“Grass?”
“Yes. I believe she was working up to dandelions. She wanted a field of them to make the bees happy.”
“Is that all?” he laughed.
“Also, so that non-magical people had a means of having their wishes delivered to the fairies.”
“If only it were so easy to solve our problems, dandelion wishes and happy bees.”
“Maybe you should go blow on some dandelion seeds and make a wish that I am whole again and will be free of this place.”
He took her hand in his. “If I thought that it was that easy, I would find every dandelion in Bocka Morrow and blow on every single one of them.”
With those words, she fell even deeper in love than before—with a man who did not even want to kiss her. But at least he remained by her side and for that she would always be deeply grateful.
She also feared that if she was not freed from this room, that he would stay, becoming as much a prisoner as her.
Except, he would be doing so because he was kind, good. Not because of love.
Chapter 29
“We have managed to have some of the journal translated,” Samantha’s mother announced as she rushed into the music room followed by the other mothers.
Samantha sat forward and grasped his hand tightly, no doubt from fear that the news would not be good.
“The piano was enchanted with a curse in 1710 in Augsburg, Bavaria, by a sorcerer who was in love with a musician. When she rejected his suit, he enchanted the piano so that it would steal her soul so that nobody else could have her either and that she would be denied love.”
Samantha pulled back with a gasp. “Is she stuck in there?”
Cassian asked the question.
“No, she was able to avoid the curse because she was learning a new piece of music and glancing at her hands more often than she would a song that she already knew. She first noticed the very tips of her fingers fade, and realized they tingled and got away from it.”
“She was able to leave the room?” Samantha asked, which Cassian repeated.
“Yes,” Samantha’s mother answered. “It had not claimed enough of her to keep her close.”
“Unlike me,” Samantha mumbled and fell back against the settee.
“When the enchantment and danger was discovered because it had tried to claim others, several witches and wizards tried to send the piano here apparently, but it would not leave. Only when someone tried to transport the entire room to Nightshade Manor did it work and it has been here, behind closed doors for nearly seventy-five years.”
“If the door has been sealed all of this time, why was it open and playing when Samantha came downstairs?”
“We do not yet know, but someone is working on the translation and we hope to learn more soon.”
At least they knew something, but hopefully the next time the women returned they would have a solution and not a history lesson.
“Here is the wine, brandy and tea,” Nina said as she returned with the tray.
“Thank you,” Samantha murmured and he did not have to hear music or see auras to know that she was disheartened.
“They will find an answer, Samantha,” Cassian assured her, grateful that she could not hear his music and realize he was not as confident that a way would be found out of this predicament.
She simply nodded.
“They managed to solve other mysteries and break curses. They will this one. Nobody is going to leave until you are free of this room.”
The reminder was as much for himself as her.
