Free The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt

like for you, before?”
    She paused a moment, with a slight frown. “Like I lived in a fog. I wanted to understand, sometimes I could almost grasp it, but then, it…eluded me. I felt like I only understood the world when I was singing. And when I was dreaming.”
    “Do you remember coming to the shop last year?”
    “Very clearly.”
    “Did you know me then?”
    “Not at first. Not until I had run into the cellar. And then, not until you had taken the curse upon yourself.”
    I bit my lip, not wanting to say too much.
    “I thank you,” she said. “I can never thank you enough. You lost a year of your life out of love for me.”
    I opened my mouth to speak, but she forestalled me with an upraised hand. “And I suspect you lost much more.”
    “It wasn’t loss. It was gain.”
    “Gain? I’ve been asking about you. I’ve been speaking to your mother. I know how much you lost. Your livelihood, your betrothed, your very reputation.”
    “But most of those were out of my own choice. I gained, as well. My life would have been one way had there never been a curse. But instead, it was the way I lived it. I cannot regret it.”
    “Even though you are dying?”
    “Of course I wish I were well, but there’s no sense in regretting.”
    “But you didn’t wish yourself well. You used your wish on me.”
    I was silent.
    “My father wishes to reward you.”
    “He has already rewarded me.”
    “He wants to make you a baroness.”
    “I…don’t know what to say.”
    “Will you be well enough to go down to the great hall for the investiture?”
    “Of course.”
    ***
    They carried me down in a reclining chair, and set me before the throne. The court was in full session. I felt eyes looking at me from all around and struggled to arise so I could bow to the king.
    “Please,” he said. “Remain in your chair. That’s why I had it brought here.”
    Gratefully, I fell back on my cushions.
    He looked beyond me. “You all know of the deeds of this lady, Talia Spinster. His voice rang throughout the vast hall. “We can never repay her for her selfless actions. But we can let her know that we are grateful. From this day forward, she will be known as Lady—”
    “Sixfold!” a small voice interrupted. I looked up and watched as seven fairies flew in the window and arrayed themselves around me. Among them were Andante and Allegro, now in fairy form. “Let her be known as Lady Sixfold, in remembrance of these gifts that we are about to give her,” Andante finished.
    The king nodded. He didn’t look surprised.
    Six of the fairies waved their wands. Sparks sprayed from them, and shimmered, and chimes zinged around me like musical fireflies. Panicked, I looked over at Mother, where she stood near the kitchen. Her eyes narrowed, and I knew that she hoped the fairies wouldn’t blunder this spell, as well. She looked around, as if for a weapon.
    Once they started, I dared not interrupt. This spell was not poetic; they simply each flitted in front of me, cascaded me in shimmers and pronounced a single word.
    “Love.”
    “Marriage.”
    “Children.”
    “Wealth.”
    “Health.”
    “Years.”
    Then, they arrayed in a circle around me, and they each dashed a final burst of magic upon me. “These we grant you in abundance, by the power of our magic.”
    As the magic worked upon me, I felt something move deep within, and I knew I was no longer barren. A weight lifted out of my lungs, and I took my first deep breath in months. I felt my face. It was clear of warts for the first time since I was a child.
    Then the evil fairy appeared in their midst with a clap of thunder and a cloud of mist. From all around me came shrieks of terror. I recognized her as the elegant woman who had commissioned the enchanted thread, now in fairy form. And I understood her treachery. She had waited until all the fairies had cast their spells so none of them could alleviate her curse upon me. They buzzed around, helpless.
    I cringed before her as