This morning, I would never have submitted myself to such humiliation or such foolish hope. But now, I don’t give a damn who’s watching or how stupid this might be.
I saw Ezryn. And he saw me.
Was it my own foolish hope that he’d sounded happy to see me? Relieved?
What exactly has happened at Castletree since I was there?
I take a deep breath of the early spring air, remembering the sight of him, his huge frame like a sentinel. At least he was still a fae; the curse hasn’t taken them yet.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the disgusted looks of the townsfolk. My old boss, Richard, has his hands on his hips and shakes his head. One lady quickly ushers her young daughters past us.Go ahead and stare,I think.I’ve seen colors you can only imagine.
But one color emerges out of the crowd, a face red with anger. Lucas shoves through the onlookers and stomps toward us.
“Keep dancing, Papa,” I say. “Don’t stop.”
My heart hammers, and my throat grows tight. I sent him away earlier. I can do it again.
Lucas blocks my path and yanks the wicker basket out of my hand, tossing it to the ground. The face I once thought so handsome is marred by a bruise across the cheekbone where Papa slugged him. “Stop right now. You’re humiliating me.”
“Then leave,” I say.
“I will not have my future wife prancing about like some sort of hippie heathen,” he snarls.
“Good thing I’m not going to be your wife then.” I reach for my basket.
Lucas slams his foot down on it, breaking apart the wicker.
“Get out of here, boy,” Papa bellows. “She told you once. She told you twice. If she has to say it again, I’ll remove your useless ears.”
“Careful, Papa,” I whisper, but it’s too late.
Lucas turns to the town. “For years, we’ve forgiven this man’s delusions. We’ve always thought of him as just a harmless old eccentric. But this morning, he did this!” He points to the bruise on his face.
The trapped coals within me light ablaze again. “You deserved it!”
“This man is a danger to himself, to Orca Cove, and to his daughter.” Lucas’s fiery gaze lands on me. “We must separate them for her own safety.”
I stumble away from Lucas, but he grabs me by the back of my neck. My whole body goes rigid, his touch paralyzing. The flower crown falls from my head.
“You can’t talk to her like that,” Papa roars. He charges toward us, but two of Lucas’s goony hunting pals step out of the crowd and grab his arms. “Rosalina!”
“Get off of him!” I scream. “Someone help!”
But all of Orca Cove looks down, their faces shrouded in shame. Because of Lucas or because of the embarrassing O’Connells?
“Listen to your fiancé, Rosalina dear,” a woman calls. “He’ll take care of you.”
“He’s not my fiancé,” I snap and drive my foot down onto Lucas’s. He yelps and lets me go. I quickly grab my backpack and sling it on. I won’t let him destroy these items like my basket.
“Run, Rosalina!” Papa cries, struggling in the grasp of the two burly men. “Run!”
Breath comes ragged from my throat as I sprint away. Lucas swears behind me, and I hear him give an awkward chuckle. “She’s worn herself out caring for her father. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
I barely get five steps before Lucas yanks the back of my sweatshirt, then throws a powerful arm over my shoulders. To the crowd, it probably looks like an embrace. But inside, it feels like he’s clamped chains around me.
“Enough, Rosalina,” Lucas whispers. “You aremine. Agree to marry me and put on the ring in front of all these people.”
“Never.”
