Chapter Sixteen

Lizzie, 15 years old

She looked down at the glass vial. The silver, iridescent liquid inside shimmered and rippled as she turned it one way and another. It was so small—no larger than her thumb—but just touching it left her with a sense of foreboding.

"This is it?" Lizzie looked up at her sister. Dark circles marred Belinda's normally flawless face, and her eyes looked exhausted and spent.

"That's it."

She tilted the vial, watching the colors ripple. "What does it do again?"

"The best way I can explain it is to imagine that your heart is surrounded by a block of ice. That ice keeps you numb, and it keeps all of the emotions out. You won't be able to register anything deeper than cursory feelings—just enough to allow you to continue to function without forming relationships."

"And this will protect me?"

"Of course. It's simple, Liza. If you don't feel, you can't be hurt."

Lizzie bit her lip. "Can it be broken?"

"No. The ice would have to thaw."

"It's real ice, then?"

Belinda rubbed her eyes. "Not literally. The point is that you would have to constantly feel a great deal of love and affection in order for the curse to weaken, but since no one is going to bother to waste their time showering their affection on you when all you do is brush them off, it won't be a problem. Think about ice in the winter. If the sun shines directly on it for hours without stopping, it will eventually melt. But if the sunshine is only intermittent, and then another freeze keeps coming along, the ice will stay there indefinitely."

"So how do I do it?"

"The magic is already there. All you have to do is place a drop in your eye and one over your heart, and the curse will work its way into your mind and heart."

"Will it hurt?

"To cast? No. But I should warn you that if it does break—which it won't, but just in case—that will probably be extremely painful."

Lizzie watched the streets of Kysta roll by from the window of the carriage. She had always thought the tiny country colorful and exotic, but there was something about it now that just felt rather…dull.

She didn't really care for it.

Her father and mother led the way, as they normally did, and she pasted on a smile and followed at an unhurried pace. She wasn't anxious to see Freddy.

Or was she? There was a confusing ball of something in her stomach that was disquieting.

Didn't Lindy say that I wouldn't feel any emotions? What is this?

Her eyes found him the moment she entered the room. He was taller and broader than when she saw him last, now nearly matching his father. His blonde hair had been combed back and his formal blue jacket fit him well across the shoulders. His face lit up with a smile when he saw her, striking her like a beam of sunshine.

Her heart flipped.

No. No, no, no. No feelings, no pain.

She focused her energy on the feeling of ice around her heart that Lindy had told her about. Perhaps if she took that feeling and just pushed it hard enough…back through the ice to the other side…

There.

A whisper of regret remained, but she could deal with that. She let Freddy take her hand. "Good afternoon, Freddy."

She could see his confusion as he searched her face. "Lizzie, what's—"

Lizzie pulled her hand away and continued down the line to greet Queen Clarice.

I can't love him,

Good.