Chapter 59
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Briar
“I could, but I never would. Knox is an asshole, and he’s as broken as me, but he’s also the fiercest fighter and strongest shifter I’ve ever seen… including his father.”
I wondered what would happen with his father if Knox succeeded in breaking the curse. How would he feel about his least-favored son becoming stronger than him?
“I follow strength, as do Dromon and Pierce, but more than that, we’ll follow the man who would die for us, freed us from the harem, and gave us back our lives…
even if those lives are far different than the ones we left.
I would follow Knox into the depths of Hell and back again if he asked me to, because he wouldn’t hesitate to do it for me. ”
I gulped at her words and the hoarse emotion in her voice. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you have to understand that learning his mate plans to run scared him far more than the dying roses.”
“He told me that he has no intention of claiming me as his mate again.”
Lyra sighed. “He’s such an idiot. Knox may have told you that he would never claim you as his mate again, but you are his mate, and he will always see you as such.”
“He never asked me if I planned to run; he just accused me of it.”
“When he learned you taught Zephyr how to make the potion, he knew you were planning to run away. We all did. I don’t blame you; I’d try to run too if I were you.
This place is a prison for you… just as the harem was for us.
When I was finally free of that place, I vowed never to be caged again; I don’t blame anyone for feeling the same way. ”
I didn’t deny her words. I couldn’t lie to her when she was being so truthful with me. “He doesn’t make it easy to want to stay.”
“No, he doesn’t, but you must know that if you run, he’ll hunt you until he has you again. It won’t matter where you go.”
“I know.”
But that wasn’t going to stop me, especially not after today. He could hunt me, but if he couldn’t get to me, then I wouldn’t come back.
“Do you still love him?” Lyra asked.
“I don’t know him anymore. I will always love the man he was, but the one he is now is… infuriating. He’s always so quick to believe the worst of me because I’m a caster, but I’m not like the others. I believed he realized that when we were children, but I think he always doubted me, even then.”
“I don’t,” Lyra said. “I think he has complete faith in you, but he’s broken, and you’re not. You can run from him; he can’t run from you.”
“So that excuses his behavior?”
“Absolutely not, but it makes it more understandable… for me, at least. He’s scared.”
“Knox isn’t scared of anything.”
“Except for you. You terrify him.”
“That doesn’t mean I should have to put up with the way he treats me and talks to me.”
“Of course not. If he’d done to me what he did to you today, I’d wear his balls as a necklace.”
I grinned at the imagery. “Believe me, if I were stronger, I would have bounced his balls off his head.”
Lyra laughed. “You know, I never considered it possible to be near a caster without trying to bash their brains in, let alone liking one, but I like you. I see you.”
“What do you mean?”
She kept her hands behind her back as she turned to face me. “We all see you. Knox is choosing to remain blind, but the rest of us see what you’re doing, including Dromon and Pierce. And believe me when I tell you they can be obtuse.”
I was more confused by her words. “I don’t understand. You see me do what?”
“You love the plants and roses. When you’re with them, you light up. You shine. It’s as if they’re a part of your soul. You’d never harm them; you wouldn’t do such a thing.”
My mouth went dry at her words. She did see me. She really did.
The plants were a part of my soul, a part that was still weeping for the destruction wrought on them.
I rubbed my fingers together as I recalled the misery emanating from the rose when I touched it. It was so weak, all I felt was its faint, dull agony as the petal fell off in my fingers. The rose knew it was dying, and so did I.
I tried to rid myself of the memory but couldn’t. It would haunt me forever.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” I whispered. “I don’t understand why they’re so sick.”
“What do you think might have happened?”
Tears burned my eyes. “I have no idea. Even if Zephyr made the potion completely wrong, which I know he didn’t, it still wouldn’t have caused this kind of destruction. There’s nothing any of us could have done to cause that, short of pouring poison on them, and who would do that?”
Lyra pondered this before shaking her head. “No one in this castle.”
“And there’s no way for anyone else to get in?”
“No.”
She sounded so confident, I didn’t push her on it. “My mother would do it, but she can’t get in here.”
“She’d be dead if she did.”
“What about the shadow dragon’s despair? Could that have polluted them somehow?”
“It never has before, and the dragon has never unleashed his ability on the roses. Besides, I’ve seen his despair hit trees and other plants before; it didn’t affect them.”
I bit my lip as I pondered her words. “I have no other ideas.”
Lyra rocked back and forth again as she stared out the window. “Could it be their time? They’ve been trapped like this for ten years, maybe that’s all the casters gave them.”
“Are all the roses in the kingdom dying?”
“No, my parents are fine… so far. The king and queen are still good too, but I’m not sure if that will last.”
“Neither am I, but I’m guessing it’s not their time if they’re not all dying at once.”
“Do you think you could figure it out?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like this before. Maybe there’s something in one of the books, but I’d have to go to the library to search for it.”
“He’s not going to let you out of here again any time soon.”
“Will he ever let me out again?”
“Yes, but until then, I’ll get you some books. Tell me what to bring you.”
I perked up a little at her offer; at least I wouldn’t have to be trapped here and useless.
“Bring me anything you can find on plants and potions. Maybe, because they’re not real roses and are cursed, the potion could have done something to them, but I don’t think that’s possible.
They wouldn’t have thrived before suddenly dying off if that were true. ”
“I agree. Okay, let’s get started. I’ll get the books.”
When she started walking toward the door, my question stopped her, and she turned back to me. “Do you really believe I didn’t poison the roses?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought you did. Knox would have had to send me away to keep me from killing you.”
I gulped; it was something she could easily do. “Why did you tell me that stuff about Knox?”
Lyra shifted to fully face me again. “In the hopes it would help you understand and keep you from trying to escape.”
“Understand what?”
“How truly shattered we are and how scared he is of losing you.”
“Locking me away won’t help him keep me.”
“But he’s not thinking with his head. When it comes to you, he’s letting his heart and the beast rule him.”
“He’ll be mad if he learns you came up here and are going to help me with this.”
“He never ordered us to stay away from you; if he had, I wouldn’t be here. We just won’t tell him I’m here, or about the things we discussed. Right?”
I smiled at her. “Right.”