That was…not an option.
I frowned, willing him to go on, but he fell silent. I clenched my teeth, sick of his silence and secrecy. “My good friend Celine broke her leg in the first trial and had to compete anyway, for weeks and weeks. And another girl, barely old enough even to participate, nearly died. Was that what you wanted in order to find a bride strong enough to withstand you? They say each Tourney reflects the man who called it…”
His face went still, his hand clenching into a fist. I did not know it would be like that. He leaned his hands against the stone and looked out into the night. But I can understand why you want nothing to do with me. A twisted psyche like mine does not deserve a bride as beautiful as you. He barked a laugh. Each of our outsides reflects our insides, do they not?
My anger melted away, and I had to hold back tears. “When I entered this evening, I thought that I had never seen you look so handsome.”
He shook his head dismissively. I did look handsome once. But it did not serve me in the end. Good looks could not prevent my curse.
“Please tell me what could have done so,” I begged. “There is still time. Let me help you!”
A spasm ran across his features, but he did not turn to look at me. I moved closer and reached my hand up to cup his face. Gently I turned him toward me, angling his head down so that I could look into his eyes. “Tell me what I can do to save you, Beast,” I whispered.
His breath stilled, and I realized how close his face was to mine. He moved fractionally toward me, and my own breath hitched in my throat. I felt the warmth of his skin beneath my hand and smelled the musky scent I had come to associate with him.
A tingle of anticipation filled me as he moved closer still, and all rational thought was overwhelmed by a sudden desire to feel his lips pressed hard against mine. He moved even closer, and I felt the faintest touch, no more than an impression of warmth, before he pulled abruptly away.
I fell back, gulping deep breaths of the cold air in an effort to cool my cheeks, flushed with embarrassment. I risked a small glance at him, but he was looking out into the garden once more, his hands gripping the stone so tightly I feared he might crush it.
I owe you so many apologies, Sophie, that I know words could never be enough. But I will show you my regret with my actions. No longer will I take advantage of the fact that you are trapped here. You are free to move through the castle, and to come and go, as you please. You may order your evening meal in your room, if you wish it, and you may order me away from you. I will obey.
I stared at him, my mind trying to keep up with the change of subject. “I may go anywhere I please?”
A pained look crossed his face, but he seemed to brace himself. “Yes. I will tell the guards to let you pass freely.”
Oh, he thought it was Cole on my mind. But I was thinking of someone far more important. “And what of your bedchamber?”
His head whipped around to stare at me, and I flushed again. I hurried to explain myself. “Am I free to visit the royal mirror?”
Oh. He relaxed slightly. Yes, you are free to visit it whenever you please. Consider it a very belated birthday gift from me.
“It is just the gift I was hoping for.” I smiled at him, giddy with excitement. Not only at the prospect of seeing Lily but also of feeling connected to the other kingdoms again. Who knew what wisdom I might receive from my family?
Spontaneously I flung my arms into the air and twirled around and around. When I stopped Dominic was watching me with an expression half of amusement, half of sadness. You want to go right now, don’t you?
I froze. “Oh! Can I?”
When he nodded, I actually jumped up and down before rushing over and placing a kiss upon his cheek. “Oh, thank you, thank you.”
I ran from the room, holding my huge skirts out of the way so they wouldn’t hamper my progress. At the door of the ballroom, I looked back. He stood where I had left him on the balcony, one hand pressed against the place where I had kissed his cheek. I bit my lip, but the pull to the mirror overwhelmed everything else, and I ran on.
Thoughts not only of my twin but of my parents and my brother and sister-in-law filled my mind. And my adorable little niece and nephew. I couldn’t wait to see them again, even if I could only view them from afar.
I was too distracted by my thoughts to pay attention to where I was going, so I didn’t see the dark figure in the corridor until I collided with him. I would have fallen if he hadn’t gripped my arms. My mind raced, full of confusion. I had just left Dominic behind, but no one else was visible and solid like this.
And then my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I remembered there was one other person in the castle who could present such an obstacle.
“How? What?” I sputtered, trying to get out a coherent question. “How are you here?”
Cole smirked. “How did I escape from the Marinese prison? That’s the question you should have been asking. Really you royals are all the same. Complacent.”
“Let me go right now, or I’ll scream,” I warned him.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” he said. I took a deep breath, preparing to yell as loudly as I could, despite his words, and he hurried on. “Not if you value your sister’s life.”
I shut my mouth instantly, the blood draining from my head. Lily. “What do you mean? Tell me immediately.”
He shook his head. “You really should have agreed to come with me. We could have kept everything perfectly pleasant, you know.”
“I will never marry you!” I spit the words at him, almost too enraged to speak.
“Oh, I think you will. And you’ll speak the words of the coronation and make me king. Otherwise you can watch your sister bleed out in front of you.”
“Why should I believe you?” I asked, scrambling to think clearly in the midst of my panic.
He shrugged. “I assume the Beast brought the Palinaran royal mirror with him? Ask it to show you Lily. You’ll see soon enough that I have her in my custody. She’s waiting in the Palinaran capital with friends of mine who know what to do if you attempt to defy me.”
I tried to slow my frantic breathing. If he was invoking the mirror so casually, he clearly did not fear what it might show me.
“And don’t think of turning to that Beast of yours for help,” he continued. “If I don’t return, my friends know what to do. Don’t think you could get to her in time.”