The Cursed Prince, Teresa Roman [the reader ebook TXT] 📗

an actual answer, but I had the feeling he wouldn’t give it. “Maybe I should go,” I said, standing. “I feel like I’ve upset you, and that was never my intention.”

Nicolai shook his head. “I am upset, but it’s not because of anything you’ve said or done. I’m sorry if I came across as harsh. You’ve never been anything but kind to me despite what’s been asked of you.”

“I appreciate you saying that. But it’s getting late, and I have work in the morning.”

“Say you’ll come back.”

“I will.” I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. The feel of my lips on his skin made my head spin and my stomach twist. I turned to walk away. Nicolai grabbed my hand and spun me around. I waited for him to tell me what he wanted.

“Good night, Willow,” he said.

What had I been expecting? That he’d kiss me? What was wrong with me?

I managed a smile. “Good night, Nicolai.”

Chapter 11

Dinner again the next day with Nicolai left me even more confused than I already was. So did my lunch date with Peter the day after that.

“I can’t wait until our weekend together,” Peter said after he walked me back to my office. He closed the door behind himself and leaned in for a kiss. His lips lingered on mine, and all thoughts of Nicolai floated out of my mind. He snaked his hand under my shirt, and my breath hitched. My brain went all foggy until a knock on the door pulled me out of my haze.

“Tell them to go away,” Peter whispered in my ear. His breath on my skin made me feel all tingly.

Whoever was at the door knocked again. I took a step away from Peter. “I really should get that,” I said, remembering I was at work and that it could be my boss.

For a moment Peter looked angry, his blue eyes darkening, but then his features softened. “Fine. I’ve got an important meeting to attend to in a few minutes anyway.” He opened the door and rushed out without sparing a glance at my visitor.

“So that was the boyfriend?” Maria said as she entered the room.

“Um … yeah. That’s him,” I stammered, tucking my blouse back into my pants.

“Hmm.” She frowned. “There’s something … strange about him.”

She spoke so quietly I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or herself.

“Strange? What do you mean by that?”

“I’m not quite sure.” She glanced over her shoulder even though Peter was long gone. “But I’ll be sure to find out.”

I laughed. “Your imagination is getting the better of you. Peter is just a normal guy.”

Maria pursed her lips and shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

She reached into the embroidered bag that hung across her body and pulled out a small glass bottle. “Your potion.”

I took it from her and passed it from one hand to the other, wondering why the bottle felt so warm.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

“You want me to drink this now?”

“The sooner the better.”

I held the bottle up to get a better look at the contents. The liquid inside was murky, like pond water. Suddenly my heart began to race. Once I drank the potion, my life would change forever. Was I ready for that? Just do it. I pulled the small cork stopper out of the bottle. The rotten-egg smell made my stomach turn. I was sure it would taste vile.

“It’s a potion, not Chardonnay,” Maria said. “Get on with it already.”

“Excuse me if I take a second or two to think things over before making a major life-changing decision.”

“Of course.” Maria bowed her head. “I apologize for being so insensitive. This is all so new to you. But I promise you won’t regret having your powers unbound. I can teach you to do incredible things.”

And I wanted to learn how to do incredible things, so despite my initial hesitation I held the bottle to my lips and emptied the contents into my mouth in three sips, trying not to gag.

“How long will it take to work?”

“That depends on how good of a job I did creating the potion,” Maria replied. “By the time you come to see me later, we should know whether or not it worked. If it did, we’ll get started practicing some spells tonight.”

“And if it didn’t?”

“Then I’ll have to try again,” she said. “But I doubt that will be the case. My potions rarely fail.”

She reached into her bag again and pulled out an old leather-bound book. The word Potions was barely visible on the worn cover.

“I’ll have more books for you later, but if you have a bit of time today, read through this. Now is a good a time as any to start by familiarizing yourself with common potion ingredients.”

I opened the book to the first page. There was a picture of an herb and the word “Chamomile” below it along with a list of different potions that required it. A potion was more than likely not going to lift Nicolai’s curse, but I wanted to learn as much as Maria was able to teach me.

“Okay. I’ll do my best.”

Maria gave me a stern look. “See that you do.” She turned to leave.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she said, glancing at me over her shoulder.

“Can you read minds?”

“Sometimes. But only when I make physical contact, and only when the person I’m reading is experiencing strong emotions, like you were yesterday.”

It made no sense to tell her she was wrong. As much as I hated to admit it, Maria was right about me being jealous. I’d have to be more careful about keeping my feelings in check, especially around her.

After Maria left I put the book she gave me down on my desk. Having it there was so much of a distraction that I wasn’t able to get much work done. Instead I spent the rest of my afternoon looking through the book. There were pages and