Let It Snow by Erica Ridley

Author:Erica Ridley [Ridley, Erica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Intrepid Reads
Published: 2015-11-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Marigold’s eyes flew open in horror. She’d fallen asleep. She’d fallen asleep. Her heart thundered. How could she have let such a thing happen? She reached out her arm. The fire was long dead, but even without the aid of firelight, she knew what she would find.

Nothing.

She was alone on the dais. Alone in the castle. In the world. Tears pricked her eyes. Ninny. She’d meant to hold him...to make the most of every last second together. To tell him...

She jerked upright. She felt her way out of the sitting room and into the main corridor. Even without an hourglass, she could see it was long past midnight. The sky already bled with dawn. The sun would be fully risen within the hour. And she would be forced to go on living. Forever.

She opened the door to her bedchamber. Despite not having straightened a thing the day before, her bed was perfectly made. The pots, emptied. The water in the basin, fresh. The soiled tunics from the previous day spotless, and properly stored in their wardrobe.

Just as they were every morning.

Her throat swelled with anger. She slammed the door. What had she expected? That the curse would be broken? That Lance might have simply abandoned her for a more comfortable bed? She was not that naive. Hadn’t been, for a very long time.

And yet...she had so hoped...

She made her way to the kitchen. If he were here, if he were still alive, he would be in the kitchen. But he was not. The scullery was as empty as the rest of the castle. Which only left one place.

The great tree in the solar.

She hesitated before pointing her feet in that direction. Could she do it? Could she stand to see the tree with its hundreds of figurines, every one of which had once been alive, just like her? Could she stand to see one more painted puppet dangling from its boughs? This time, a black-clad adventurer with a kind heart and a wicked smile? Nay. She could not. By Zeus, she could not.

She turned down the corridor anyway.

It took every ounce of her courage to traverse the final passageway to the solar. Every single visit was as painful as the first time. Her twentieth birthday. Yule. And everyone she’d ever known, everyone she’d ever loved...nothing more than hollow figures upon a tree.

Heart pounding, she pushed open the wooden door.

The solar was wide and empty, save for a single evergreen on the opposite side of the chamber. From here, one could discern the presence of tiny baubles decorating the giant tree. Invisible to the naked eye was the breaking of her heart every time she espied her parents reduced to nothing more than paint and plaster. Her maids. Her friends. The troubadours. A dozen hapless adventurers who would never make the trek back home.

And now Lance.

She shoved one foot in front of the other, forcing herself across the chamber. She could not touch him. But she had to see.

When she

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