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

her other one on his forehead and began to chant so softly that I couldn’t make the words out. A faint glow appeared under her hands. I kept looking over my shoulder, worried that someone would walk in and wonder what the hell was going on. More than once I stopped myself from interrupting Maria to ask her what was taking so long. Inside, I was panicking, afraid that Maria’s magic wasn’t powerful enough to help him. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it any longer, she stopped chanting and opened her eyes.

“He will be fine,” Maria said. Sweat had beaded up on her forehead. She wiped it with the back of her hand.

“How do you know that?”

She gave me a stern look. “I just do. Now come. Your father needs his rest, and so do you. You can visit him in the morning.”

I hesitated, hating the idea of not being there when my father woke up. Maria walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I turned around and looked into her eyes, realizing she was right. I was exhausted.

We returned to my car. Just as I snapped my seatbelt into place, my phone rang. I glanced down at it, hoping it was Peter, but it wasn’t. I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hey, Grace.”

“I heard what happened, Willow. I’m so sorry. Is your dad okay?”

“He will be, I think.”

“Want me to come over? I can bring you dinner.”

I was such a nervous wreck that the thought of eating made my stomach turn.

“No, that’s okay. I’m not very hungry. I’m leaving the hospital right now, and when I get home, I’m going straight to bed.”

“Okay. I understand. But if you change your mind, just call me.”

I turned onto the long, windy path that led up to the castle, Maria tapped my shoulder. “First thing in the morning, I expect you’ll want to visit your father, but right after, you come to the castle. Understood? We have a lot of work to do.”

“I’ll be there. I promise.”

Her single-mindedness got under my skin sometimes. Was it too much to ask for a bit more sympathy from her? My father had just had a stroke, and Maria was acting like it was no big deal.

After dropping her off I drove back home, pulled into the driveway, and turned off the engine. Instead of getting out of the car, I leaned forward and rested my head on the steering wheel. A moment later, someone tapped on the window.

I yelped and looked up. My heart slowed as I realized who it was. I lowered the window.

“Peter? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you succeeded.” And he’d also scared the crap out of me. Probably because I was still spooked by the stunt Frederic had pulled earlier. Still, I was happy to see Peter. I got out of the car and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Are you all right?”

“I think so.”

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour.”

I couldn’t very well tell him that I’d gone to the castle. “I was at the hospital with my dad.”

He gave me a funny look. One that said he didn’t quite trust my answer. Or maybe it was just my guilty conscience that had me seeing things that weren’t there. “Let’s go inside.” Peter took my hand. I unlocked the front door and he followed me into the living room. We sat beside each other on the couch.

“Turn,” Peter said. “Let me give you a shoulder rub.”

I pivoted so my back was to him. As his hands massaged the knots out of my neck and back my mind traveled. I prayed one more time that my father was going to be okay. He would hate being stuck in a wheelchair. Dad liked the outdoors. Not being able to do the things he enjoyed would devastate him. Somehow my thoughts drifted from my father to Frederic. He’d intended for me to see him shapeshift, but why? Had he been trying to frighten me? Frederic needed my help to break Nicolai’s curse, so scaring me made no sense. I put my fingertips up to my temples. All this thinking was giving me a monster of a headache.

“What’s on your mind?” Peter whispered into my ear.

I opened my eyes. “Nothing. I’m too tired to think. It’s been such a long day.”

He moved my hair aside and kissed my neck. Goosebumps rose on my flesh. His lips traveled down to my shoulder. I hadn’t even noticed that he’d pulled the sleeve of my shirt down far enough to expose it. I turned and reached around the nape of his neck, pulling him closer to me and kissing him.

“Let’s go to your room,” he whispered between kisses.

I pulled away. “I can’t, Peter. Not now.”

He shook his head. “You misunderstood. I can see that you’re tired. You need to sleep. I just want to hold you while you do.”

“Peter.” I raised my hand and rested it on his cheek. “You’re so sweet.”

“I care about you, Willow.”

He took my hand and laced his fingers through mine, pulling me up. I led him down the hall and into my bedroom. He sat down while I found some pajamas to change into. I took them into the bathroom. By the time I returned to my room, Peter had removed his shoes and socks. He pulled down my bedcovers and sat, patting the empty spot beside him.

I got into bed and lay down with my head on his lap. He ran his fingers through my hair. “If your father needs help after he gets out of the hospital, I’ll make sure he gets it. I can hire a live-in caretaker to be with him so he won’t have to be alone when you’re at work.”

I looked up at Peter. “It’s a generous offer, but I can’t accept it.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s too much.”

“I’m trying to show you how much you mean to me, Willow.”

We kissed