Slowly, awareness came to her, making her remember what had happened when Ormond had given her the flowers that first time. She’d been dizzy and disoriented for a moment, and when she’d looked at him again, he had seemed so different. Had the flowers been cursed like Ryder suggested? But the idea was so insane...
“I’ve never heard of flowers being cursed.” She shook her head, not wanting to believe.
Ryder cleared his throat and turned toward her a little more. He took her hand and lightly caressed her skin.
He smiled. “Will you allow me to tell you what I discovered?”
She didn’t want to pull her hand away from him. The contact was too nice and warming her body quickly. “Of course.”
He leaned his shoulder against the stone wall as his gaze held hers. “When my father died of an unknown ailment, and other guards had also become sick and even died, I decided to investigate to see what was going on.”
She nodded and grinned. “I’m happy to know you are putting your skills to work.”
He winked. “Indeed, just as you suggested. The day after you met the prince, I was in the hospital and spoke with Fred Cook, who is withering away fast. He mentioned seeing an old woman the day he’d become sick. My father had said the same thing when I’d asked him about what he remembered. That evening, I decided to go into town and look around. As luck would have it, I saw her. She fit the same description my father and Mr. Cook had given me, but I had to be certain this was the same woman, so I followed her. She lives deep in the forest. Hiding behind a tree, I watched her for the longest time. She received a visitor. I couldn’t see who was in the coach that drove up to her small cottage, but I did hear voices. Apparently, the person inside the coach was questioning the old woman about a particular spell. The old woman assured this person that all of her spells work. She mentioned placing a spell on the Rapunzel flower.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Clarissa, she’s a witch! She then said something that sent chills up my spine.”
Clarissa was afraid to ask, yet she needed to know. “What was it?”
“The old witch told the person inside the coach that as long as the princess continues to smell the flower, she will fall in love with him and marry him.”
Clarissa could hardly breathe. The shock seemed too much to bear. The throbbing pain inside of her head grew stronger. Tears collected in her eyes, and uncertainty twisted in her gut. But as much as her mind wanted to argue the point, she knew Ryder wouldn’t lie to her.
“It was Prince Ormond inside the coach.” Her voice shook. “The flower he gave me was the Rapunzel flower.” She swallowed hard. “And even last night while we were at dinner, he asked a few times if I had smelled the flower. I told him I had, even though I hadn’t, only because I didn’t want to be rude.”
Ryder patted her hand. “Why didn’t you smell it?”
“Because of my headache. After leaving you yesterday, I was confused and had a lot on my mind. I didn’t want to think because of the throbbing in my skull, but I knew I must sort out my confusion.”
“How do you feel now?” he asked softly.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “My headache is worse, and yet...” She looked at him again. “I know you’re right. Things are finally making sense to me. Now I realize why I felt that way about Ormond—and why he said what he did.”
“What are you going to do about it now that you know?”
“I have no idea what needs to be done. Do you think I’m still under the spell?” She scratched her leg. “If I’m still under, how could I break the spell? I don’t want Prince Ormond to have any kind of hold on me.”
“I wish I knew, my sweet Rissa.”
A tear slipped down her cheek, and Ryder caught it with his thumb as he stroked her chin. Her heart melted. Finally reality hit and she wanted to weep with happiness. Ryder had always been there for her while she was growing up, and as an adult, he was still there for her. What would she do without him? For certain, she never wanted to find out.
Her mind spun with ways that could possibly break the spell, but she didn’t want to take chances. She wanted to know for certain. As she stared into Ryder’s amazing brown eyes, another idea popped in her head. At the thought, her heartbeat sped with excitement. “I suppose there is only one way to break the spell.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What is that?”
“True love’s kiss.”
She leaned into him, keeping her gaze locked with his. Desire coated his chocolate brown eyes, and she wanted to sigh with happiness. Instead, she cupped his face and captured his mouth with hers. Fireworks shot inside of her, making her feel dizzy—but it was a different kind of emotion than what had happened when she sniffed the flowers.
Ryder released a moan that was covered by the sound of his chains creaking as he wrapped his arms around her Charissa, pulling her close. His mouth melded with hers quickly, and he participated fully, moving his mouth from side to side. Excitement buzzed in her ears, and her heart sang with gladness.
Finally, she broke the kiss, but stayed in his embrace. Smiling, she stroked his cheek.
“How do you feel?” he wondered. “Did it work? Is the spell broken?”
She tried to think of Prince Ormond and the thoughts she’d had about him, but they all disappeared. She couldn’t even conjure up the image of his face in her mind. Even her headache was gone!
“Yes, it worked.”
He bent his head and kissed her again, but she couldn’t allow their intimate moment to continue. Not yet, anyway.
