The Cursed Prince by Teresa Roman (reading e books txt) 📕

was here for more than just money. She cared for Nicolai and wanted to help him. But as soon as she figured out how to break his curse, she’d be gone. Just like Nicolai. The thought of it made my heart hurt.

“Thank you, Maria.”

“Come,” she said. “Nicolai is waiting for you in the music room. I’ll take you to him.”

She led me down a hallway that was just past the foyer and then down another hallway to a part of the castle Nicolai had not yet shown me. The music room, as Maria had called it, had so many windows that the room was bathed in sunlight. Right in the middle of it sat Nicolai with a cello between his legs.

“A promise is a promise,” he said as I walked toward him.

I glanced over my shoulder, but Maria had already left.

Nicolai pulled a bow across the cello’s strings, filling the room with deep, mellow, full-bodied sounds that were almost hypnotic. His left hand quivered as he played, creating a perfect, expressive vibrato.

“That was beautiful,” I said when he lifted his bow from the cello a few minutes later.

“I’m a bit rusty. It’s been a while.”

“Rusty? That’s not what I would call it.”

“Why are you standing so far away?” Nicolai got up from his chair and laid the cello down on its side.

I walked over to him. He held his hand out to me. I took it, and he pulled me into a quick embrace.

“Your hair looks almost red in this light. It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.” I ran a nervous hand through my hair, hoping my cheeks weren’t a similar shade. “Can you play another song for me?”

“Any special requests?”

“Surprise me.”

Nicolai brought a chair from the corner of the room and set it down beside him so I wouldn’t have to stand. Then he took his cello and played again. I could’ve sat there for hours listening to him, but after a while, Nicolai insisted that it was time for lunch.

We headed to the salon, where Maxim was seated at the table, eating bread slathered with some sort of soft cheese. “Nic,” he said as we entered the room. “I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing you play the cello until today. I’m so glad you picked it up again.”

“Do you mind if we join you?” Nicolai asked.

“Of course not,” Maxim replied, taking a quick gulp of water.

The table was set with a lavish array of cheeses, bread, and a grilled minced meat dish that Nicolai explained was served with a mustard dipping sauce.

“This is delicious,” I said after taking a bite.

Maxim smiled. “I’m glad you like Sarabian food. Many Americans find the flavors a bit too exotic for their taste.”

He got up from the table. “Please excuse me, Willow, Nic. I have some things to attend to. Enjoy your meal.”

“Are your brothers always so formal?” I asked after Maxim had left.

“That’s the way we were raised.”

I looked up from my plate. “Do you like being a prince?”

Nicolai shrugged. “It’s all I’ve ever known.”

“Do the people in your country know that you and the rest of your family are werewolves?”

“You’re full of questions today.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“There’s no need to be. I love your inquisitiveness.” Nicolai took a sip of water before continuing, “To answer your question, they know, but they don’t know. Like Beaver Falls, the people of Sarabia have a strong belief in the supernatural, so naturally many people are convinced that my family, who has ruled for centuries, cannot be mere mortals. These rumors have kept our enemies at bay for hundreds of years. When the Ottomans attacked eastern Europe, they stayed away from our country, even though it is small, because they were afraid of us. The Korzhas have always had a reputation for being ferocious with their enemies.”

I took a gulp of water.

“I hope I haven’t scared you,” Nicolai said. “You must know I would never hurt you, nor would I allow anyone to ever harm you.”

To survive for so many years, Nicolai’s family had to be strong. Weak rulers didn’t last long. “No. You haven’t.”

Nicolai smiled. “I love that about you. How bold you are.”

There was a great deal about Nicolai I loved as well, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit it out loud. I reminded myself again that, sooner or later, he’d leave Beaver Falls and I would probably never see him again. I would be a fool to let my attraction to him ruin things between me and Peter.

“What about your future bride?” I asked. “Is she a werewolf?”

“Most likely not, at least not yet.”

My eyes widened. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“In my country it is considered a great honor to be asked to join the Korzha family. No one is ever forced into becoming a werewolf, it is something that every bride or groom has chosen to do.”

“What if Frederic got married tomorrow and his wife said no? What would happen then?”

“She would be expected to keep our secret. That is all.”

“And if she didn’t?”

“I don’t really know. Something like that has never happened, and I don’t imagine it ever would.”

I finished my last bite of lunch and put my napkin down on the table beside my plate.

“If you return tomorrow, I’ll play cello for you again,” Nicolai said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I smiled. “Did you think you’d scared me off?”

“The thought had occurred to me.”

“I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

“For that, I’m eternally grateful.” He returned my smile, and I swore if I hadn’t been sitting, my knees would’ve given out on me.

I returned home and lugged my satchel of books into my bedroom. I spread them out on the floor in front of me and spent the rest of the afternoon reading in the hopes that I’d stumble upon something that would show me a way to help Nicolai, but the information on curses was rather vague. What I did learn was that there was no such thing as a curse that couldn’t