Savage Beauty(13)

“Why?” he asked softly, his eyes locked on my lips as I parted them to answer.

I forced the bitter words from my throat. “Because I’m cursed and I can’t help or protect you during the daylight if you’re foolish enough not to listen to me.”

He opened his mouth but I cut him off.

“Thank you for the feather,” I said, dismissing him and shutting the door behind me.



When the potion was finished, I found Phillip inside the kitchen with his hands braced on the counter, looking out the colorful panes of glass. He’d listened to me and heeded my warning. “It’s still dark. Would you like me to cover the windows?” he asked solicitously.

“If you want to cover them, do so during the infuriating daylight, not in the comfort of darkness.”

He blinked away his surprise and stepped away from the window. “Very well.”

Holding the small glass of glowing blue liquid, I extended it to him. “Drink this.” His eyes locked onto the potion, a thousand questions flooding his features. “It will heal you,” I said gently. “You’ll be good as new in a few days, at the latest.”

Phillip swallowed. “A few days?”

“At the latest,” I repeated, punctuating each word. “I know what you’re thinking, but it will work. It’ll heal the ligament in your arm that’s torn and hanging on by a thread, the four ribs that are cracked, and the bone in your ankle that’s slightly fractured.”

“How do I know this isn’t poison?” he asked tentatively.

I threw my head back laughing. “If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have lasted a second after I awoke. I could have snapped your neck or sucked the air from your lungs, and there would’ve been nothing you could have done to stop me.”

He weighed my words, but in the end took the small glass and brought it to his lips, his eyes boring into me. Then he drank it down, absorbing the healing properties of the spell and ingredients that would speed his healing. In that split-second decision, he gained the power to heal himself from the inside out and I gained a sliver of his trust.

Phillip hid his pain well, but it was there. In every limp, every slight wince and catch of his breath, I saw it, heard it, and smelled the sweat on his brow.

There was no way I could find Malex tonight, which meant I would just stay here. Working the magic had taken its toll. I was pathetic. A simple spell wore me out on the first night of autumn. But since I needed to rest, I could watch over Phillip tonight and make sure he didn’t do something incredibly stupid, like walk out into the dark forest on his own because he felt a little better.

He was itching to get away from here, and I couldn’t blame him.



“You’re staying?” he asked as I came back inside with an arm full of vegetables.

“Someone has to cook breakfast. I haven’t eaten in months.”

His brow furrowed. “Breakfast?”

“It’s nearly dawn, so technically it’s dinner, but it is my first meal since waking…I’m ruled by the moon,” I started to explain. “When darkness descends. During the daylight hours I sleep. And I am cursed to sleep for the entire season of Summer, which is why you found me asleep and why I’m ravenous at present.”

“You seem so tired,” he said, walking toward me. He was right. My arms felt like lead. He took everything from my hands and carried it to the counter.

“Magic comes with a price,” I explained. “In a few nights, I’ll be able to do that spell in my sleep without any ill effects. I just need some rest during the day tomorrow and I’ll be good as new. Don’t worry, Prince. I’ll take you home soon.”

He nodded. “Thank you for the potion. Can I help you with dinn—breakfast?”

I smiled. “Sure. You can cut these up. I’m making a stew.”

When I started to walk away, he called out, “Where are you going?”

“To catch a rabbit, of course.”

“But you’re tired and you said it isn’t safe to go into the forest,” he argued.

I laughed. “I’ll be fine. And what I said is true. The forest isn’t safe for you, but everything in the darkness is afraid of me.”

“Is the darkness itself afraid?” he asked curiously.

“I believe so.”



PHILLIP

God above, she’s fierce and slightly terrifying…and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The nail-shaped wound on my neck was tender. Would she have killed me if I wasn’t William’s brother?

No. She hadn’t known that at first, and she had a chance to do it.

Rolfe thought anyone in the forest was in danger from her, but she spent time tonight helping me, making a potion that would make me well again. I could feel it working already. Minute by minute, the pain was receding. I was getting stronger. My body was healing, the very bones and tissues mending themselves by her magic.

Before she woke, I thought I was ready to walk out of here, but she took one look at me and knew I wasn’t ready or strong enough to face what was out there. If all the fae were like her, I wouldn’t be afraid at all. She was strange, but kind; however, I doubted all the fae were. After all, she warned me that danger lurked in the forest.

I wanted to follow her outside, to protect her, but it was clear that she neither needed nor wanted my protection, and I would only be in her way. Luna was a force of nature. Her claim that everything in the darkness feared her? Yes, I imagined that was true.