Chess helped me carry Catalin into the house.

The main room of the cottage was filled with shelves that bore books, vases, dried flowers and various baubles. The table in the center was covered with a colorful tablecloth. I could totally picture the place in a decoration magazine, possibly with a large bouquet on the table. There were three armchairs near the fireplace, with crochet napkins on their backs, and simpler chairs were lined on both sides of the table. A door led to the back of the house, where the witch’s bedroom probably was.

The abundance of decoration almost hid the magic that was all over the place, but being who I was, I could feel it and see the symbols. Everything was tailored to make the witch’s work easier.

“Lay this poor soul on the table, so I can take a better look at her.”

We did as instructed. The witch leaned over the motionless body with a sorrowful look, but when she looked back at me, her face was severe again.

“Remind me of her name.”

“Catalin Robi.”

“Thank you.” She lifted Catalin’s hands and placed them in a prayer-like attitude that made her look like a recumbent statue. “A grimoire did this, you say?”

I bowed. “Yes, madam.”

She grinned without looking up. “I have a name, human. I’m Soaruna Kaal, midwife and healer. And you must have a name, too. I gave you mine, now, return the favor.”

What if she could do terrible things out of my name, like in some fairy tales? But she’s leading the game here. I’m in her house, I begged for her help, and I can’t escape the influence of her spells. I must answer honestly.

“Al,” I began, but the witch turned to me, and her iridescent gaze dug a better answer out of me. “Alicia, actually. Alicia Lebel.”

“I didn’t know that!” whispered Chess.

“Nobody does. Brealia needed an Al, so Al I am, but it’s not my full name.”

Soaruna Kaal nodded, and the trinkets in her hair tinkled softly. “Thank you for your honesty.”

“You don’t need to thank me. You’re the one who cast the spell over there, aren’t you? The one that makes it very difficult to lie in this room.” I pointed to a spot near the fireplace. “It must be helpful when patients come with secrets that they try to hide by making up stories.”

And there must be another spell, among all the other ones, that makes people want to talk. Couldn’t I be more cautious? I’m better at keeping things to myself, usually!

Soaruna Kaal followed my gaze and smiled.

“Interesting. You can feel magic.”

“Only a little, but I have the power to see the traces it leaves on things. And people.”

“Fair enough.”

She walked around the table and looked out of the window. There wasn’t much to see outside. It was night and we were far from any city light.

“You’re the one King Esthar had his Senior Magi summon a few days ago, aren’t you? How did you end up engaged to one of us?”

“By accident.”

“Tell me what happened.”

I took Catalin’s right hand and held it between mine, looking at her as I was talking to the witch.

“Five days ago, I didn’t know her. Someone broke her necklace and I handed her one of her pendants back. She knew I was unaware of the tradition, but she decided it was a valid proposal nonetheless, and she accepted it. She said it was only for the protection my name could grant her, but she’s so kind to me that I can’t help feeling she must have seen something else in me.”

I don’t know what you saw, but I promise I’ll do my best to live up to it.

The witch’s eyes went from our hands to my face.

“What about you, Alicia Lebel? What did you see in Catalin Robi?”

I was wary of her at first, and then…

“She’s brave. She’s smart. She’s generous. She’s willing to make room for me in her life without giving up her own ambitions.”

Not to mention how beautiful she is.

I told Soaruna Kaal everything she wanted to know, perhaps because of the spells, perhaps because I was tired, and probably out of despair. I’d give her a pint of my blood if she asked for it. No price seemed too high for saving Catalin.

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Time passed. There was no clock around, but it was probably the middle of the night. Chess struggled to keep their eyes open, and I was aware that I should be sleeping, but I talked and talked, until the witch finally raised a hand.

“Alicia Lebel, if it wasn’t for you, this young person would still be a student at the University of Magic Arts in Carastra, and she’d be alive. Do you agree?”

“I do, Soaruna Kaal. I hurt her. I brought that curse upon her. I didn’t mean to, but the result is the same, so I take the blame.”

“Good. Then you agree that whatever I’m about to do, I’ll do for her, not for you.”

I nodded in silence, awaiting the end of the lecture. Soaruna Kaal breathed in, and then she stretched out a hand.

“Now give me the grimoire.”

Chess and I looked at each other in panic. What does she want with the book? We need it to rescue the dragon!

But we were in no position to refuse. Catalin’s life was in that woman’s hands. I nodded, and Chess carefully removed the grimoire from their bag. Then they handed it to the witch, still wrapped in Taiki’s handkerchief.

“We have gloves if you want to examine it,” they offered.

“No need. This cloth will be just fine.”

Soaruna Kaal took the grimoire with a frown.

“I was about to let my fire die down,” she muttered as if to herself. “Forget my own head next.”

She added half a log into the fireplace, then waited for the flames to get stronger. From where I stood, I could feel the warmth from the fire. It made me want to lay down and rest, but I couldn’t.

Soaruna Kaal unfolded the fabric around the grimoire and she wrinkled her nose again.

“What a nasty one! The owner must be one of those wizards from Carastra who never learned to share and who devise the most horrible curses to keep everyone away from their secrets! But what good is it, I ask you? And you?”

“Me?”

Chess narrowed their eyes in astonishment, but the witch shrugged.

“Yes, you. You kept silent all evening. Catalin Robi doesn’t mean as much to you as she does to Alicia Lebel, so, tell me, young human: what is your name, and what brings you to my place tonight?”

They bowed their head. “My name’s Chess. I’m from Bamir, but I chose to live in Brealia, because my homeland wouldn’t let me be who I am. If I hadn’t fled, I most likely wouldn’t be alive today.”

They swallowed. The witch’s iridescent gaze was still upon them, so they went on.

“Last year, I lost someone who meant the world to me. I wish there’d been a way to bring him back, and a friend to help me find it.”

“Thank you, Chess.”

Soaruna Kaal lifted the half-wrapped grimoire at eye height and gave it a contemptuous look. “Both of you need to trust me now. I don’t want to harm you, but I need to weaken this nasty thing before I can get rid of its curse, and I’m afraid we’re running out of time. Catalin Robi will be dead for good unless we act now.”

She pointed to the fireplace.

“Sit down in these armchairs, now, hold out a hand each, and don’t ask any questions.”

We obeyed. When we were comfortable, Soaruna Kaal stood between the two armchairs and presented us the book like a tray of appetizers.

“Touch it, both of you. If you share the curse, it’ll be weaker and I’ll be able to lift it.”

Isn’t this going to hurt? Of course it is. But it hurt Catalin, so it’s only fair if I receive the same pain she endured.

I looked at Chess, who returned my gaze and nodded. We both put our hands on the cover.

It felt chilly, colder than Alaskan winter. It hurt so much that I removed my hand, but it was too late. I could see the blue-black ink crawl up my arm under my skin, I felt my heart struggle to beat, and my sight blurred just as Soaruna Kaal threw the grimoire into the fire and began chanting.

No! We need it! You can’t do that!

I wanted to scream, but I was already out of breath, so no sound went past my lips. I tried to get up and retrieve the book, but my limbs were numb. The chill took possession of my whole body and I blacked out.

Cold inside, warm outside. Flames melting the ice. Corduroy texture under my fingertips.

Wake up, Alicia! We were cursed and I’m recovering.

My eyelids were so heavy… I struggled to open them, but then, I recognized the room, with the shelves and the bright tablecloth. Morning light came in through the window. Catalin was still lying on the table, her cherry red hair spread around her head.

Oh no. We failed. She’s still lifeless.

And then I noticed her skin was light again, all blue-blackness gone. She was free from the curse, and so was I.

I must check on her! Why are my legs so numb?

Soaruna Kaal was sleeping in the third armchair. She kept snoring softly, even as I failed to get up and crawled past her on the floor. I had to hold on to the table to finally stand up and hold Catalin’s hand.

“Hello?” I said in a soft, low voice. “Can you hear me? It’s Al. We’re in a witch’s cottage, her name is Soaruna Kaal.”

No answer. Anxiety was eating me alive and I felt the urge to talk and talk again, to keep my fear at bay.

“Chess and I carried you here from the forest. Then we shared the curse with you to help Soaruna Kaal lift it. It must have taken her most of the night, because she’s asleep right now. Are you awake, Catalin? Please tell me something…”

She was still not talking. Maybe it was too late and the curse had finally killed her. My heart beat so fast it hurt. I held Catalin’s hand tighter, and she squeezed it slightly.

Joy overwhelmed me. I was crying and sniffing, I probably looked terrible with my coarse and tangled hair, but I didn’t care. She was alive.

She opened her terracotta eyes and smiled at me. A faint, exhausted smile. But a real one nonetheless.

“I feel so tired, Al…”

“So do I. I can’t really stand on my feet right now. Take it easy.”

I was still half slouched on the table, slowly regaining control over my legs.

“How did that person lift the curse?”

“I don’t know. The only thing I can tell you is she had to destroy the grimoire in the process.”

“She didn’t…”

“She did, but I’d give anything to save you.”

Except I tried to protest when she burned it. But I was panicking and passing out when it happened. Here and now, I think she was right, because she brought you back.

Catalin frowned. “The grimoire is lost? Then how can we…”

“We’ll find a way. It never mattered as much as you do. I’m no hero, Catalin. I’m just a person who’s not going anywhere without you.”

She stared at me in disbelief. I couldn’t blame her. A day and a half earlier, I’d hardly talk to her, so my apparent change of heart was a surprise.

“It took me a curse to realize it, honestly. When I thought I’d lost you, I was ready to give up everything to bring you back. I might even have threatened a celestial being.”

She giggled and brought my hand to her lips. “Thank you for saving my life, Al.”

“Thank you for being who you are, Catalin.”

And we kissed, swiftly, only lips pressed and shared warmth.

When I looked around, I realized Chess was awake too. They had bags under their eyes and they didn’t move from their armchair, but they’d seen us kiss.

They smiled at us with a strange combination of pure joy and infinite sadness.