Free Withering Rose (Once Upon A Curse Book 2) by Kaitlyn Davis

The
animals become little more than dark shadows in my peripheral. My
vision tunnels on the open iron gate just visible at the end of the
street. And once I'm through it, my world is washed in white. Snow
covers every inch of the land. I pass by icy trees as my feet sink
deeper with each step. My breath grows short as my muscles scream
at me with exertion. But I don't stop. The mountains begin to
incline, but still I keep going.
    Then I trip on a rock.
    I fall, landing wrists first against the
ground. Frost stings my exposed skin and a deep freeze sinks into
my bones when the snow wraps around me. As the adrenaline leaves my
system, the sweat on my arms brings a chill to my muscles. The
silent forest is filled with the clatter of my shivering teeth and
the puff of my breath as I blow warm air into my palms. Only then
do I realize how cold it is. How lost I am. And how low the sun has
begun to hang in the sky.
    Only then do I realize my mistake.
    I turn, but there is nothing but ivory
stretching out in every direction. The gently falling snow has
begun to pick up. I could follow my footsteps back toward the
castle, but I'm not sure if it would be any safer there or if I
should take my chances with the wilderness. More so, I'm almost
certain my fatigued body would give out before I made it back.
    Survival instincts take over. Magic burns to
life in my chest, providing some warmth, but not enough. I focus on
the ground below me, forcing flowers to grow through the frozen
soil, willing them to lift higher and spread wider until the space
beneath my feet is cleared of snow and replaced with a small patch
of color. Still shivering, I sit and wrap the cloak tightly around
me. It’s warm, but not warm enough to keep the wintry breeze out.
So I concentrate on something that might. Bushes spring to life,
surrounding me like a wall against the chill. I twist and turn the
branches until they meet overhead, blocking out the light but also
the wind, leaving me in shadows. Then I hug my knees to my chest,
trying to use my breath to keep my frigid body warm.
    For a while, I think it might work.
    Then the wind picks up.
    The flurries turn to icy pellets.
    Freezing water drips through the cracks in
the bushes, soaking into my clothes.
    In what little light I have, I notice my
fingertips are turning a dangerously pale shade, and I've begun to
lose feeling. When I press my hand to my nose, the tip feels like
ice. Just when I'm about to shift the plants away, to admit defeat
and try to find my way back to the castle, a thunderous voice stops
me.
    "Omorose!"
    It’s him. He followed me.
    I hug my knees closer to my chest, as if to
hide myself more.
    "I don't want to hurt you!" he shouts.
"I'm." He pauses. "I'm sorry. Please, you have to come with me."
His voice is getting louder. He's coming closer. "You'll die out
here. On a night like this, you'll never survive."
    I know he's telling the truth.
    But I can't fight the fear churning in my
gut. It overwhelms me. And when I close my eyes, I don't see a man
calling my name. I see a monstrous bear with saliva falling from
gleaming teeth. I see my doom.
    "Omorose?"
    This time it is little more than a whisper.
He's right next to my hideout. I can hear him breathing. My fingers
tremble. Snow crunches as he steps in a circle around me. I'm
caught. I'm trapped.
    Then I hear that little girl again.
    Fight! she whispers in the back of my
mind. Fight back!
    And I remember that I'm strong.
    I'm powerful.
    And I don't want to run away any longer.
    My magic acts on reflex. One moment I am
cowering. And the next, the bushes around me have recoiled and
vines are ripping free of the ground, soaring toward the beast,
sharp with thorns. He leaps away, quick on his feet. The hood of
his cloak falls, but with his back turned to me, I only notice
jet-black hair before I sink deeper into the magic, too wrapped up
in the power to notice anything else. I am one with those prickly
branches lashing out at the beast. More