Savage Beauty(4)

“I just received word that he came here the spring before last. No one from Grithim has seen or heard from him since, so I assume he’s either still here or something happened to him.”

“You talk too much,” I said, walking toward him. I flicked my finger and shut his mouth. He was lucky he was pretty and that I liked his voice... and that I had a better idea of what to do with the young and current heir to the throne of Grithim. Otherwise, I’d carve out his tongue.

A sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead while I held him there, considering what to do with him. He was a fighter. A myriad of options played through my mind. The easiest one would be to glamour his memory so he would forget all about hearing that William had come to Virosa.

“Who gave you this information?” I demanded.

He shook his head, futilely trying to pry his lips apart. I let him open them to speak.

“Why was he here?” he said in a rush. “Is he alive?”

I circled him. “Did my sister send you?”

He furrowed his brow.

“Sister?”

This reeked of Luna. She could have glamoured his memory, or erased it all together. If Luna was behind his arrival, there was one sure way to tell.

“I think you’ll make a fine puppet,” I murmured, shutting his mouth once more. William was the eldest Prince of Grithim, which meant this was his younger brother. And, apart from the color of his hair, he looked very similar to William. I walked to his side and whispered in his ear, “You’re either lying about my sister’s involvement, in which case I’ll be able to tell by her reaction, or you’re being truthful, in which case you’ll be a perfect puppet for me. Either way, it’ll be beautiful. You’ll be the perfect weapon in my arsenal. Won’t you, pet?”

His nostrils flared as he tried to fight against my power.

“You can rest here until I need you to go to her.”

He gritted his teeth and I smiled, reveling in his stubbornness.

“You look just like him,” I breathed.

Phillip’s eyes widened.

I smiled, raking my nails down his chest. “Luna will love you. She’s a pathetic, romantic fool.” And then I blew a sweet breath into his face. He slumped quickly and I pushed him back into his chair, calling for a servant to take him to one of the empty bedrooms. I didn’t want to see his face again until I needed him.





chapter three




PHILLIP

One week before the first day of autumn…

We’re too close to the dark forest, sire. We should turn around,” Rolfe said.

I threw my head back laughing. I was a tall man, but Rolfe was a giant. He towered over my head and his body was thrice as wide. “Surely you aren’t afraid of trees and fog,” I taunted.

“Aye, I am, sire. There are wee folk in those woods; evil creatures who would prank a man to his death, not to mention a dark witch who would boil our skin from our bones, and God only knows what else. I think we should go. We sent back a stag and a boar with the rest of the hunting party. The palace will eat well for a time and we can return tomorrow... when it isn’t so foggy.”

I sighed. He was right. We didn’t know the dark forest like we knew our own, and I’d pushed him to the boundary. Rolfe’s discomfort wasn’t surprising. He’d always hated coming near the edge. All of Grithim had reason to fear the fae that lived deep in the woods, but something had drawn me here today; pushed me farther and urged me to stay out longer than the other hunters.

Maybe it was stubbornness. Or pride.

The entire Kingdom wept when William and his men left on a hunting expedition the spring before last and never returned. I was being selfish. I should have considered how my parents would feel knowing I had stayed in the wood with no one but Rolfe. Mother was probably beside herself with worry.

But it was what William would have done. He was a provider, a hunter; never one to back down or come home empty-handed. He would’ve hunted until dawn, and then until midday and dawn the following day if necessary, until he was sure there was no hope of finding more beasts to stock the larders with.

He was brave, cunning, stubborn, and strong. When it was apparent he wasn’t coming home, my father gritted his teeth, clapped me on the shoulder, and told me I had large shoes to fill. He said I’d never live up to the shadow William cast, but should try anyway. But I didn’t want to be like my brother. For all his good attributes, he had a hundred bad ones. None that I wanted to claim.

I didn’t want the crown either, but William was gone and my father wouldn’t live forever. Soon, the crown would be placed upon my head. I would be solely responsible for the welfare of an entire kingdom.

“There’s still a week left until autumn,” he continued. “Plenty of things still growing to make a nice stew out of the meat. It isn’t winter, sire. We aren’t going without.”

Rolfe was right. We should head back. I took a deep breath and rolled the tension from my neck.

We were mere feet inside the border of the eastern and dark forests, but the dividing line between the two was distinct. Tendrils of fog extended to the boundary, however they didn’t cross it. Looking farther into the dark forest, the mist was so thick you could only see ten trees into the wood before the white-blue haze obscured everything.

We must be near water, I thought. “Is there a river or lake nearby?” I asked.