Once they’re free, they shouldn’t be metal, I remind myself.
The sculpture is not actually made of iron, but is in fact a living mythical being, and they have been trapped for who knows how long. From the day I moved to Folk Haven two years ago, the beast has stood frozen. A massive figure, snarling with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and a body that appears to be an uncomfortable blend of fur and scales.
Even though I’m willing to free the creature, it is not something I’d like to lock lips with.
“That’s what Jack did.” Ame points at her handsome mate.
When we first came upon the man a handful of years ago, he was trapped in the form of a black cat. I thought he was only a cat, but Ame sensed the feline was more than he appeared. Eventually, after searching for years through our collection of grimoires, my sister discovered a way to break his curse. A spell I plan on using tonight.
But this is the first I’m hearing about his reaction to being freed.
“You went from cat to man and immediately tried making out with a stranger?” Anthony asks, frowning at the wolf.
“Not a stranger. Ame.” Jack speaks in a flat tone, not caring in the least about what any of us thinks of him. Ame’s opinion is the only one that matters. “I’d do it again.”
“In the future, I consent,” Ame adds, smiling up at Jack.
He leans down and kisses her.
I huff a sigh and turn back toward my destination. In theory, I’m very happy for my sister—all my siblings in fact—and their fulfilling love lives. But the PDA is getting to me.
A reminder thatIhaven’t gotten any in a while.
Not even private displays of affection.
But that does not mean I want some raging creature unshackled from a curse to immediately try a lip-lock.
“You’re coming for protection, Jack,” I call over my shoulder. “That also means unwanted romantic advances. Do not let whoever this is kiss me.”
The wolf grunts an affirmation, not one for a lot of words unless he’s talking to my sister.
“Ophelia didn’t try to kiss me,” Broderick sighs. “I would have let her in a heartbeat.”
Ah, yes, the other Shelly sibling who freed someone from a curse, only to fall in love with them, thereby making this into a pattern.
The same sorcerer who had cursed Jack to be a cat also enchanted a firebird named Ophelia into the form of a rabbit. Broderick took the lead on freeing her. Then he promptly insulted her—on accident—and it took months for her to speak to him again.
Now they’re dating, and he’s besotted, and there’s more of that PDA I have to deal with.
“Don’t worry.” Anthony pats Broderick on the shoulder. “She fell for you in the end.”
He sidles up to me as I spy my first statue through the break in the trees. His shoulder nudging against mine is a good distraction from the heaviness of emotions pulsing in the air. “I’m sure whoever this is will be grateful for your help, then head on their way. No getting handsy.”
I huff a laugh, then roll my shoulders and rub my eyes to try and ease the tension ratcheting up in my body.
The cloud of tumultuous emotion we’re approaching only seems to affect me even though my siblings have emotion powers of their own. Under normal circumstances, I can fully block out the emotional registers of others, or I can mute them until all I see is a vague collection of colors in their aura.
But when emotions are high, they hit me like a weight, hurt me like a migraine. If I can’t block them, I have to experience them as if each were my own.
We break from the trees and step into the statuary.
The moon is dark tonight, which means the sky is a blanket of stars. My night vision is decent, but I flick on my flashlight because this is delicate work, and I need to check the spell as I set things up. In the flare of light, the shadowy art pieces seem to come to life. Or maybe that’s just how they were crafted. Each figure appearing on the verge of movement.
I step around a Pegasus rearing toward flight and navigate to the only statue here that will truly move tonight.
As long as I cast correctly.
For a long time, I was too uncomfortable to visit this statue garden. The strong emotions drenching this place make approaching it hard for me to handle. My magic and mind are under constant bombardment, the mysterious emotions threatening to overwhelm me.
