The trees were gradually thinning, hinting we were nearing the destination of my final payment. After today, I likely wouldn’t see Aiden again...or rather, I shouldn’t see him again. The thought sent a pang through my heart.
“We’re almost there,” Aiden murmured, and a few minutes later the path opened up into a clearing. My hand leapt to my throat.
“Oh, Aiden…”
Midst the clearing of colorful wildflowers permeating the air with their sweet perfume, a waterfall fell in a frothy cascade into a crystal clear pool. A glistening mist shrouded the air, casting a sheen of rainbows in the sunlight. A picnic blanket and basket were already arranged at the base of the falls beside the rocky outcroppings surrounding the pool.
Aiden beamed as he watched my reaction. I tentatively stepped closer, taking in the scene before us. The color of the waterfall gradually transformed from crystal blue to indigo to violet. My eyes widened. Like everything in the Forest, the waterfall was enchanted. Once again Aiden had chosen the most perfect place to take me.
“I’d always hoped there was a waterfall hidden within these trees,” I murmured.
He wiped a spray of water off my cheeks with his sleeve. “I’m pleased I helped grant your wish. The Forest is full of many wonders, isn’t it?”
He led me to the picnic basket and pulled me down to join him. There he unpacked all manner of delights—thick artisan bread, a variety of cheeses, slices of salami, an assortment of berries, and a pitcher of lemonade—and made me up a plate, which I accepted with a shy smile. My heart constricted when he softly returned it with a tender smile of his own. I needed to be careful; each moment spent with him weakened my resolve.
I placed some cheese on a slice of bread and took a bite. The crusty texture of the bread mingled with the sharp taste of the cheese danced on my tongue. As we ate, silence hovered in the misty, floral-scented air around us. With each bite, my nerves escalated.
“You’re rather pensive today.”
Aiden’s voice tore my attention from the mesmerizing changing colors of the waterfall, which I’d watched transition through all the colors of the rainbow over the course of our picnic. He eyed my fidgeting warily.
“I’m just wondering how many more secret delights the Forest is hiding and how I can discover them all.” I slipped my shoes off and slid my feet into the water. The smooth pebbles at the bottom caressed my toes.
He grinned. “Is this an invitation to explore more of the Forest with you?”
My cheeks warmed as I hastily tore my gaze away from his. “Isn’t this the final payment?”
“It is…unless we change the terms of our bargain.”
My heart lurched, both in hope and in terror at his suggestion. Each day I spent with him made it more and more difficult to imagine my explorations of the Forest without him. Desperate for a distraction, I lifted my foot from the pool and watched the water dribble down my ankle. A string of ripples extended from the splashes to dance across the water’s surface.
“Eileen?” Aiden’s imploring tone begged me to answer, but I couldn’t—not when I didn’t have an answer to give. “Please, Eileen, I very much want to meet with you again, if you’re willing.”
My heart pounded at his words but even more so at the smoldering look in his eyes when I finally looked at him, one that made me feel both lightheaded and warm to the core. Being with him now made me feel certain he was the path I was meant to take, despite it being one I couldn’t walk—at least not until I was certain I could trust him.
I shakily removed the wrapped bundle of truth cakes from my satchel. “I brought dessert.”
He unwrapped the truth cakes, whose vibrant colors and delicious aroma masked any hint of the spell one bite would trigger.
“Did you bake these yourself?”
“Rosie’s family owns a bakery and we often bake together.”
He handed me one. “In that case, perhaps you should test them for poison.” He winked.
The nerves knotting my stomach tightened. I laughed breathlessly before nibbling at the end of a periwinkle cake.
Whether I imagined its effect or merely noticed it because I was aware of the enchantment, I immediately felt the spell seep through me, wriggling its way into the recesses of my heart, crumbling the barriers surrounding my closely-guarded secrets.
Aiden took a large bite of his own. I warily eyed his reaction to the spell; so far he didn’t seem to notice the effects of the charmed dessert, just as Rosie had promised.
“These are really good.” He finished his cake and wiped his fingers on his handkerchief. I took another hesitant bite of my own and felt my need to tell the truth strengthen. Considering Aiden had eaten his entire cake, I had no doubt he’d tell me anything I wanted to know.
I took another cautious nibble, trying not to wince as my protective walls cracked further under the influence of the magic washing over me. There were so many questions I wanted to ask—about who he truly was, what had happened to his mother, how he really felt towards me—but I settled for the one that had nagged me the most.
“Do you remember the day we met?”
The first time I’d brought our meeting up, Aiden’s guard had gone up, his black eyes stuffed to the brim with secrets. This time, however, everything about him became open as he answered without any hesitation.
“I remember wondering why the Forest had led me to you. When I first saw you, it was as if—I don’t know, as if a light had flickered inside of me. It both scared me and intrigued me. I knew I had to find out more about you, but you wouldn’t even give me your name. It was all rather…disconcerting.” His brow furrowed, as if something about his own answer puzzled him.
“Why?” I pressed. “What did I do to cause you to feel that way?”
He took a bite from another cake and stared at the cascading falls—now a fern green—as he chewed, as if he couldn’t make himself look at me. “I was on a pre-determined path until meeting you pushed me off course. I’ve fought back, knowing any new path would never work.”
My heart lurched. This admission and the magic working on my heart revealed a hidden truth that up until now I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge—that despite my reservations, I wanted us to work.
“Why not?” I whispered breathlessly.
He offered me a wry smile as he lightly brushed my cheek with his thumb. “Because I’m already engaged.”
Every other question I’d prepared vanished from my mind in an instant. The warmth filling my entire body at his heated touch immediately evaporated, as if doused by water. I choked on my last bite of cake. “You’re engaged?”
He nodded. “We’ve been betrothed for many years now.”
“Years?”
A strange prickling emotion burned through my veins, intense and festering, begging for release in either anger or a wave of tears. “Who are you engaged to? When are you to be married?” My questions tumbled out, ones which I needed the answers to but whose responses I dreaded receiving.
He shoved the last piece of truth cake in his mouth. “She’s actually my friend’s younger sister. We’re to be married next year.”
My lip quivered. I blinked rapidly to stave off the tears burning my eyes and took a deep, steadying breath to calm myself. It didn’t work. “If you already have a girl, then what are you doing here with me?” My jealousy raged further, like a monster begging for release.
“She’s not my girl.” His entire expression twisted, as if tasting something unpleasant.
“She is if you’re engaged.” The words were poison on my tongue.
“The engagement was arranged by our families a long time ago.” His attention returned to the waterfall, his expression pensive. “I was indifferent about it before, considering I never believed I’d find love myself, but now…”
His soft gaze shifted to mine, making me feel at once both turned inside out and caressed. I leaned closer, eager to be near him and to hear the rest of his thought. “But what? Please tell me.
”
His eyes filled with unmistakable yearning. “Everything is different now. What used to be an arrangement I felt indifferent towards now fills me with”—his mouth twisted as he struggled to find the correct word—“hopelessness. I don’t want to be part of my arranged engagement any longer. I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t want it until I realized what I do want…or rather, whom.”
He glanced at me shyly. I found myself lost in his dark eyes while the intense emotions I never expected to feel raged within me—emotions the enchantment of the cakes now forced me to acknowledge—and I suddenly wished I’d never baked them.
Aiden shook his head. “No, I can’t want you. We can’t work. It’s impossible.” Even as he spoke, he touched my hand with the tip of his finger. “From the moment we met, I knew we couldn’t be together. Our differing stations are not only an insurmountable obstacle, but you deserve better than me.”
Searing heartache washed over me at his rejection. This was what I’d worked so hard to avoid—before the spell had shattered the barriers protecting my heart, leaving me raw and vulnerable.
I nearly unraveled completely when Aiden began tracing swirls on my hand. It took every ounce of willpower not to look at him, certain I’d drown in my yearning with a single glimpse into his dark eyes.
“Perhaps these obstacles can be overcome,” he murmured. “Perhaps we can still work.”
My heart pounded wildly at his words. “Aiden…”
The intense longing I felt for him that had been unlocked by the power of the enchanted cakes overcame me. I cradled my legs against my body, as if the act could protect me from the terrifying warmth seeping over me from Aiden’s tender expression.
Aiden plucked a violet and bridged the distance between us to gently tuck it into my hair. I shivered as his fingers grazed my cheek. I didn’t move; I could barely breathe.
“You’re so beautiful,” Aiden whispered.
My breath became trapped in my throat. Aiden’s fingers moved to caress my face before he wrapped his arms snugly around me to pull me close. I instinctively curled against him, my arms looping around him as I nestled closer. Aiden ran his nose up and down my neck before burrowing his face in my hair.
What was happening? I shouldn’t be cuddling with Aiden. He was engaged! I needed to end this. But despite my firm instructions, I found myself leaning deeper into his embrace to rest my cheek against his beating heart, unable to resist the lure I felt towards him. The enchanted cakes had broken down all my defenses and I could no longer lie and pretend I didn’t want this; I’d never wanted anything more in my entire life.
I tilted my head towards his. There were no words to describe the intense emotion filling his eyes, but it was one that enveloped me completely. His breath caressed my mouth as he leaned closer. He lightly traced my cheek, my nose, and finally my lips, his soft gaze never leaving mine, not even for a moment.
Slowly, he began closing the distance separating us, and in that moment I realized what was happening: Aiden was going to kiss me. I almost melted into him—until the sharp reminder that he wasn’t mine, no matter how much I now realized I wanted him to be, shattered the spell. I jerked away.
He blinked at me, clearly confused. “What’s wrong, Eileen?”
My thoughts swirled. We’d almost kissed. I was angry both at him for attempting it and at myself for stopping it. I glared at him, needing to unleash my bitter disappointment. “Were you trying to kiss me?”
He blushed crimson as he opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, at a loss for words. “I’m so sorry, Eileen.” His voice broke. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I can’t stop thinking about is you, but I didn’t realize how much you’d come to mean to me until today. Nothing will ever be the same now.”
My own feelings for Aiden that I’d been fighting to suppress washed over me—a sweet, beautiful, and powerful emotion that blossomed inside of me and made my heart want to burst.
“What are you saying?” I whispered. He stared intensely at me, his eyes filled with sweet tenderness. I flinched. “Stop. Don’t look at me like that.”
He obediently lowered his gaze. “I can’t help it.”
“You can’t look at me like that,” I said.
“But you can’t deny there’s something between us. There was the moment we met.”
I ached to deny it, but the truth spell prevented me. “I know. I feel it too, but you’re engaged. It’d be dishonorable for you to kiss me when you’re firmly attached to another.”
He was silent a long moment before his serious expression became hopeful. “Perhaps that unfortunate circumstance can be remedied. I admit it’ll be difficult, but not impossible. How can I marry another now that I’ve found you?”
My breath caught, and once more the beautiful foreign feelings seeped over me, as if my heart had broken open, causing them to tumble out.
Why had I allowed Rosie to bake these truth cakes? My heart wasn’t strong enough for the truth—the truth that despite not knowing one another long, I could no longer deny that something existed between Aiden and me, something that drew us closer as effortlessly as when the Forest’s pathways had brought us together.
But circumstances being what they were—he was engaged, for goodness’ sake—it’d be morally wrong for us to continue pursuing a relationship. The fact that I now knew it was forbidden made me fully realize how much I wanted him.
I forced myself to stand and turn my back to him. “I have to go.”
He scrambled to his feet and seized my wrist. “Please, Eileen.” His tone was pleading and compelled me to look back at him. My heart wrenched at the pain in his eyes.
“This is wrong,” I said. “We can’t be together.”
“Perhaps not immediately, but I won’t rest until we can.” He stepped closer. I closed my eyes and allowed all that was Aiden to wash over me for the last time. “I have an idea,” he continued. “I just need some time to work out the details, but I won’t act unless I know: do you feel anything at all for me?”
I ached to lie with every fiber of my being. But I couldn’t. I opened my eyes and met his gaze once more. “Yes.”
He beamed as his hand trailed down my arm to lightly squeeze my fingers. “I do, too.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on my cheek, causing my heart to jolt. His warm breath caressed my ear as he pulled away. “We’ll see one another again. Trust me.”
I knew he could easily manipulate the Forest into allowing us to meet again, but how could he do that now with the obstacles keeping us apart? “We can’t, Aiden. It won’t work.” The thought was agonizing.
“I’ll find a way.”
I forced a smile. “After all, you always get what you want.”
“Exactly.” His dark eyes seeped into mine as he raised my hand and lightly kissed it. “Thank you for the time you’ve spent with me. I look forward to our next meeting. Things will be different then, I promise; I have a plan.”
Despite my reservations, I allowed his assurances to envelop me. I wasn’t exactly sure what he was promising, only that he couldn’t lie, not when I’d enchanted him. Even without the magic of the cakes, I knew I’d never be able to doubt the intensity filling his eyes as he looked at me like that.
Chapter 10
I couldn’t see the Forest through the curls of fog that hung over Arador, completely masking the trees. A shiver rippled up my spine. I didn’t like not being able to see my Forest.
Beside me, Rosie stuck her hand out of the open window and beamed as it was swallowed up in the thick, hazy fog. “What a perfect night for a sleepover,” she said.
I shuddered. “I feel as if the fog is smothering us.”
“It adds atmosphere.” She spun away from the window to take in my bedroom, tucked cozily up in the cottage attic, but by the way her eyes glistened, I suspected she was imagining a far different scene for whichever story she was currently experiencing. “We’re princesses trapped in a castle surrounded by a curse
d fog that casts whomever ventures into it under a spell.”
“What sort of spell?”
She tapped her lips thoughtfully. “A spell of eternal sleep that can only be woken by true love’s kiss. Now all we need to do is await our princes.”
“Wouldn’t they also fall under the spell if they attempted to rescue us?”
Rosie ignored this argument. “Aiden would brave even the most sinister curse in order to win your heart. You know it’s true, Eileen, so don’t even try to deny it.”
The denial was pointless. I’d found Rosie waiting for me the moment I’d left the Forest following my waterfall picnic with Aiden, a picnic that had been both beautiful and heartbreaking.
She’d immediately begun her interrogation before the spell from the truth cakes wore off, finally forcibly excavating my true feelings for Aiden. Thankfully, her learning about my tendre for Aiden had spared me enduring further questioning about the picnic, allowing me to keep the hopelessness of our situation to myself…for now.
With time, the enchantment had faded and allowed me to once more see sense: a future with Aiden was impossible. He was engaged and thus off-limits, no matter how much I wished otherwise. Clinging to what I couldn’t have would only invite heartache, and I’d had enough of that already.
Rosie snatched a biscuit from the plate left by Mother. “You can’t continue denying it; I’ve heard your confession and won’t let you forget it.”
She finished off her biscuit in three bites and wiped her crumb-coated fingers on my quilt before settling on the bed and arranging her skirts daintily. She patted the spot beside her and I joined her, bracing myself for another Rosie interrogation.
“I’ve been fulfilling my best-friend duty and trying to extract juicy tidbits about your Aiden from Gavin,” she began.
“You’ve been doing what?”
She rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of having a cousin who’s a member of the court if I don’t use him? Despite having spelled Aiden, you wriggled precious little information from him, so I must do my part to remedy that blunder.”
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