“It’s true that I did say that, but I grew impatient with your rather complicated schemes. I decided a quick and clean solution was far better to get you to where I truly want you,” he said.
“Where you truly want me? And just where is that?”
“You keep seeming to forget who you are dealing with,” he said, suddenly sharp. “I’m not some guardian angel sent to help you along life’s journey. I’m Fate. I push and I prod, inching you along to where I desire you to be. I’ve always been interested in you, Rumpelstiltskin. From the moment you were born, I knew I wanted you.”
He cupped my cheek in his hand and laughed wickedly. My throat ran dry. He caressed my skin with his thumb, and I knew I was nothing more than his slave, his puppet. I had been doing his bidding since the moment I took my first breath. I snapped my head away from his touch and grabbed my but the collar of his shirt.
“What all have you done?” I seethed, shaking him.
He seemed to delight in my rage, and his eyes glowed even brighter. “Just a nudge here and there. Very much like what you’ve accomplished with your own little game. Do you really think you’d be where you are right now if it wasn’t for me?”
The knuckles of my fists grew white.
“I was the one who planted the seed of fear of treason from your father in Edward’s troubled mind. I was the one who pushed him to thin the bloodline to the throne, eliminating family after family. I was the guard who pulled you from the flames and told you to run, and how fast and far your feet carried you! Right back into my welcoming arms.”
The blue-eyed soldier floated through my memory.
“That was you?” I cried.
“Honestly, you think these things just happen? If I hadn’t been there to secure the destiny awaiting you, all your potential would’ve been unforgivably wasted. Can you imagine? You’d still be stuck in that large house filled with unending family squabbles, condemned to live as a mediocre squire to thankless peasants and a fool for a king. You should thank me for saving you from such a horrendously dull life, really. What I have in store for you will be far more rewarding.”
Rage blazing through my veins, I lifted him up and slammed him into the wall. The room trembled.
“Then my fight has been with the wrong person,” I spat. “My God! You’ve been manipulating me this entire time!”
He grinned, looking untroubled by any pain, even as spidery cracks spread behind his head. “A person consumed by their past is always easy to manipulate because they have no thought for the future. Besides, there really is no one to be upset with but yourself. Yes, I might have interfered, but I don’t deserve all the blame. I can’t make you do anything you do not choose yourself. That is the unfortunate limit of my powers.”
A grimace befell his features and he looked regretful, as if remembering something he wanted to forget. However, he quickly caught himself and hid it away.
“I can only present a map of paths, Rumpelstiltskin. It was you who chose the ones you took. You chose to accept the magic I offered and you chose a life dedicated to pain. Free will has been your enemy, not me.”
“I swear I will never rest until this world is rid of you!” I bellowed, shoving him again. His head cracked against the wall hard enough to kill a man, but he only laughed.
“Such spark! You don’t know how long I’ve waited for someone like you!” he chuckled. “It’s too bad that you can’t destroy me. It’s ironic really, that Fate has no fate. I have no end. I cannot be stopped. It is too late, Rumpelstiltskin. You can try and escape your destiny, but your choices will always mark you.”
Scorching pain flared in my hand, searing my flesh to the bone. I cried out, dropping him instantly. I gazed at the scar on my palm, the wicked reminder of the well of power he had poured into me. I braced myself against the agonizing pain, unwilling to let a single sound escape me, as the scar stretched and grew, snaking along the other lines of my hand until every path upon my palm was marked.
My shackling was complete.
His shadow loomed over me.
“I am looking forward to what I have in store for you,” Fate said, his voice less amused and darker than I had ever heard it. “I’m positive you will make it a work of art.”
With that, he vanished, leaving me raw, deceived, and shamed on the floor.
I stared at the map of scars on my hand, his words burning in my mind between flashes of Laila’s face as the Furies took her.
He had said free will was my enemy? He would soon learn it would be his.
I had no more free will, no more choice. There was only one place my path would lead me now.
To his grave.
Acknowledgments
I cannot express my thanks and gratitude enough to everyone who has helped me shape Spin into what you read today. They cheered me on and dried my tears. Most importantly, they never let me quit.
The person I have to thank first is the person who read it first. Hannah Stahlhut, you are a trooper! You not only read the never ending drafts, but did so willingly and with excitement. I don’t know where I’d be without your feedback and advice. If that wasn’t enough, in my panicked moments you were always willing to talk me through, and help me come up with a plan. For all this and so much more, I thank you.
Behind every writer is an editor. Cait Reynolds, you are simply unsurpassed! You saw within the rubble the gold shining through. Your knowledge and guidance helped transform Spin into what I envisioned. You pushed my limits, forced me away from my comfort zone, and made me a stronger writer for it. I hate to think where I would be if it weren’t for you. You truly are my big sister and I love you. Thank you for more than you could know.
To my husband, Rafi, your continued encouragement and love throughout this lengthy project has always been my greatest strength. You were always willing to listen to me talk about my book, which was all the time. You rejoiced in my victories and lifted me up in my failures. In short, you kept me going. I love you with my entire being.
To my parents, you always believed and never blinked an eye when your daughter said she wanted to write a novel. Thank you for your love. Thank you for always being there and supporting me from the moment I first picked up a pencil and wrote little stories about foxes.
I must, of course, thank the unparalleled K.N. Lee. You gave me my first yes and amazing encouragement. Thank you for all you do for me, and for believing in me and my work.
Thank you to Megan Linski, who also had a hand in editing Spin. You gave wonderful feedback, opinions, and suggestions that helped me make the changes I didn’t want to admit.
A special thanks to Shari Ryan! She created a beautiful cover and is also to thanks for formatting Spin into its final product.
To our group, The Fabulous Fictionistas…you have all been, well, fabulous! Not only have you been reassuring, but inspirational. Cait, Daphne, Kenya, Kim, and Sami-Jo…I hope I do you all proud!
Finally, to my friend Michael, I wouldn’t have written this book if you hadn’t introduced me to what started it all. Thank you!
To all my other family and friends who gave me their continued support and excitement, simply, thank you. You were all insurmountable in keeping me strong and keeping me going.
About the Author
Genevieve Raas is an international bestselling author living in Vienna, Austria with her husband and rather haughty Russian Toy Terrier, Mr. Darcy. When she isn't writing dark fairytales or fantasy, you can find her plotting out her next travel destination.
A graduate from Indiana University, Genevieve holds a Master’s Degree in English and a Master’s Certificate in Professional Editing. She has worked as Lead Transcriber on several published anthologies, including: The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 2 and the New Ray Bradbury Review.
Now, she is venturing out on her own, into the wilds of untamed lands and untold stories.
Genevieve writes gothic romance, dark fantasy, and horror.
Genevieve loves connect
ing with her readers!
www.genevieveraas.com
[email protected]
Also by Genevieve Raas
TWIST (Spindlewind Trilogy Book Two)
In this heart-stopping continuation of the Spindlewind Trilogy, Rumpelstiltskin finds himself locked in a battle of blood, debts, and destiny.
For the past nineteen years, Rumpelstiltskin has kept his promise to Laila, the miller’s daughter. Her son, Tristan, must never know the dark deal they made surrounded by straw and gold.
But keeping the truth from a curious Tristan is the least of his troubles. He can’t escape the chill of bodiless eyes watching him. Wanting him. Hunting him.
When an Oracle confirms his greatest fear, she also confirms his greatest hope. A hope and desire he believed long dead.
Laila lives.
Or is it a trick to lure him into what he wants most to avoid?
Unable not to take the risk, he descends into a realm rife with danger, dreams, and shadows to face the deity he despises: Fate.
Soon, dream turns to nightmare as Rumpelstiltskin finds himself again propelled on a path he never wanted.
Caught between love and fate, Rumpelstiltskin must decide if he will choose the path to protect his own soul, or save that of the woman he damned.
CRIMP: A Fairy Tale Romance Novella
Want more Rumpelstiltskin? Crimp can be enjoyed as a stand alone story, or as a companion to the Spindlewind Trilogy
Outcast from his home, Rumpelstiltskin lives in a gypsy camp providing tinctures and potions to villagers.
New to being an immortal, his magic is unstable and he struggles to control this black gift. No one knows the dark deal he made for power, but that doesn’t stop rumors from surrounding him.
When Zindello decides to rid their camp of his evil, Rumpelstiltskin is dragged away and beaten until they believe him dead.
A mute young woman finds him washed up on a river bank. Clarice tends to his wounds, and he is overwhelmed by her light and goodness, everything he isn’t.
He practices magic in secret, determined to grant her a voice. He also dares to hope that love might bring him out of the darkness.
But when another man enters the picture, he isn’t sure love will be strong enough to save him.
The Crown
When Ross Daltry accepts the challenge to discover why the princesses’ shoes are destroyed every night, he finds more than he bargained for.
The Crown is a dark and twisted retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
Releasing January 2018
Also by Ravenwell Press
Wanderling: Spirit Seeker Book 1
Only the strong of heart can face a frightening destiny
For as long as Adala can remember, she’s spent summers abroad as part of her father’s crew. At last she is determined to stay home and pursue a new life with her mother and young brother, Shem.
But Adala’s world is suddenly thrown into havoc when Shem collapses at the market one day, crying out that their father has died at sea. Before she can process his surreal claims, Shem is stolen away from their cottage in the night. Adala’s plight to rescue Shem soon lands her captive to an outcast group of criminals.
Traversing the desert hills, she grows ever aware of the surrounding dangers and afraid that Shem’s intuitions may be used in a nefarious plot for vengeance. Adala is forced to ask herself: Are her brother’s otherworldly senses genuine? How do they relate to a dark prophecy of the “savage” desert clans? Can she trust Tobin, a kind-hearted outcast soldier with ties to the desert dwellers?
Join Adala as she seeks to free herself and her brother from the clutches of an outcast leader determined to push Shem towards a frightening destiny.
Resistance: Spirit Seeker Book 2
Commander Burano has united the desert clans and will stop at nothing to find the escaped renegades.
Adala, Shem, and Tobin fight to stay ahead of the approaching army.
Only by working together will they evade capture and warn Gerstadt of the battle to come. Their chance of survival rests with Tobin’s knowledge of the desert, Adala’s courage, and Shem’s magical gift to sense when others are near.
Tobin and Shem begin to fear the worst as Adala grows ill traveling beneath the desert sun.
Each night she lives out her worst fears through vivid nightmares, and each day her energy wanes more and more. Will Adala have the strength to make it to Gerstadt and warn the city of the coming attack? Will they be able to liberate Tobin’s sister from the Wanderling village? Can Tobin earn Adala’s trust once and for all?
Continue the dark tale in book two of the Spirit Seeker Novels as they overcome obstacles and betrayals at every turn in their quest to save a city.
Voyage: Spirit Seeker Book 3
Releasing Fall 2017
Spin: A Fairy Tale Retelling (Spindlewind Trilogy Book One) Page 17