13. Dimitri
Chapter 13
Dimitri
R osalie blinked in response to his words as if she didn’t understand the question, although it had been straightforward enough. She licked her lips, and his stomach tightened.
He stepped hurriedly back, hitting the other side of the recess and putting as much room as possible between them in the cramped space. It wasn’t an ideal setting, but it had been the only option that presented itself. His one thought had been to find somewhere out of sight from Blythe and the other girls.
When Rosalie remained silent, he repeated the question.
“Something is clearly bothering you. It was obvious as soon as you walked into the inn. Won’t you please tell me what it is?”
The new knowledge about her history was burning inside him. He wanted to let it all spill out—especially the connection with his mother’s story. Most of all, he wanted to tell her that he would find a way to protect and shield her.
But he didn’t say any of it. He was too afraid of scaring her off. As it was, she looked as if was teetering on the edge of flight.
“Why don’t you explain first?” she flung at him, some of her usual fire returning. “What did serving cake and flirting have to do with protecting me?”
“You noticed the flirting?” he asked, pleased.
He was used to turning his charms on the mostly older inhabitants of the mountain community, so he hadn’t been sure he was doing it right with Blythe and her friends. Especially given his attempts to spread his attention between so many ladies.
Rosalie’s mouth gaped open. “Of course I noticed! It would have been difficult not to.”
Dimitri lowered his voice, although it was hardly necessary given their secluded location. “Do you think he had any spies in there?”
He waited expectantly, but Rosalie merely stared at him as if he’d lost his mind entirely. Hadn’t she understood his plan?
She spoke carefully, as if afraid a louder tone might startle him. “Do I think there are any spies in Otis’s dining room? I can’t imagine it’s likely.”
Disappointment filled Dimitri. Perhaps he had overestimated Jace.
“Do you think the Legacy noticed, at least?” he asked.
“The Legacy?” Her brows rose. “Since it doesn’t have eyes or a conscious mind, it wasn’t watching you as such. But if you’re asking whether you attracted its power by having tea and cakes, I can’t imagine—” She stopped herself abruptly, frowning. “Our server did go invisible. And Otis as well, apparently. Was just your presence enough to do that?” She tipped her head to the side slightly, regarding him quizzically.
He barely held back a smile in response. It was a relief to see her no longer looking as if she was either going to collapse or run, but he didn’t think she would appreciate any levity. She already thought he wasn’t taking the situation seriously enough.
“What exactly were you trying to do in there?” she asked. “Did you want to attract the notice of the Legacy?”
“I was flirting with girls who aren’t you,” he said. “You keep saying that my being here puts you in danger. And now that I know you’re the youngest daughter of a merchant with two sisters and three brothers, I can understand why you’re anxious.”
“Well, obviously,” she said impatiently.
“It wasn’t obvious to me,” he said indignantly. “I didn’t know anything about your family! You just kept insisting that I was pulling you into disaster.”
Rosalie opened her mouth to argue only to slowly close it again, a guilty expression on her face.
“Did you really not know?” she murmured in a small voice. “I’m so used to everyone knowing about my family and what happened to us.”
“Well, I know now,” he said, voice as gentle as he could make it. He hesitated, his eyes focused on her face. “And I know a few other things besides. I’m still not willing to leave, but I’m doing my best to distract both Jace and the Legacy away from you.”
Rosalie’s mouth dropped open. “That’s what you were doing?”
Dimitri sighed. “I guess I wasn’t doing a good job if even you didn’t pick up on it.”
Rosalie closed her eyes briefly before opening them and spearing him with a look he couldn’t interpret.
“I don’t think you understand how big a threat Jace is. He’s already making moves against us, so I don’t think he cares who you’re flirting with. I can’t predict how the Legacy will react, but Jace, at least, won’t be so easily distracted.” Her eyes lost their focus for a moment, and she shivered.
“What does that mean?” Dimitri asked, concern filling him. She still hadn’t told him what had been bothering her all afternoon.
He gripped both her arms, allowing some of his worry to fill his voice. “What is it, Rosalie? What has he done? Have you seen him again?”
She stared back at him, seeming momentarily bereft of words.
“Rosalie?” he prompted, and she blinked, breaking eye contact.
“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered. She shook off his hands, and he reluctantly let them drop.
“It matters to me,” he said firmly. “Please tell me. You say Jace is a bigger threat than I realize—convince me!”
As he had hoped, that proved an irresistible lure. The light in her eyes fired up again, and she immediately responded.
“He’s already taken steps to entrap my family. He’s not going to change his mind because he heard rumors you were flirting with Blythe!”
“Your family?” Dimitri’s hand strayed to the hilt of his sword before he realized what he was doing. “What has Jace done to your family?” The words came out as a growl, but he didn’t try to take them back.
Rosalie grimaced, realizing the trap she’d fallen into.
“Look,” she said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you. You should just stay out of it.”
His eyebrows rose. “Nothing to do with me? Isn’t my coming here the cause of all this? Of course it has to do with me.”
Rosalie groaned. “Fine! My brothers did something very foolish and got themselves into debt. Somehow Jace found out and has bought the debt. He’s threatening to have them arrested unless they can repay the full amount in three days—which we can’t.”
“What?” Dimitri’s anger rose. “Why?”
Hadn’t Jace already hurt Rosalie’s family enough? What did he stand to gain by such behavior?
Rosalie slumped, her voice dropping so low he could barely hear it. “He’s told them he’ll forgive them the entire debt if they bring him a rose from your garden.”
Dimitri’s muscles tightened, his hand clenching on the sword hilt. He’d been right. It did have to do with him. A thought occurred to him, and his brows lowered.
“And your brothers were the ones to tell you about Jace’s demands? He didn’t accost you again?”
Rosalie shifted uncomfortably, an expression that looked too much like fear flitting across her face.
“We had…words on my way here.”
“I think I need to have words with Jace,” Dimitri growled.
Rosalie’s hand flew to grasp his right arm, making his muscles jump.
“No, no!” she cried. “You mustn’t go looking for him. That will only make everything worse.”
Logically, Dimitri knew she was right. Jace had a whole gang of men, for one thing, while he was alone. But it was still hard to beat back the anger pulsing through him. Ever since he had arrived at the manor, it felt as if his life had become a game. He was sick of being a pawn in the middle of the board while shadowy figures chose the moves. If this was what it meant to live in Glandore, then perhaps his mother had been right about the Legacy.
Except running away hadn’t been a solution either. There had to be another way. A way for them to be the players instead of the played.
A thought hit him with enough force that he gasped aloud.
“What?” Rosalie asked.
He gripped one of her arms again, hardly even noticing the gesture as excitement coursed through him.
“What if we do what Jace wants?” he asked.
Rosalie stared at him with a look that said her patience was running out.
“You think we should just allow ourselves to be victimized by the Legacy so Jace can profit?” she asked.
Dimitri shook his head. “No, the opposite. I want us to stop being victims. You’ve spent your whole life fighting against the path the Legacy is trying to force on you. But what if we do the opposite? What if we embrace it? The historical merchant’s daughter and her family had a happy ending, remember.”
“I’ve already told you that we don’t get to pick which parts of the story the Legacy creates,” she said impatiently.
“So we force it to give us the part we want,” he said, his excitement unquenched.
Her eyebrows rose skeptically. “And how do we do that?”
“I know the Legacy usually pushes parts of the story in different places at different times. But you keep saying how close our situations are to the original history. What if we follow the story so closely that it forces the Legacy to keep going all the way through to the happy ending?”
“Except for the part where Jace steals everything the Legacy gives us,” Rosalie said tartly, clearly not taking his idea seriously—yet.
“I said we should do what Jace wants, not that we should tell him we did it.”
“And the distinction is…?”
“Once your brother picks a rose and sends you in his place, the Legacy should transform the castle as magnificently as it did the grounds. Didn’t the original story include limitless gold and jewels? Your brothers can keep the rose and use some of the gold to pay Jace back instead. They don’t have to tell him where it came from. We can keep the whole thing a secret until we get to the happy ending. Once we’re free from the Legacy, I’ll use our newfound wealth to make sure Jace finally faces justice for his crimes.”
“You do know following the Legacy’s path will involve you turning into a Beast, right?” Rosalie asked. “You’re not worried we might fail and you’ll end up stuck as a Beast forever?”
Dimitri gave her a cocky smile. “We won’t fail.”
Rosalie snorted. “Are you really that confident that if you can get me to move into the manor, I’ll fall in love with you?”
Dimitri blinked. He hadn’t been thinking anything of the sort. He hadn’t even properly thought through the fact that his plan would involve them both living at the manor. But now that she’d said it, it was all he could think about.
“Really?” Rosalie asked when he didn’t immediately respond.
He cleared his throat. “Everything I’ve read says the Legacy doesn’t affect emotions. So how can it know what you feel? The important thing is what you do. Think of it like acting out a play. And once we’ve reached the end—with me restored to my usual form and your family enjoying even greater wealth and prosperity than before—you can go back to finding me infuriating.”
He hoped she wouldn’t. Surely there was a chance she might change her mind about him by then? It didn’t seem like the right time to suggest the possibility, though.
Rosalie didn’t reply, and hope filled him. Was she actually going to listen to him for once?
“I can’t let you take that risk for us,” she said, but there was enough reluctance in her voice to continue fueling his hope. “A lot would hinge on us keeping it secret. If Jace found out, we might both be in danger.”
“From the sound of it, you and your brothers are already in danger,” Dimitri said. “And if you are, I probably am too. Do you have the impression Jace is going to give up?”
Rosalie was silent for another long minute, worrying at her lip the entire time, her eyes fixed on a point behind his head as she thought.
She finally spoke. “If we wanted to follow the story as closely as possible, it would have to be my brother picking the rose, like you said. I couldn’t do it myself. But I’m not willing to drag them any further into this than they already have been. What if the Legacy does something unpredictable? It wouldn’t be the first time. They might end up trapped instead of me. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
Dimitri grimaced. Her brothers had been the ones to get themselves into debt, and Rosalie didn’t seem to question that she should take a risk to help them. Couldn’t her brothers take a small risk to fix the problem they’d created? She seemed willing to let Dimitri take a bigger one.
He made no attempt to argue the point with her, though. Rosalie was protective of her brothers, and it was something he admired about her. If she didn’t feel the same way about him, that was a good thing. She was willing to take any level of risk herself, and he would far rather she saw him as an equal and a partner than as a child who needed to be shielded.
He tried to think of another approach instead, unwilling to let the idea die. The more he thought about it, the more enamored he became with having Rosalie’s company at the manor. He was less excited about becoming a Beast. But that was a shadowy possibility, so foreign that it was easy to ignore. Rosalie was in front of him, a mixture of solidity and enticing, flickering flame. What was a shadowy possibility compared to that? But it would come to nothing if he couldn’t find a solution that didn’t involve her brothers.
“I’ll do it,” a third voice said.
They both turned to see Daphne standing beside them. They had been so absorbed in their interaction that they hadn’t heard her approach.
Rosalie immediately stepped out of the recess. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and Dimitri had to fight down a flush of his own. It wasn’t as if they had been doing anything scandalous. They had merely been talking.
“You can’t be serious, Daph,” Rosalie said, reminding Dimitri of what really mattered.
“Why not?” Daphne asked, regarding them both calmly. “You need someone else to pluck the rose so you can be the substitute. Given how much the Legacy loves substitutes, I think that part should go smoothly. But if there is a problem…” She shrugged. “I’m not as perfect a fit as you, Rosalie, but I could do a better job of seeing the ruse through than any of your brothers.” She chuckled softly, and Rosalie joined in reluctantly.
Dimitri couldn’t muster up any amusement at the idea, however. His reaction to the idea of Daphne taking Rosalie’s place had been swift and violent, and he was still working to conceal it.
He wasn’t sure if he’d succeeded. Rosalie seemed oblivious, but Daphne gave him a look that was a little too knowing for his comfort.
“It won’t happen, though,” she said, directing her words more in his direction than her friend’s. “I don’t think it matters much who picks that rose. There’s no way the Legacy will resist the allure of swapping in Rosalie.”
“And that is exactly what I’ve been so worried about ever since those roses appeared,” Rosalie grumbled.
“Precisely.” Daphne smiled smugly at her. “So you don’t have any excuses left.”
Rosalie’s eyes widened a little as she realized she’d backed herself into a corner.
“Do you really think this is wise, Daphne?” she asked in a low voice, worrying at her lip again as she waited for a reply. “Am I being reckless to even consider it?”
Despite her offered support, Daphne apparently took the question seriously because she took a moment to consider before answering.
“I think this is your chance, and you shouldn’t miss taking it. If this goes well, it would turn everything around for both you and your family. Surely that’s worth some risk.” Her mouth twisted. “Especially considering the situation you’re in with Jace.”
“Daphne!” Rosalie cried. “How long were you listening?”
“Since I got away from Blythe and worked out where you two had gone,” Daphne said unapologetically. She gave Rosalie a look. “If Dimitri could work out something was wrong with you, did you think I would miss it?”
Rosalie didn’t respond to that, looking from her friend to Dimitri instead.
“So we’re really going to do this?” she asked in a soft voice.
The two of them looked at each other before both nodding.
“And you’re sure about helping me like this?” Rosalie asked, looking at him as if she wasn’t quite convinced he had selfless motives.
And if he was honest, she was right. His motives weren’t entirely selfless. He wanted to get to know her better, and he had his own reasons for wanting to protect her. He felt as if he owed it to his mother to try. Only hours ago he had promised himself he would do whatever it took to protect Rosalie, and what better opportunity would he have?
None of those answers were right for the moment, however. She needed to be reminded that he had as much to lose from the Legacy as she did. Possibly more.
“I have no desire to end up as a Beast forever,” he said. “Doing this is my way to escape from the Legacy as well.”
From all the possible truthful answers, he seemed to have picked the right one, because her brow cleared.
“Shall we head to the manor now, then?” Rosalie asked. In typical fashion, having made up her mind, she wanted to act on the decision immediately.
“Right now?” Daphne wilted, her expression turning pained.
Dimitri might have thought she was regretting her offer to help, but he had seen enough of her to know better. It was the necessity of walking out to the manor that she found distasteful.
“Of course we have to do it now!” Rosalie said. “If you were eavesdropping on our conversation, then you know that we only have three days. Less now!” She glanced toward the closest window, as if she could measure the hours passing by the day’s light. “We don’t know how long the Legacy might take to start transforming the castle.”
“If the grounds are anything to go by, it won’t take long,” Daphne said. “But I suppose it makes sense for me to pick the rose this evening.” She looked at Dimitri. “Make sure that when you threaten me, you say that I have to come back the next morning to be slaughtered.”
“Come back to be what?” Dimitri asked, alarmed.
Rosalie frowned. “Don’t you know your part? I thought you’d been studying the history.”
“I guess I hadn’t really considered that part of it,” Dimitri said, realizing belatedly just how little he’d thought through a number of aspects of the plan. He wasn’t going to pull back, though.
“I suppose it would be a good idea to modify it, just in case the Legacy doesn’t allow a substitution,” Daphne said thoughtfully. “You should tell me that I can either be slaughtered on the spot, or I can come back the next day to remain as your prisoner. And that the only way for me to escape is if I bring another young maiden in my place.”
“Since I’m not eighty years old, I might not use the words ‘young maiden,’” Dimitri said.
“Stop quibbling,” Rosalie said. “I’ve noticed that’s a habit of yours. It doesn’t matter what exact words you use, just follow the general idea. Otherwise the whole plan will fail and who knows what catastrophic effect that will have!”
“So, no pressure?” Dimitri quipped with a grin.
“Don’t make me regret trusting you,” Rosalie said warningly, and he could see enough genuine uncertainty in her gaze to immediately drop the smile.
“Don’t worry,” he said seriously. “I won’t make a mistake.”
She regarded him for a moment before nodding. “In that case, let’s not waste any more time.”