than fine, that I shouldn’t be concerned about her in the slightest, but seeing her so close and oblivious to what’s at stake hurts far too much.