Chapter 59
Belle
My chambers were exactly as I’d left them, and yet, they no longer felt the same.
Once a cage, they now held a strange comfort.
A familiarity, a sense of being mine. Sentries returned to take up stations in the hall shortly after I returned, but now, they kept a respectful distance.
Valen had apparently sent them for my protection, with orders to allow me to go anywhere I wished.
I stared out the window at the dark forest stretching beyond the castle—a cursed realm that devoured armies whole and turned men into beasts.
Once, I’d looked at it dreaming of freedom, but now, I simply wondered how lucky I’d been.
How long would I have lasted out there if Valen hadn’t caught me? Another day? A few more hours?
Could the magic of the woods have turned me into one of the beasts?
Shuddering, I closed the window and turned away. A darker thought haunted me. Gregoire. I had no doubt Valen would send men and beasts after him.
I offered up a prayer for his safe journey.
He was far braver than I’d ever given him credit for, and if he evaded his pursuers, he might still get the letter and contract to Cassius.
Valen had promised not to invade, but it was better the Bloodvale be prepared in case he changed his mind, or Sarkis slipped his leash.
I drifted over to the fire that my new maid had built and sat, staring into the crackling flames. Its warmth was no match for the heat of Valen’s body.
Not Valen. The dragon within him.
How much of the male I knew was Valen, and how much was the beast? What would he be like free of the curse? For a moment, I tried to imagine him leafing through the pages of A Cage of Shimmering Glass, deep in the thrall of the story, as he’d claimed, but it was impossible.
I was drifting off on the settee when my door opened, and I bolted to my feet.
Loreli rushed in and wrapped me in her arms. “I’m so glad that you’re okay! The court is already teeming with rumors. They say the dragon brought you back.”
I hugged her, pressing her tightly against me, my eyes misting with joy. “Let’s just say I tested the limits of my freedom and found exactly where they stop.”
After a tearful moment, she stepped back and took my hands in hers. “I’m sorry they caught you. I was praying to the Fates…”
I squeezed her hands and shrugged. “Maybe your prayers worked. I didn’t get away, but the king and I reached an understanding. He won’t be invading the Bloodvale.”
Her face brightened, all traces of disappointment gone. “I knew it. I was certain His Highness would be no match for you and your magic.”
I gave her an uneasy smile. How wrong she was. He could probably devour me in a single bite if that’s what he wanted.
Loreli looked uneasily at the door. “I want to hear everything about your adventure, but I have to go. The head steward has reassigned me permanently.” She leaned close, whispering. “They probably suspect I helped you escape—which I did.”
My skin iced. Would Locke drag her to the dungeons to find out my secrets?
“I’ll speak to the king immediately,” I said.
“Maybe it’s for the best not to draw attention. At least, not right away.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
She had to look out for herself, and while I might be able to stand up to the lords of the castle, she couldn’t.
I’d make sure both men knew where I stood: touch a hair on her head, and I’d murder them both without hesitation. Hells, I had half a mind to kill the magister anyway for making the wicked collar. I might forgive Valen in time, but not Locke.
As soon as Loreli left, I fell into an exhausted sleep.
Dark dreams coiled around me like the constricting heat of the dragon’s clutches.
Always it was the king. A crowded room. An empty gallery.
A dark cave. Wherever I was, he was there, watching, with molten eyes that drew me in.
I couldn’t resist. My feet refused to flee.
His gaze pulled me to him until we were a breath apart, my hands on his chest, his lips hovering next to mine. “Help me,” he’d plead.
Then he was no longer a man but the dragon, jaws wide and looming. I would flee, but I couldn’t escape. His claws would tear me down, his jaws would snap shut, his flames would envelop me until I was nothing but ash—and then, it would begin again.
The sky was dark when I awoke, drenched in perspiration and my sheets soaking. I groaned in disgust and checked the clock. Nine in the evening. Apparently, I’m on bloodsucker time today.
I dragged myself out of bed and washed my face in the frigid water of the basin—the cold a reprieve against my scalding skin.
Apart from the scratch from Valen on my shoulder, the woman who looked back from the mirror was no different from the one who’d been there three days before.
I’d forced him to call off his army of mercenaries, but the truth was that the Bloodvale was still under threat from the beasts—monsters that had once been men.
“Okay,” I muttered. “Let’s find a way to break this curse.”
I rang the bell to summon my maid, and a new girl arrived, different from the night before. She brought me a meal and restored the fire. Apparently, they would be rotating servants now, likely so that none of them got quite so attached.
“Is there anything else I can do, my lady?” She was young and clearly nervous.
Although I ached for Loreli’s company, I forced a warm smile. “I intend to see the king. I need an outfit that will make him sit up and take notice.”
She jumped into action, clearly relieved, and helped me select an emerald dress from the ones the king had sent, then prepared my makeup and hair.
An hour later, I strode through the castle toward the king’s chambers, clothed in an armor of satin and silk.
The guards opened the door without question, as if Valen had been expecting me…
or alternately, they sensed my intention and knew they couldn’t keep me out.
I breathed in the familiar scent of leather and parchment—and him. Smoke and spice. My blood hummed in response.
Valen sat bent over his writing desk, ledgers and notes sprawled before him. He didn’t look up. “Lady Belle. Are you keeping immortal hours now? I thought you might sleep longer after your excursion in the woods—unless you’re here seeking a more comfortable bed.”
Doing my best to ignore the implication of his words and the images they conjured, I circled, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was working on. “I had too many questions to sleep.”
The king made an irritated noise, then looked up. He stilled, pupils dilating as his gaze drifted upward, taking in the silk and tightly boned bodice before reaching my eyes. A dark smile curved his lips. “And what questions are those?”
My belly dipped, but I craned my neck and bent slightly to get a better view of what he was working on. It took everything in me to ignore the heat of his eyes. “Is that a new contract? I hope you aren’t reconsidering our agreement.”
“Do you ever run out of prying questions?”
My lips twitched, and I straightened. “Do you ever tire of evading them?”
He gestured to the broad array of papers on his desk.
“As you might be aware, the old one is missing, and our position has changed. I’m trying to find a way to get rid of the general and his army…
as you insisted. They’ve already decimated our winter stores and treasury, and I don’t relish the fact that a legion of bloodthirsty killers is lurking outside the walls of my castle. ”
“And Sarkis won’t leave willingly?”
Valen leaned back in his chair and studied me. “I informed him of the change in plans, and he’s not happy. His men want plunder and women. That’s the true pay of a mercenary army, and I am afraid he’ll take matters into his own hands to get it.”
“You can’t let him do that!”
“I’ll deal with him in due course,” Valen growled. “Why are you here anyway? To torment me with endless questions, or tempt me with the newest court style?”
“I’m here for the truth.”
“You know the tr—”
“I don’t, not the part that matters.” Rounding the front of the desk, I planted my palms down and leveled him with a threatening glare. “I want to know what happened to you. Yesterday, you asked what use my magic might be, but I can’t help if you don’t tell me all the facts.”
Silence stretched between us.
“Please, tell me what you know. How were you cursed? What happened to the beasts? To the woods?”
He’d learned never to trust, but I recognized the desperation in his eyes—he needed someone to help carry his burden—but his jaw remained locked in stubborn defiance.
“Your secrets will destroy you,” I whispered, my heart aching.
“You want the truth?” He rose and stalked to the window like a caged beast. “The truth is that I did this to myself.”
“I don’t understand.”
He turned to me, his expression tortured, his eyes flickering with a helpless rage.
“I made a deal with a demon, and it will be the fucking end of me.”