I jerked away from his touch. “I’m as human as thou art.”
He laughed, the sound lacking humor. “We both know that isn’t true, Isabeau Dubois. The question is, what else art thou? And is it a danger to my kingdom, to yourself?”
“I’m not dangerous,” I said, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue. I had no idea what I was capable of, what power lay dormant in my goddess-blood. For all I knew, I could level this entire castle if I figured out how to access it. “I just need to return to the castle.”
“That cannot happen.” All pretense of warmth had vanished from his voice. “Not until I understand what thou art and why that place claims thee so strongly.”
“You can’t keep me here,” I protested, though we both knew it was an empty threat. In my condition, I couldn’t even cross the room without help, let alone escape a castle.
“I can and I will.” He moved toward the door, his decision apparently made. “For thy safety and the safety of my people, thou will remain here, under guard, until I’m certain the forest’s taint has left thy mind.”
“Under guard?” I repeated, my stomach sinking. “You mean as a prisoner.”
He had the grace to look uncomfortable at that. “As a guest with limited freedoms, if that eases thou’s worries. Thou will want for nothing. Food, clothing, books, anything to make thy recovery comfortable. But thou will not leave these rooms without me at your side, and the door will be locked from the outside.”
“Just another cage,” I whispered, too exhausted to shout as I wanted to. “You’re no better than those who chained me in that dungeon.”
Something flashed in his eyes. Hurt, perhaps, or anger at being compared to whatever monsters he imagined had imprisoned me. “This is for thy protection as much as ours. Once thou art well, once the corruption has been purged...”
“There is no corruption in me,” I said, though we both knew I was lying. Whatever magic ran in my veins, whatever connection bound me to the princes, it was exactly the kind of power his kingdom had spent generations trying to eradicate.
He studied me for a long moment, as if trying to see through my skin to whatever secrets lay beneath. Then he sighed, his broad shoulders dropping slightly. “Rest, Isabeau. Heal. We will speak more when thy mind is clearer.”
With that, he turned and left, the lock clicking into place behind him with a finality that crushed what little hope I’d harbored.
I sank back against the pillows, too weak to do anything else. My hand drifted to my shoulder, to the claiming mark beneath the thin nightdress. The connection to the princes felt stretchedto breaking, a thread so fine it might snap at any moment. But it was still there. They were still alive.
And so was I, in a kingdom that would burn me for what I was if they knew the truth. Locked away by a prince whose blue eyes held both compassion and suspicion in equal measure. A prince who’d saved me from one prison only to place me in another.
I closed my eyes, exhaustion washing over me in waves. I needed to regain my strength. Needed to find a way back to the castle, back to where the connection to Marcel, Laurent, and Bastien was strongest. Needed to figure out what I truly was and how to use it.
For now, though, I would play the grateful rescued maiden. I would eat, sleep, heal. Let this Prince Alain think his ‘guest’ was cooperating. Let him believe I was just a victim of the forest’s corruption, confused and in need of protection.
And when I was strong enough, I would escape this gilded cage and return to where I belonged. To the three princes who held my heart, even across the boundary between worlds. To the beasts who left every door open for me.
No matter what it cost me. No matter who tried to stop me. I would find a way back to the men who knew me deeper than my beauty this prince was enamored by.
thirty-six
Alain
Dreams of amber eyes haunted me all night, fragments of visions where she called my name through the darkness. I woke sweating, tangled in sheets that felt like chains binding me to my own obsession. Twelve days since I’d brought her from that cursed forest, and still Isabeau Dubois occupied my every thought like an illness with no cure. She shouldn’t matter this much.
A stranger. A woman who might carry the very corruption my family had spent generations fighting. Yet I couldn’t stop myself from ordering the servants to fetch me the moment she woke again, couldn’t stop the flutter of anticipation each time I approached her door. This wasn’t just duty anymore. This was something far more dangerous.
I pushed myself from the bed and crossed to the window, pulling back heavy curtains to reveal a dawn barely breaking over Durand’s eastern wall. My chambers offered a commanding view of the kingdom my family had ruled for generations. Usually, watching the city come alive brought me peace, reminded me of my purpose. Today, I barely noticed the beauty spread before me. My mind was elsewhere. In a white room where a woman with amber eyes fought against the help I offered.
A soft knock at my door interrupted my brooding.
“Enter,” I called, not turning from the window.
“Your Highness.” One of the older maids—Brigida, who’d served my family since before Odette disappeared—curtsied as she entered, her eyes politely averted from my state of undress. “The lady is awake again.”
My heart quickened. “How long?”
“Nearly a quarter hour now, sire. The longest yet.” Margot’s face remained carefully neutral, but I’d known her long enough to see the curiosity lurking beneath her professional demeanor. The entire castle whispered about my obsession with the forest maiden. “She’s taken broth and a bit of bread and appears to be more alert.”
I nodded, already moving toward the clothing laid out the night before. “Tell her I’ll be there shortly.”
