Savage Beauty(43)

That was something I couldn’t allow.



PHILLIP

Luna panted heavily as if she were running, and then four bright red gashes formed across her forearm. Blood welled up like a river on her skin, dripping onto the floor, and I ran to get a cloth to stop the bleeding. Ember squalled, pacing back and forth agitatedly next to her. Rushing back to Luna’s side, I held pressure on the wounds. Suddenly, her breathing calmed and her muscles relaxed.

I eased the bloody cloth away and saw that her wounds had already sealed, leaving behind four translucent scars.

Something was burning. I sniffed the air and looked around, but didn’t see anything. Luna whimpered in her sleep, although her body stayed still. My muscles relaxed when she let out a sigh and the tension in her body fell away.

Blotting the blood from the floor, I shook my head. What the hell was that?

The front door opened and Malex stepped in. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, forgetting to be annoyed by his presence. “She was asleep and started thrashing around, and the next thing I knew, she was bleeding.”

He looked at her arm and asked for a fresh, damp cloth to clean it off with, muttering things in a language I didn’t understand. I sniffed the air again, glancing around to make sure I hadn’t moved anything too close to the fireplace.

“It’s her skin you smell. She’s been burned, but since it was her own flame, her body will heal quickly,” Malex offered. He eased her skirt up to wrap a cloth around the lower half of her right leg. “Her back is burned, as well.”

I dipped a fresh cloth in a basin of water and brought it to him. My head felt light, strange and fuzzy, so I sat down for a minute and let him clean Luna’s wounds.

“Are you feeling well?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “It’s probably just seeing the blood.”

“The sight of blood bothers you?”

“Not normally, no.” I thought of my fallen horse Blackheart and the crimson river that poured from his neck when I had to put him down. Did that really happen? I wasn’t sure if Aura hurt me, dropped me at the cottage, and implanted the memory, or if she merely sent me and Rolfe into the forest on the hunt, knowing I’d fall, and somehow guided me to her sister.

“You can’t be with Luna, you know,” Malex said flatly.

“What?” Where did that come from?

“She’s half-fae. She has enough power in her sneeze to crumble all your bones to dust. She can’t be with a human.”

“I’ve only known her a short time, so I’m not sure we’ve quite reached the part where we decide on happily ever afters,” I snorted.

“There is no decision. You can’t be with her. She does seem to fall in love easily, but it took weeks for her to fall for William. His death still haunts her. So I wonder, since you’ve been here such a short time, if Aura is behind this mutual attraction that seems to have ignited between you and Luna.”

I gritted my teeth, both from the insinuation as well as my fear that it was true. “Aura does not control my feelings.”

“No? Have you ever thought about hurting Luna? Have you ever felt yourself battling for control of your extremities or emotions?”

Yes, I’d felt those things. “I wouldn’t hurt her,” I said stiffly.

“Not intentionally, Prince, but Aura’s intentions are quite different from yours, and you are under her control, whether it feels like it or not.” Malex tossed me the used rag. “But there is a way, if you truly want to help her and protect her.”

“And I’m sure that you’ll jump to tell me, so I’ll be out of the picture and you can move in.”

“She owes me a favor,” he said with a wicked smile. “What do you think I’ll ask for? Your heart?”

Shaking my head, I threw the towel into the basin. “You wouldn’t hurt her like that. She’d hate you for it. Besides, you need her power, which means you need her on your side. But why? You’re a fae prince. Won’t you inherit your own kingdom one day? Why are you so fixated on Luna and the Kingdom of Virosa?”

He smiled. “The fae are immortal, young one. My father will never die, and so I won’t inherit anything from him. He built a palace for me, but it’s nothing but a hollow shell of marble and gold. I want to feel alive again. Needed. Wanted. Revered.”

“And you think Luna can make you feel that way?”

“Maybe,” he answered, shrugging. “It’s worth a shot. I have nothing but time. I hate Aura, so Luna is the obvious choice between the two. And Virosa is a beautiful kingdom. The fae love all things beautiful and luxurious.” He toyed with a strand of Luna’s hair before standing abruptly.

“Is she immortal?” I asked, flicking my eyes to Luna.

“No. She’s part human, so she will die, but her life will be long unless someone snuffs it out prematurely.”

“And that’ll only happen if she severs the bond with Aura.”

“Yes,” he answered simply.

I suddenly wanted him to leave. He was obviously playing some sort of game with Luna, and I wondered if he was as friendly with Aura as he pretended to be with Luna. Maybe he was like my brother, choosing to pit the sisters against each other in order to take their kingdom.