Princess Aurora's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

Aurora stepped closer to the carvings at the edge of the summoning circle. Most of them were worn smooth by weather and time, but one section was protected by an overhang of rock. She knelt down and brushed away the dirt with her hand. The symbols underneath were still sharp. She recognized the pattern immediately. A rose intertwined with a spindle, exactly like the one carved into the side of the cursed wheel in the east tower. She'd seen it on her sixteenth birthday, right before the prick that sent her into sleep. Her chest tightened. This wasn't just an old summoning site. The faerie had been here. She'd worked her magic at this exact spot, maybe even prepared the curse before bringing it to the castle. Aurora traced the carving with her fingers, feeling the grooves cut deep into the stone. The faerie had meant for this to last. She stood and looked around the ruins more carefully. The stone formations weren't natural. They'd been quarried and shaped, then arranged in a deliberate circle. Columns rose at four points, carved with more symbols she didn't recognize. Between two of the columns, half-hidden in the grass, she found a wand. It was different from her aunt's—longer, with vines carved into the wood and small crystals embedded along its length. She picked it up carefully. The magic in it was old but not dead. She could feel it humming faintly against her palm. This had belonged to the faerie. She was certain of it. Aurora pulled out her journal and sketched the symbol from the stone, then wrapped the wand in a cloth and tucked it into her pack. She had a direction now. The faerie had left traces, and those traces could be followed. She looked back toward the village gates where the thorns had stopped. The boundary made sense now. The curse wasn't random. It had been planned here, at this site, with intention behind every part of it. Aurora didn't know what that intention was yet, but she knew where to look for answers. She turned and started walking back toward the castle, her steps steadier than they'd been in days.