Feed.
The woman dived to the floor as the beast reared up, stretching. Vixie screamed, and Aerity moved quickly in front of her sister, changing her aim from the woman to the beast. But it had no interest in her. It simply turned and trotted from the room on heavy paws, its nails scraping the floor, heading toward the far side of the building, away from the sounds of the hunters.
Aerity turned to the woman, who had scuttled behind an old table. “Where is it going?” she shrieked, pointing the arrow at her. The woman exhaled an exuberant laugh, grinning. “Tell me!” Aerity screamed, panic coursing through her.
The woman laughed louder, her eyes twinkling like gems.
The stomp of footsteps against dirt rang out. Vixie leaned out the door, waving her arms. “Over here!”
Moments later, Paxton, Lord Alvi, and Tiern came to a halt in the doorway, soaking wet, shirtless, breathing hard. Their eyes darted from the guard’s body to Vixie’s leg to the rest of the room, landing on the partially hidden woman.
“She’s Lashed,” Aerity warned, heart pounding. “The granddaughter of Rocato. She’s the one . . . she created the beast.”
Their eyes filled with confusion until realization and horror set in.
“Great seas,” Tiern muttered. He crouched next to Vixie, who whispered, “I’ll be okay.”
“Created it?” Lord Alvi asked, his forehead creased in disbelief.
“Where is it?” Paxton asked, urgent, eyeing Aerity.
“It’s gone, and you don’t have your bows, Pax,” Aerity reminded.
He moved forward and grasped Aerity’s shoulder. “Where is it? Do you know?”
Vixie pointed. “He ran that way! The lady told him to feed!”
“Vix!” Aerity yelled.
The three men ran out to chase the beast, bare feet pounding the ground. The younger princess shrank away from her sister’s glare. “They might be able to catch it—”
“And do what? They’ve no weapons!”
“Pax has knives,” Vixie said lamely, her eyebrows lowered in regret.
Aerity’s heart rate was out of control, her nerves on edge. She thought of how easily soothed the beast had been in the women’s company, of the triple-click sound Rozaria had used to control it. Her idea was a long shot, but she had to try.
“Vix, can you get on your knees?” Her sister moved herself upward, nodding, face strained.
She quickly handed her surprised sister the bow. “Aim at her the entire time.”
“You’re leaving me?”
“You can do this, Vix. Listen. Do not be afraid to shoot her if she so much as moves a notch or opens her mouth. I let her cry out, and that was a mistake. Kill her if you must—do not hesitate. Wyneth will arrive at land soon and soldiers will be here to help. Do you understand?”
Vixie swallowed tensely, angling her body toward the woman and stretching the bow tight. “But where will you go?”
Aerity wet her lips. “To kill the great beast, once and for all.”
The mad mocking laughter of Rozaria Rocato followed her as she ran from the building as fast as she could go, praying all the while that help would reach her sister before she passed out again. Or worse.
Chapter
37
Vixie’s arms were shaking. The harder she focused, the more the room seemed to blur. She’d never been hurt like this before, never felt so weak.
She didn’t care for the way the woman stared at her with a deep, wicked hatred—as if she could soar across the room and kill her with her hands at any moment—as if Vixie wasn’t in control of the situation, weapon or not. Even with the blood running down Rozaria’s shiny dress, the bruise swelling at her collar, the woman had the nerve to smile cruelly at Vixie.
The young princess wanted to shout at her to stop smiling, but she was too frightened to utter a word. That sharp gaze made Vixie feel weak, when all she wanted to be was strong and brave, the way Aerity had been.
“What took you so long?” the woman murmured, never taking her cold eyes from Vixie. “I thought you’d be out fishing forever, missing all the excitement.”
“What are you talking about?” Vixie asked, and then shook her head. “Just be quiet! You’re not to speak.” The woman was mad.
A quiet shuffle sounded from the doorway behind Vixie, and she realized Rozaria hadn’t been talking to her at all. She swung her head around and found herself looking up at a young, dark-haired woman holding a wooden board above her head, a fierce expression in her eyes, a jagged scar running down her cheek. Vixie gasped in shock and made to move, but it was too late. The length of wood came soaring down on her with a hard whoosh. Vixie felt a blunt impact against the side of her head, which sent her toppling to the floor in a dark fog.
“My apologies, Rozaria,” said the new, softer voice. “I had to wait for the hunters to leave.”
“Your patience is unmatched, my friend,” Rozaria said in delight as the young princess’s world went black.
Chapter
38