So, unless the Troll Queen had planned some nefarious deeds, he should be fine. One year wasn’t that long to stay out of trouble.
Almost on cue, he heard the whispering voice of the Troll Queen. “Donnacha,” she called out, her voice slithering through the halls. “Come to me.”
He didn’t want to. He should have known she would have something up her sleeve. Staying put would have been the smarter option. He could fight against the pull of the curse, and maybe she would give up.
His feet moved of their own accord. Donnacha padded toward the room with the mirror and slipped through the double doors.
She was already waiting for him. Her slate gray skin blended into the misty background of her home. Dark stone, dark shadows. There was nothing in the troll kingdom other than bleak, grim frost.
The Troll Queen stared at him, her face twisted with anger. “So, she made it to the castle.”
“She did.” He tried so hard not to gloat, but the faerie woman had done what no one else had ever managed to do. She’d beaten the Troll Queen at her own game.
“Well, that’s a shame for her.”
Donnacha locked his muscles tight, refusing to move when he realized the Troll Queen had, yet again, proven herself to be far more intelligent than he thought.
The creature in front of him laughed. “Did you really think that was the end of this, Donnacha? I plan to torture you until you agree to marry my daughter. You knew that the moment you chose to be cursed instead.”
“She has nothing to do with this.” Would the Troll Queen punish this woman as well? He couldn’t have that hanging over his head. She was an innocent.
“She has a huge part in this. Because she’s pretty, isn’t she?”
Was this some kind of retribution for having a daughter who was ugly? Donnacha shook his large head. “You know my refusal to marry your daughter had little to do with her looks.”
“It has everything to do with her looks,” the Troll Queen hissed. “And now, I’m going to torment you.”
He had no idea what she could possibly plan that would torment him further. Donnacha was already a bear. Already stolen away from his family. This knowledge made him more daring than he might have been otherwise. He tilted his head back and laughed. “Do your worst, Troll Queen. I will never give in to you.”
She watched him laugh with a cold expression. “Donnacha, I know you better than you know yourself. You don’t want to hurt anyone. You’ve never wanted to be the one who caused another person pain.”
“The woman is off limits. You cannot hurt her.”
“I don’t intend to.” She pressed a hand against her chest and smiled a feral smile. “You’re going to.”
His blood ran cold. “You can’t force me to harm someone. That is also against the deal. You have no control over my decisions.”
“I do a bit. But don’t worry your furry little head. I’m not going to make you eat her, if that’s what you think.” She leaned closer to the glass and drew a long nail down the surface. The screeching sound was almost as terrible as her voice. “I’m changing the curse. Adding another layer to it, just a bit.”
“What more could you do?”
“Every night, Donnacha of the dwarven clans, you will change back from a bear into a man.”
He waited for her to clarify, only to realize that was her addition. That was it. He could finally be a man again? After all this time?
As he opened his mouth to speak, she lifted a hand. “Not so fast, dwarf. If this woman sees your human face, then you will have to marry my daughter.”
Well, that would certainly make things more difficult. But it was nothing he couldn’t overcome. He’d simply stay away from her at night. He’d lock her in the room to be certain she wouldn’t wander and see him by accident.
It was a difficult way to live for a year, but it wouldn’t be the hardest year he’d survived. Donnacha nodded firmly. “So be it.”
The Troll Queen’s eyes lit up with anticipation. “Oh, and one last thing. You have to stay in the same room with her while you’re a human. Sleep by her side, in the same bed, for the rest of the time she’s here.”
“What?” he blurted. “Why would you insist on that? She doesn’t know who I am!”
“No, she doesn’t. Which means she’ll be all the more likely to try and find out who you are. Remember, all she has to do is see your face. The moonlight. A flicker of a candle. There’s so many ways she can see who you really are, Donnacha.”
His mind whirled, trying to find the loopholes, and each one the Troll Queen struck down.
“You can’t cover your face intentionally. No masks, no hoods. Just you, as you are. No, you cannot sleep at the foot of her bed or blindfold her either. You can’t tell her anything at all other than you must stay with her, in her room, in her bed, at her side.” The Troll Queen clapped gleefully. “Now that will be real entertainment. I’ll have you in my castle anytime now. What color would you like the bouquets to be?”
“You have not bested me yet.”
“Oh, but I will.”
A shock struck him in the base of the neck. At first, he thought it was nothing more than a knot in his fur. They were sometimes pesky enough to cause actual pain. But then the electricity traveled down his neck and through his spine. He had a moment to grumble out a barely there, “What,” before it burst into excruciating pain. The air in his lungs stuck in his throat, the sounds he wanted to scream already silencing themselves before he gave them life. His body crumpled to the ground. Paws curling in toward his chest, he shivered in pain. His jaw gaped open as he tried to curse her, to tell
