Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
My heart aches for him. “You don't know that. You don't know it wouldn’t have killed him anyway. And you said your mother was already sick. Dying.” I take his head between my hands. “Bestian, listen. Your parents made their own decisions. They died for their kingdom. They died so that you and others might live. Your father did what he thought was best. And so did you.”
He's silent for a long time, his face buried in his hands. When he looks up, his eyes are glistening. “Hopefully now you understand. That is why I will not claim you. It could be a death sentence.” He grips my shoulders, his claws lightly pricking my skin. “I can’t lose you, Rose. I won’t. Ever.”
“You won’t. I’m here. I wasn’t leaving for good. I only wanted to check on Ma. And… okay, a part of me wanted to run, so you would chase me. Which worked.” I grin at him, but he’s too serious to smile. I slide my fingers over his marred skin to trace his beautiful lips. “I do understand why you haven’t claimed me. I only asked for it because a part of me needs it… wants it.” I hold my breath for a moment and then ask, “Do you feel the same?”
His groan reverberates through us both. “Oh, my little moonflower. I cannot describe the depth of my desire to claim you properly. It is beyond words. I’ve come so close so many times. But I value your life above all else. Better to live as two souls in two bodies, than one soul and risk your death.”
I stroke his thick, glossy hair. “You care for me.”
“Yes.” He sighs and lets his forehead fall against mine.
“This is the Bestian I know. You’re a grumpy Alpha-hole, but deep down, you care.”
“Thank you, Rose.”
I pause. I need to ask the next question but I’m afraid of the answer. “With the curse starting to spread again now… will you be able to heal the land? As your father did?”
“I don’t know. My father sacrificed himself for our kingdom. As I told you before, he woke me—when it was clear I would survive the acid attack. He stood beside my bed and told me he didn’t blame me. I was out of my mind with pain, raving. He said he forgave me.” Bestian takes a deep breath. “He told me I would one day be king, and there would come a time when I must prove I am worthy of ruling. And when that time came, he knew I would do the right thing.”
“He was right,” I whisper. “You will. You are the king.”
I shiver in the sudden chill. Bestian frowns and scoots us both onto the sand so the wind can lift his cloak and drape it around me. “We should go before the tide comes in,” he says.
“I want to see Ma.”
Bestian hesitates. “Just after you left, I asked the whisps for a report. I’m sorry to tell you this… but Matron is ailing. Leelah is with her. She thought it was just exhaustion, but it is possible the curse is upon her again…”
Oh, no. Please, God… I bite my lip, fighting back a torrent of emotions—fear for Ma, sadness about the curse and all the devastation it has wrought, and anger at Bestian for waiting this long to tell me.
“I am so sorry, Rose,” he says. His eyes are haunted, he looks wrung out.
“It’s not your fault,” I say. Yelling at him now won’t fix anything. “But I must go to her—immediately.”
“Of course.” Bestian rises, lifting me with his usual ease, and setting me on my feet “You must.”
Rogue whirls around me, wrapping me in new clothes: loose, soft pants and a tunic, sturdy enough for travel.
“The wind will take you straight to her cottage,” Bestian says.
“Thank you.” I hesitate. I would ask him to come with me but after everything he’s just told me, would visiting Ma be like watching his parents die again?
I immediately shove that thought aside. I won’t think of Ma dying. I can’t.
“It’ll be all right,” I say briskly. “I’ll visit her, and when she’s better, I’ll come back to you.” The moment I finish my sentence, the wind lifts me up. I float up and away, leaving Bestian standing, his head bowed, barefoot on the beach.
“Go now, little one.” His voice is weary. Strained. Broken. “Remember me when the moonflowers blossom and glow.”
The wind carries me back to Ma’s cottage, setting me down just outside the gate. “Thank you,” I whisper, because I was raised to be polite, even when I’m almost beside myself with worry.
Dusk has fallen. The vines retreat as I walk down the path. The glowing moonflowers light the way.
The cottage door creaks open at my touch, and the dense, familiar scent of herbs greets me. The fire in the downstairs hearth has burned down to a few glowing embers, and as I enter, Rogue rushes past me to stoke it. “Thank you,” I tell it. More logs float into the grate, and the fire crackles happily.