Ramera waved her hand, interrupting his rant. A bolt of silvery magic shot out of her fingertips and slammed into the wizard’s chest, knocking him backward. Eifert looked down. At first, I wasn’t sure what was happening, but then I realized that the bolt had hit his golden wolf pendant—and it was rapidly melting.
“No!” Eifert screamed, cupping his hands underneath the pendant and trying to hold the melting gold in his palms. “I won’t let you do this! It’s not fair! It’s not—”
Ramera waved her hand again. A loud pop! sounded, and the earth cracked open beneath Eifert’s feet. The wizard plummeted down into the chasm, still screaming that he was going to curse me again. An instant later, the earth snapped back together, cutting off his cries and leaving the riverbank in odd, eerie silence.
“I’m sorry about that,” Ramera murmured, looking at me. “But don’t worry, Lady Griselle. You broke Eifert’s curse, so he won’t be bothering you again. I’ll see to that.”
I frowned. “But how did I break the curse? I didn’t do anything. I didn’t make a boy fall in love with me.”
A smile played across the witch’s face. “The curse only stated that you had to find true love. It didn’t specify exactly what kind.”
I shook my head. “I still don’t understand.”
“When you decided to remain a beast, you accepted yourself, despite your outward form, which most would despise,” Ramera replied. “The strongest, purest, truest love is loving yourself, inside and out, fur, teeth, talons, and all. That’s what gave you the strength to fight for your people, and that’s what broke the curse.”
She smiled at me again, then turned to go.
Confusion propelled me forward, along with desperation and that heartbreaking sense of loss. “Wait!”
Ramera stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“I actually liked being a beast.” I gestured down at my human form. “This doesn’t seem like me anymore.”
Her lips pursed in thought. “No, I suppose that human form isn’t really you anymore.” She paused. “Or, at least, not all of you.”
Ramera waved her hand for a third time, and another bolt of silvery magic shot out of her fingertips and streaked toward me. I tensed, expecting the magic to hurt, but instead, a warm, gentle power washed over me, as though I was sitting in front of a fireplace. As quickly as it came, the sensation vanished, although I could tell that something had shifted inside me.
“Eifert took your choice away, but you have more than earned it back,” Ramera said. “Girl or beast, it is for you to decide which you want to be and when and for how long. Being comfortable in one’s own skin is a power in and of itself. Use your strength wisely, Griselle.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
The witch nodded, then vanished into the forest.
When I was sure she was gone, I glanced down at my human hands again. They looked the same as I remembered, if a bit blue and wrinkled from the cold water. I drew in a breath, then let it out and reached for that warm power I could feel pulsing deep down inside me.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure it was going to work, but then the familiar dark brown fur sprouted on my skin, and my fingernails darkened and lengthened into long black talons. I released the magic, and my human form and skin took over again.
A smile spread across my face, so wide that it made my cheeks ache. This was me—all of me—and I couldn’t be happier about it.
“Griselle! Griselle!” Drury’s voice drifted down from the castle.
“Down here!” I yelled back.
Silence. Then Drury and the villagers all started talking at once.
“Lady Mottern is alive!”
“Fetch her a warm blanket! And some hot cider!”
“She saved us from the Razors!”
More shouts sounded, along with claps, cheers, and whistles. My smile widened. I started to move forward, to head into the woods and climb back up to the castle, but that icy wind howled over the riverbank, making my teeth chatter again.
I stopped, closed my eyes, and reached for my newfound magic—or perhaps it was the same power that had been inside me all along. Either way, it only took me a few seconds to transform back into my usual, comfortable, beastly self.
“There,” I whispered, my breath frosting in the chilly air again. “That feels better.”
And it truly did.
Still smiling, I left the riverbank behind to head back to my castle and my people. Oh, I would tell Drury that I had broken the curse, and I would shift back into my human form for all of the villagers to see—tomorrow. But for tonight, it was cold out, and I wanted to be warm, and I couldn’t think of a better way to do that than by putting on my fur coat.
And that was just part of the beauty of being a beast.
About the Author
Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.
In addition to her Elemental Assassin series, Jennifer is also the author of the Crown of Shards, Gargoyle Queen, Section 47, and other fantasy series. She has written more than forty books, along with numerous novellas and stories.
In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys hanging out with friends and family, doing yoga, and reading fantasy and romance books. She also watches way too much TV and loves all things related to superheroes.
For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.jenniferestep.com or follow her online on Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub, Amazon, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also sign up for her newsletter.
Happy reading, everyone!
Other Books
by Jennifer Estep
The Crown of Shards series
Kill the Queen
Protect the Prince
Crush the King
The Gargoyle Queen series
Capture the Crown
The Section 47 series
A Sense of Danger
The Elemental Assassin series
featuring Gin Blanco
Books
Spider’s Bite
Web of Lies
Venom
Tangled Threads
Spider’s Revenge
By a Thread
Widow’s Web
Deadly Sting
Heart of Venom
The Spider
Poison Promise
Black Widow
Spider’s Trap
Bitter Bite
Unraveled
Snared
Venom in the Veins
Sharpest Sting
Last Strand
E-novellas
Haints and Hobwebs
Thread of Death
Parlor Tricks (from the Carniepunk anthology)
Kiss of Venom
Unwanted
Nice Guys Bite
Winter’s Web
The Black Blade series
Cold Burn of Magic
Dark Heart of Magic
Bright Blaze of Magic
The Bigtime series
Karma Girl
Hot Mama
Jinx
A Karma Girl Christmas (holiday story)
Nightingale
Fandemic
The Mythos Academy spinoff series
featuring Rory Forseti
Spartan Heart
Spartan Promise
Spartan Destiny
The Mythos Academy series
featuring Gwen Frost
Books
Touch of Frost
Kiss of Frost
Dark Frost
Crimson Frost
Midnight Frost
Killer Frost
E-novellas and short stories
First Frost
Halloween Frost
Spartan Frost
The Beauty of Being a Beast: A Short Story Page 3