Thick smoke billowed out of the cabin, sending birds scanting from the nearby trees. Inside, Vanka was hacking her lungs out. Her porcelain skin was now streaked with black soot.
Her hands shook as she gripped a wooden spatula, trying to flip a piece of venison that now looked more like a chunk of coal than actual food.
"Dammit! Why won't this thing just cook right?" Vanka cursed, her eyes tearing up not from sadness, but from the stinging smoke.
Suddenly, a large hand snatched the spatula from her grip.
Vanka gasped and spun around, finding Noah standing right behind her. Noah looked at the contents of the pot with an expression that was hard to read somewhere between wanting to laugh and wanting to cry at seeing his expensive ingredients destroyed.
"Honestly, Vanka," Noah's voice was low and heavy, "if you're trying to poison me so the curse breaks, this is taking way too long. You'd be better off just stabbing me than forcing me to eat this charcoal."
Vanka stomped her foot, ignoring the fact that she looked like a total disaster.
"I tried! I lit the fire, I cut the meat, I… I didn't even complain when the smoke was stabbing my eyes!"
Noah set the spatula down and killed the oversized flame with a flick of his wrist a small bit of magic that made Vanka's inner princess turn green with envy. Noah then turned fully to face her.
"You didn't complain?" Noah took a step forward, pinning Vanka against the wooden table.
"My ears have been ringing from your cursing for the past hour. And look at you now."
Noah reached out, his thumb brushing a smudge of soot off Vanka's cheek.
The touch was rough, yet somehow it sent a weird electric jolt straight down Vanka's spine.
"You're filthy, Vanka. You smell like smoke. And honestly… you look way more attractive like this than when you're wearing those stiff silk gowns."
Vanka froze. Her breath hitched. "Did you… did you just compliment me?"
"Not a compliment. Just a fact," Noah whispered. He didn't pull his hand away. Instead, his fingers trailed down to Vanka's lips, wiping away a bit of soot that had settled there.
"At the palace, you look like a cold display doll. Here, you look like a woman with actual blood running through her veins."
Vanka felt heat spreading through her entire body and it wasn't from the stove. It was the intensity in Noah's gaze. "Don't act like you know me, Noah. You're just an exiled prince who enjoys torturing women."
"And you're just a spoiled Princess who can't survive without a mirror," Noah shot back.
Suddenly, Noah grabbed Vanka by the waist, pulling her flush against him until there was zero space left.
Vanka could feel the hardness of his chest muscles and his heartbeat steady but powerful.
The smoky atmosphere of the cabin instantly turned intimate and suffocating in a completely different way.
"What are you doing?" Vanka whispered, her voice raw. Her heart was pounding so hard she was terrified he could hear it.
"Checking the progress of your curse," Noah said softly. He leaned in until their noses brushed. Noah's masculine scent a mix of dry wood and ancient magic filled her senses.
"Honestly, these lips… they're still very red. The curse isn't working here because I never give you sweet lies."
Vanka's eyes drifted to Noah's sharp lips. There was a magnetic pull she couldn't fight.
"Then… tell me a lie. Tell me I'm ugly so I'll age and you can enjoy watching me suffer."
Noah let out a low chuckle, his breath warm against her lips. "I can't lie, Princess. That's the price I pay for my power. And my honesty right now is… I've really wanted to kiss you since the second you walked into this cabin with that arrogant face of yours."
Vanka gasped. Before she could process a comeback, Noah tilted his head and crashed his lips against hers.
The kiss wasn't gentle. It was demanding, fueled by suppressed anger and explosive honesty. Vanka was shocked at first, her fists balled against his chest, but slowly, her grip loosened.
Her fingers crawled up, bunching the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer as if she were starving for the antidote only he possessed.
Noah groaned low against her mouth, his hand moving to the nape of her neck to hold her steady as the kiss deepened.
In the dim light of the cabin, there was only the sound of ragged breathing and two hearts racing against each other.
Vanka felt her world spinning. This wasn't like the nauseating flattery of the nobles. This was real. This was hot.
And most importantly, it didn't make her age. If anything, she felt like every cell in her body was becoming younger and more vibrant.
Noah slowly broke the kiss, but he kept his forehead pressed against hers. Both of them were breathless.
"Was that… was that the truth?" Vanka asked, her voice almost gone.
Noah looked into her eyes, which were now glowing with a mix of passion and confusion.
"The absolute truth. And honestly, that food you made was total trash, but your kiss… was way better than I imagined."
Vanka huffed, trying to reclaim her dignity that had just flown out the window, even though her face was bright red. She pushed against his chest gently to create some space.
"You literally can't stop insulting people's cooking, can you?" she snapped, trying to hide how flustered she was.
Noah gave her a small smile one that was actually genuine and so handsome it made Vanka's knees go weak.
"I'm not insulting. I'm saving our stomachs. Now, move. Let me show you how to actually cook meat so you don't starve to death before I even consider lifting the curse."
Noah took over the pot, while Vanka stood beside him, still touching her lips which felt like they were on fire.
She watched him skillfully chop herbs and adjust the fire.
"Noah," Vanka called out softly.
"Hmm?"
"Why don't you ever say something sweet to me? Just once? You know it would make me happy."
Noah paused for a moment, turning to look at her with an incredibly deep gaze.
"Because I'd rather you be beautiful because of my honesty than watch you wither away because of the lies you crave. The happiness you seek from fake praise is poison, Vanka. Here, you're going to learn to love the real you not the reflection worshiped by the blind people at the palace."
Vanka went silent. Noah's words sank into her heart deeper than any curse ever could. She realized something Noah wasn't torturing her. He was protecting her in the cruelest, most honest way possible.
"And honestly," Noah added, focusing back on the food, "with that charcoal on your nose, you look way cuter than you ever did in a gold crown."
Vanka gave a tiny smile one that wasn't arrogant, wasn't fake. "And honestly, Noah… you're the most annoying prince ever, but you're also the best-looking guy I've ever seen without his royal robes."
Noah chuckled. "Careful, Princess. You're starting to learn how to be honest. You might just fall in love with me."
"In your dreams, Exiled Prince!" Vanka shot back, even though her heart whispered that the dream might already be coming true.
That night in the small cabin in the heart of the forest, amidst the smell of delicious grilled meat and the lingering smoke from the stove, Princess Vanka realized that the cure for her curse wasn't magic it was the man who had just stolen her breath with the deadly truth.