Chapter 23
JACOB
MAIER MANOR
Clouds scuttle above. They shroud the moon and deepen the shadows.
Tonight, I need the darkness. Ella’s manor rises up on the other side of the field, lights beaming golden bars across the snow.
I tether my horse and hurry toward the garden.
It’s borderline foolishness meeting Ella, but after what I saw earlier, waiting another day might be too late.
Not to mention that I’m haunted by the soft smile of her lips and the way her eyes twinkle over our shared secrets. Ella is becoming a distraction that’s starting to burrow deep. I remind myself there’s a line in our relationship, and I won’t cross it.
Stealthily, I climb the back of the garden wall in case someone is watching the entrance. The moment my boots hit the ground, Ella ducks out of the shadows and points a fire poker at my chest. This woman and her weapon choices. My respect for her grows.
“Do you plan on piercing me with that?” I arch my brow. “Or are we having a dueling session out here?”
“I don’t usually run about the gardens at midnight with dangerous men.” She doesn’t put the poker down but places the ends in her two palms. “I wasn’t about to leave my room unarmed.”
A thick midnight cloak is wrapped around her, tucking her into the shadows. Her long hair tumbles in soft waves over her shoulders, catching the moonlight like strands of gold. This line I promised myself not to cross will be harder than I thought.
“Smart,” I say. “But I think you’re going to have to be more worried about the dangers of those running about in your house than out here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you shouldn’t trust your stepmother.”
“Why?” She finally lowers her weapon.
I check the area to make sure we’re alone and then pull her onto the stone bench.
“I need to tell you something that needs to remain between the two of us,” I say.
“Now you’re scaring me.”
It should. “Remember when I told you I hunt for the king?” I begin, debating how much to tell her. “I’m actually hunting for what we call Forbidden. These are people, animals, creatures who all bear a mark. That’s how we know if they don’t belong here.”
“Forbidden?” She gasps, her hand moving to her chest. “What does the mark look like?”
“Every Forbidden’s mark is unique to them and appears on their neck right here.” I skim a finger along the side of her neck. Her skin is soft, and she shivers under my touch. I swallow hard and pull my hand away.
Quickly, she presses two fingers onto the place I touched. “And you saw this on my stepmother?”
I nod. “What do you know about her?”
“Hardly anything other than her husband died, making her and her two daughters nearly destitute. She met my father at a party. They married right away. What does this mean? Will she hurt me?”
Her voice is pained, merely a whisper. I slide closer to her and take her hand in mine.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Pay attention to what she says and get any clues you can about her true identity. If you can get her full story, my brother and I can take care of her. We know how to get rid of these monsters.”
“Monsters.” She shudders. “You think that’s what the Forbidden are?”
“Of course. Not only are they evil, but they’re disrupting the balance of our worlds. You’ve seen how many people have died in your village alone.”
“How do you know they’re all evil?”
“You think your stepmother is good?”
“No.” She looks away. “What exactly do you plan to do to these Forbidden? Because even though I don’t like my new stepmother, she’s still family.”
And there it is. While Ella is kind and forgiving, I’m not. And I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe.
“What happened to Scarlet was not ideal, but she was intent on killing all of us, and I couldn’t let that happen,” I explain. “Our goal is to send the Forbidden back to where they came from.”
“And where’s that?” she asks.
“I honestly don’t know.” I laugh darkly. “I’m just a mere hunter.”
She studies me, while I find it hard to concentrate on anything other than the desire to feel her body pressed against me and her lips crushing mine.
My hand moves like it has a mind of its own, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.
My fingers linger just long enough to feel her soft skin, warm in the cool night.
Her breath catches, and she quickly stands.
Cold air swoops between us like a slap in the face.
It takes everything in me not to reach for her.
“Tell me more about these monsters,” she says, stepping away.
“If I saw someone who was a human, but could turn into another creature, say a cat perhaps, would they also be a monster? After all, cats are rather sweet animals, unlike wolves. Would you need to follow the king’s orders and hunt them, too? ”
“A perfect example.” I follow her like a magnet.
“I just encountered a man who could turn into a frog. He also had the mark, but I wouldn’t consider him dangerous.
Slimy, perhaps. I don’t know all the ramifications, but even if they aren’t physically threatening, they could have other ways of harming humans. ”
“I see.” She backs up further like she’s getting ready to run.
“Earlier, you mentioned you had something to ask me.”
“You said you wanted us to work together,” Ella hedges, biting her lip. “As you heard, my stepmother wishes me to marry Dr. Wissen, and soon.”
The thought of him marrying her makes me physically sick. “I thought you despised him.”
“Very much so. Which was why I was wondering if you could help me stop that from happening.”
She has no idea the lengths I’d go to make sure he doesn’t. “What if the contract were to go missing? I could arrange that.”
She shakes her head. “That might delay things, but I doubt it will work. Dr. Wissen is highly connected.”
“Give me some time,” I tell her. “I’ll think of something.”
“Great.” A smile tips her pink lips. “Then I’ll continue doing everything I can in helping you with these monsters.”
“You’re attending the ball, right? We need you to be our eyes and ears.”
“As long as I’m not married by then.” She laughs, but the cold sucks it away.
“I’ll do everything in my power to keep you from marrying him.
” I can’t stop myself. I reach out and wrap my palm around hers.
A cloud parts, allowing for a sliver of moonlight to skitter over the ground and illuminate her face.
She’s breathtaking. If I’m not careful, she’ll be another man’s wife.
The thought scares me more than I’m willing to admit.
“Promise you’ll be careful around your stepmother?”
“Only if you promise me a dance at the ball. You didn’t give me an answer yet.”
“A dance it is then.”
Her lashes lower, brushing her cheeks, and my chest tightens like it’s forgotten to breathe. I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t. But my eyes drop to her mouth anyway, and all I can think about is how soft her lips would feel on mine.
The air between us is charged, humming as if with magic. I lean in, slow, like I’m testing the edge of a cliff before jumping into a forbidden sea. Her breath ghosts against my lips. I wait for her to pull away, and yet she doesn’t. For a second, I let myself believe I’m going to do it.
Kiss her.
But I stop, my lips a heartbeat away, because she deserves better. She deserves a prince, a hero. Not a hunter like me.