Dmitri gaped at him in surprise. “You can’t possibly be implying that Odessa deserves this?”
“Let me rephrase that—youcan’tbreak her curse. Well, I suppose you could, but it would make things very, very awkward for both of you.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Jax shoved a hand through his hair and let out a long, slow breath as he passed the notebook to Dmitri. “Start on page 13.”
He watched as the prince’s eyes moved back and forth across the text. His face paled more and more with each page he turned. Finally, he stopped, looking up at Jax with wide, stricken eyes. “Katrin and Sonya are…?”
Jax nodded silently.
“And Odessa is…”
He nodded again, this time with a huff of humorless laughter. “Yup. She’s your sister.”
Chapter Twenty
ODESSA
Odessa was a sitting duck.
“Or, to be more specific,” she muttered to herself, “a hanging swan.”
The rope net that held her suspended from a tree branch turned in slow, lazy circles. She was folded awkwardly in half, having been secured while still a bird. The transformation to her natural form had left her with far less room to move about, but at least she had thumbs.
She stuck her arms through the holes, trying in vain to pull herself up without attracting too much attention from the curious lions below. The branch that held her was connected to a large tree that grew on the other side of the wall that separated the lion enclosure from the forest beyond, which was the only reason she had not suffered a prompt and rather grisly demise when Boris had strung her up earlier in the day. As it was, she had realized very quickly that trying to shout for help while inher swan body only riled the lions into a frenzy, as they viewed her as a tasty morsel just out of reach.
Now, even though she was no longer a bird, they were still eyeing her with far more interest than was comfortable.
“I feel like this is the perfect time to remind you of the old saying that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you,” she remarked conversationally to her gathered audience. “Which could be further extrapolated into the wisdom of not eating the person who feeds you, either. As they say, eat the Assistant Keeper, be full for a meal. Leave her be, be full for a lifetime.”
She pulled her arms back in, giving up on any hope of escape, and blinked back hot tears. The sun had set hours before, and she could hear the faint strains of music from Dmitri’s party carried on the breeze. If Boris’s scheme were going to plan, Jax was likely already dancing with Katrin, none the wiser as to the fact that the woman he held wasn’t actually her. The thought churned her stomach more than the constant spinning of the net.
And if what Bean said is true, if he does actually love me, he’ll try to break the curse. He’ll be promised to Katrin forever, and he’s too honorable to leave once his word is given—not to mention that I wouldn’t put it past Boris to have some sort of magic set in place to punish him if he does. Our curses will still be in effect, and he’ll be forever out of reach.
A tear trailed down her cheek and dropped to the ground below.
I shouldn’t have run away that night at the lake. I should have kissed him when I had the chance.
The lions below her suddenly scattered as the air was filled with the smell of fire and smoke. A black shadow dropped from the sky on silent wings.
“Bean?” Odessa croaked, craning her neck to look down at the glowing, sapphire eyes. His scales shimmered in the cold rays of the moon.
A low growl rumbled in his throat, deep and dangerous.“Who did this?”
“Oh, you know, just my dear, devoted father.” Her laugh was edging on hysterical. “I don’t suppose you would want to help me down, would you?”
Bean pushed off from the ground with a powerful flap of his wings. He wrapped his front legs around her, as if giving her a dragon hug, and severed the rope that held her net with a single snap of his jaw. For a moment, she felt weightless, and then she was being lowered gently to the ground.
Bean set her down and moved back, and she wobbled before falling on her rear with her legs and ankles still tangled in the net. She clawed at the rope, pulling it off her face and away from her body. Once free, she jumped to her feet and ran to Bean, throwing her arms around his thick neck.
“Thank you,” she said before promptly bursting into tears.
The dragon dropped his head, returning her embrace, and sat unmoving until the storm of her emotions had paused. She sniffed and stepped back, swiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Her head ached and her eyes felt puffy, and she was sure her face was red and blotchy, but somehow, she felt better than she had in days.
She filled her lungs with a deep, shuddering breath. “You came.”
His eyes were glowing again.“Of course I did. You’re mine.”
