Mr. Bennet lay there, pale and weak. His open shirt revealed the large swirling Moonrot mark covering his entire chest. When he saw Lizzy, he attempted a slight smile. “My Lizzy.”
“Please take this. We think it will make you better.”
“Oh,” he said weakly. “Another medicine. Too many medicines, my dear.” He waved a frail hand.
“We think this one is different, Dad. We believe…” She swallowed, the hope and fear battling within her gaze at the same time. “We hope this will be the last medicine you’ll have to take.”
“Fine, my Lizzy, for you.” He grasped the vial in his hands, raised it to his lips, and downed the contents.
I held my breath. Even though I considered myself unfit to be there, I needed to know whether this worked. If it didn’t—or worse, if something terrible somehow happened—I couldn’t avoid feeling like it would be my fault. This had been my idea.
Mr. Bennet relaxed onto the bed, exhausted. For one long moment, nothing transpired. And then…
“Look! Look at his chest!” Kitty cried.
“It’s going away!” Jane exclaimed.
The mark on Mr. Bennet’s chest faded into nothing.
Suddenly, everyone in the room was hugging and crying. Lizzy, her mom, and Kitty were in a tight hug, tears streaming down their cheeks. Frank was holding Mary, and Charles pulled Jane into a sweet kiss.
I released a long breath, letting the tension within me unravel. Lizzy’s father was healed, and we’d found a remedy that ended the curse my parents started.
Somehow Mary found herself by my side. “We’ll start brewing more batches right away.”
I nodded. “Will you send me the recipe so I can send it out to others?”
Mary bit her lip. “I can, but you won’t have werewolves and vampires willing to come forward to aid you.”
“Not unless they’re offered a royal pardon if they do.”
“And a guarantee of assistance,” Mary added.
“I’ll secure the council’s approval. We need to get this written into the law.”
“You’re a good person, Darcy.”
I glanced at Lizzy, now hugging her father. Mr. Bennet was laughing as if it had all been a big joke.
“Not good enough,” I said.
Lydia grabbed Mary and pulled her into a hug with her sisters.
I stepped out of the room to allow those who deserved it to enjoy their celebrations. I walked through the Bennets’ front living area to their entrance door, shrugged on my coat, and reached for the doorknob.
“Darcy, where are you going?”
I turned back to see Lizzy coming toward me, wiping tears from her eyes.
“I didn’t want to intrude.”
She let out a small laugh. “You’re not intruding. I heard you in there talking to Mary. You’re going to expose your parents’ actions not just to my family, but to the council, to everyone, so that you can heal those with Moonrot.”
“It’s the least I can do. What my parents did—”
“Is not your fault,” she said firmly. “Darcy,thank you.”
I gave a small nod. For a moment, I stood there and stared into those beautiful eyes with that earnest gaze and thought about staying. But no, this wasn’t my place. We’d found the cure, healed Lizzy’s father. My reason for being with her was done. Staying would only drag out the pain of what couldn’t be. “I should get going.”
