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  Despite her telling herself no, Stefan’s face flashed before her eyes. She pushed it away. She couldn’t think about him like that, or at all. He may have promised that he’d find her, but she seriously doubted that he would. Or that he could even manage.

  “Let me through!” a voice called through the crowds.

  Odette’s heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be him, could it? How had he found her? How had he got here? And had he been able to save her children? She didn’t know which she wanted the answer to first. Actually, that was a lie, she did know.

  Because her children certainly weren’t with him. She was at least a little grateful for that. Her Father wasn’t a bad man, not by any stretch of the imagination. But he would also likely give her children feathers, and she didn’t want that for them. A life bound to this castle wasn’t something she wished on anyone. Which was something she hadn’t realised until she’d returned.

  “You can’t come in, the Swan Princesses are dancing,” one of the guards said loudly. Odette made a small dismissive noise, quite involuntarily. Six of the Swan Princesses were dancing. She was standing to the side, overlooked and longing to be elsewhere.

  “It’s one of the Princesses I’ve come to see.”

  There was a sharp intake in breath from just about everyone in the Court. And this time, Odette smiled to herself. She probably should have told him about the traditions of her people.

  “You want to see one of the Princesses?” her Father’s voice boomed across the room.

  “Yes, your majesty,” Stefan said, executing a swift bow that she was sure learned during his upbringing at a Court of his own.

  “You want to speak to one of my daughters?”

  Oh no, his voice was taking on the same tone he used to use when one of them had done something wrong. It wasn’t one any of them had ever been in a rush to hear.

  “Yes, your majesty.”

  “Do you have any idea what that actually means?” She couldn’t see her Father’s face, but she could picture him raising an eyebrow as he spoke.

  “No, your majesty.” Stefan’s voice shook as he spoke, and Odette longed to run over to him and comfort him. And maybe explain to him what was about to happen.

  “Daughters!” her Father commanded, and Odette sighed, taking the mask that was offered to her by a suddenly appearing servant. If she hadn’t been used to their uncanny ability to provide what was needed, then she may have been surprised by it.

  She strapped the mask around her face, as her sisters were around the room too. She marvelled slightly in the fact this would be the first, and hopefully last, time she’d have to take part in the selection ceremony. She’d seen her six older sisters do it countless times. Basically, each and every time a man tried to claim one of them as his own. All of them failed.

  She fell into line with them all, nerves fluttering in her stomach. She trusted that Stefan would be able to pick her out of the line-up. She hoped that he would. But with all of them looking so alike, and with their faces obscured by masks, it’d be almost impossible for him to tell.

  “The only way to speak to one of my daughters, is to marry her.”

  “Very well, your majesty,” Stefan replied without hesitation, and the fluttering in Odette’s stomach increased. Did he really want her that much? Or was he only doing this out of a sense of duty.

  “To which Princess do you wish to speak?” her Father asked, standing rigid and formal.

  Odette scrunched her hands into the feathers of her dress, fighting from showing her true feelings. Really, she wasn’t supposed to move at all. She couldn’t. For if anyone thought she’d in any way influenced the decision, Stefan would be imprisoned.

  “Princess Odette.” Her name came from his lips in a whisper, like a caress, one that she couldn’t ignore, and yet had to.

  “Very well. Here are the seven Princesses. If you can tell me which is my youngest, then she shall be yours to wed.”

  She really wanted to wipe the smug smile off her father’s face. Just because no one had ever managed to beat his game before, didn’t mean that Stefan would fail too.

  The man in question looked up and down the row of Princesses, his eyes lingering on her, and within seconds, he strode towards her and bowed.

  “This is the Princess Odette.” His voice was strong and sure. He knew he was right, and for that she was glad.

  One of the ever present servants stepped forward and untied the mask, pulling it away and revealing her face to the Court, and to the beaming Stefan.

  “How?” she whispered.

  “I told you, I find what I want.”

  Epilogue

  Stefan smiled as he watched the woman who would soon be his wife. She was sat by the open fire, playing with her twins and chattering away in a language he didn’t know. He guessed it was one that belonged to the swans.

  He was almost reluctant to tell her that it was time for them to go back to his true home, and that their stay in his Mother’s old cottage was over. But if they didn’t return, then they wouldn’t be able to plan with his family about how to stop the tyranny that Ennardo was enacting. Stefan was sure that Odette wasn’t the first victim of his cruelty, nor would she be his last.

  Only once they’d managed to get rid of the King who’d kidnapped her, and suppressed his own Court, would Odette truly be at peace. Then, she could take her place as regent for her son, and give Ennardo’s Kingdom the leadership it truly deserved. And he’d be by her, and her children, for every step of that journey.

  Maybe then, her feathers would return to the snow white she’d been born with. But he doubted it. Pain and suffering had caused them to turn black, or at least, that’s what her Father had said. He’d softened a little when in private with Stefan and Odette, but still not enough. It hadn’t been until Odette told him that her people were cursed to stay in the palace, conforming to the rules that’d been there for centuries, that he’d truly understood. None of them had any choice. Odette was the first person to ever go missing or leave. He still hated that none of them seemed to care about what had happened to her while she was gone. But he understood now. Or at least, he understood a little.

  But at least now she was free. Now she could fly whenever she wished, safe in the knowledge that she could return to a home where she was truly loved.

  The End

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  If you enjoyed Clipped, then why not try Awakening, the first book in the parent series, Beyond the Curse! You can also sign up for new release alerts for when future books in the Alventia universe are released.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading Clipped! I hope you this Children of the Cursed short story! There will be three longer works in this series, but until then, why not try the parent series, Beyond the Curse. This is going to be a six book series, following Keira, Philip, Gretel & co. as they take on Philip’s father, Xavier. So far, Awakening, Cloaked, Accursed and a prequel short story, Betrayed, are available now, with the next book, Enslaved, coming soon!

  Other Books by Laura Greenwood

  You can check out some of my first in series here:

  Beyond the Curse (paranormal fantasy fairy tale): http://books2read.com/AwakeningBeyondtheCurse

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  Thornheart Coven (paranormal romance): http://books2read.com/witchspotion

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  The Paranormal Council (shifter romance): http://books2read.com/thedryadspawprint

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  Fated Seasons: Winter (paranormal reverse harem): http://books2read.com/savingeira

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  Fated Seasons: Spring (paranormal reverse harem): http://books2read.com/chasingaledwen

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  Ashryn Barker (paranormal reverse harem): http://books2read.com/shatteredillusions

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  Seven Wardens (paranormal reverse harem, co-written with Skye MacKinnon): http://books2read.com/fromthedeeps

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  Twin Souls (p
aranormal romance, co-written with Arizona Tape): http://books2read.com/Soulswap

  * * *

  Fated Seasons: Winter (paranormal reverse harem): http://books2read.com/savingeira

  * * *

  Or you can sign up to my Newsletter:

  http://www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/p/mailing-list-sign-up.html

  About Laura Greenwood

  Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Paranormal Romance Author. Whether it’s witches, shifters or princesses, she writes the stories that just won’t leave her head.

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  While she’s not writing, Laura loves to read, bake and cook…apparently successfully!

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  You can find her books on her website: http://www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/

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  Laura is also a member of the Flock Author Collective, a group of four European paranormal romance, reverse harem & LBGT authors. You can find out more about the Flock here: http://www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/p/the-flock.html