Chapter 141

FELIX

I allowed Charles to leave the dungeons. It may have been the stupidest idea I’d ever had, but I decided that I was going to believe my brother, at least for now.

Charles was moved to a small guest chamber and placed under a heavy guard rotation. While I made sure that his feet were chained to the walls of his chamber so that he could not escape, I also ensured that he had enough slack in his chains to roam about his chamber freely with no trouble.

There was one more stop I needed to make before I resumed my search for Mila.

The halls around Esmeralda’s chambers were busy, likely with guards and staff making sure no more bodies were being snatched out of the witch’s rooms. As much as I still harbored a great deal of rage towards Esmeralda for attempting to kill Mila, I knew that her heart was in the right place.

I did not bother to knock before striding into the witch’s chambers, a first for me.

Esmeralda was studying a spell book when I entered.

“Felix!” She exclaimed. “Oh good, you’re here. I have news to share with you.”

“As do I,” I said.

Esmeralda scurried over to me. “Before I hear all about your trip to the library, I must tell you what I’ve discovered. At least, I think I’ve discovered it.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“I’ve been reviewing all the birth records for the last thirty years,” Esmeralda said, “and there are a few babies born around Mila’s birthday that would make sense.”

“Make sense?” My brows furrowed.

“I think Mila may have been born in Fresonia,” Esmeralda said excitedly. “That would be why her presence has always felt so familiar to me. She carries Fresonian blood in her veins.”

I sighed. It was time Esmeralda learned the truth. “Esmeralda, Mila feels familiar to you because she is Sofia, the great enchantress.”

Esmeralda nearly fell to the floor in shock.

“Or, she’s not Sofia exactly,” I said, “but rather, a reincarnation of her. That’s why she’s so heavily tied to the magic of Fresonia, and to me. Sofia, you see, is the one who cast the curse of the Destined Bride.”

And so I told the witch of the strongest curse ever cast and the love of two people that had protected the kingdom all this time. I told her of the past lives, of the library, and of the visions I’d had of my own past selves.

I even told her about seeing Sofia in the void–a detail that I had left out when speaking to Chalres. There were certain things that deserved to be kept private for the enchantress’s sake.

Esmeralda had sunk into a chair and was practically limp with shock as I finished. My throat was dry–telling the story in its entirety must have taken the better part of an hour.

“No wonder she felt so familiar,” Esemralda whispered to herself. “I never even thought to consider that Mila might be Sofia.”

“To be fair,” I assured her, “none of us did.”

Esmeralda shook her head. “I met Sofia so long ago, and it was only for a brief moment. No wonder I did not recognize the magic right away.”

“What was Sofia like when you met her?” I asked the witch, settling into the chair opposite hers.

“Frantic,” Esmeralda admitted. “She was terrified. She had just cast the curse, and learned that Samuel was not the one who made the call for her to be killed. She was so lost and alone, you would have never guessed that she was such a powerful woman.”

“She certainly seemed unsure of herself when I met her,” I said. “I think her mistakes have done their fair share of haunting her. She’s been punishing herself for the last thousand years.”

“I was a very young girl when Sofia found me,” Esmeralda continued. “Once the majority of magic in the land was destroyed, I must have been only one of a few who was able to retain their powers. Sofia must have sensed my magic and that was why she sought me out.”

“She found you?” I had never heard this part of the story.

Esmeralda studied her wrinkled, weathered hands. “She came to my village and told me that I had a very important task, that I needed to protect and safeguard the royal family and their dragons. She told me to always keep a special eye on the King, and make sure he was safe.”

My heart nearly split in two at the sound of that. “She wanted to make sure I was always protected. That was the only way she knew how.”

“That must be the case,” Esmeralda agreed. “So I packed up my things and went to the castle. The royal family welcomed me right away. I think they must have realized, deep down, that I was sent by Sofia. King Samuel was a great ruler, but a very sad man. I don’t think he ever recovered from losing his love.”

“And you never thought that was odd?” I dared to ask.

Emeralda shrugged. “A royal family is always under attack, be it from domestic or foreign threats. Your safety is never guaranteed. I assumed those women were always in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that my own magic is what protected you in the long term. I had no way of knowing that they were actually Sofia–or Mila.”

“Where are you from?” I had never thought to ask.

“Beauveis,” Esmeralda responded. “The small village on the coast.”

I knew where it was. I was familiar with the whole region.

“For centuries I always made sure to protect the King,” Esmeralda continued, “even as terrible accidents and tragedies kept befalling many of his consorts. But I had made a promise to Sofia. The only time I felt as though I would let her down was when we learned about your curse.”

Suddenly, Esmeralda’s near-fanatatical obsession with breaking my curse, no matter the cost, made a lot more sense to me. She was fulfilling her vows, just as I had.

“That’s why I thought that sacrificing Mila was the only way forward,” Esmeralda confirmed. “I knew it would break your heart, but I thought it was the only thing I could do. I was tasked with protecting you specifically. I had no way of knowing how badly it would all backfire.”

“So throughout the years, you made sure to keep the King safe,” I said, slowly understanding the terrible, tricky role of fate in all of this, “and it inadvertently kept the curse alive.”

“Sofia had no way of knowing that holding on tight to you would only hurt you more,” Esmeralda said. “She was blinded with grief and sadness, but she loved Samuel, and wanted to keep him safe.”

“Letting him go was the only way to truly save him,” I said, almost to myself.

“What was that?” Esmeralda asked.

Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” I called out.

One of the royal messengers poked his head in, bowing quickly before speaking. “Your Majesty? Joseph and Isla have returned.”