Blanca was the first to return to her seat.
Isa was last. “So why are you here?” she asked tentatively.
“Because I heard three sets of stealthy footsteps in the middle of the night and did not want to be left out. Ian and Onric used to have secret meetings without me all the time. I hated it.”
Isa crossed her arms. “No jesting. This is a serious secret meeting. Why are you here in the northern mountains? Running away from your kingdom, perhaps? Are you a lawbreaker and this curse is a punishment?”
The beast’s eyes flickered, and Isa shrank back.
She was not sure if the candlelight was playing tricks with her or she had truly inspired his anger.
“That was too far, Lady Bielsa,” he said, carrying an ominous rumble in his voice. “The power of the Majis is nothing to jest about.”
“Of course,” Isa responded, his words sparking something in her memory she could not fully recall. “No kingdom would utilize that magic even if they could.”
He said nothing, his eyes still glowing yellow at her over the lantern. Perhaps he was waiting for her to apologize.
She said nothing further.
“I was cursed while defending my brother Ian at the ball six days ago.”
“That was a palace guard who defended him,” Isa said.
“I am the third in line for the throne of Iseldis. I am a palace guard.” His tone was dismissive, as though everyone knew this information.
Isa had never been incredibly interested in the succession traditions of other kingdoms, so she had no rebuttal.
“When it became clear that this curse was unable to be reversed, I left my family before they could smother me with their sympathy. And now I am here, at your gracious mercy.” He accompanied these words with a casual inspection of the lengthy, protracted claws on his right paw. “Thankfully, you have not been as forthcoming with the sympathy. For that, I am grateful. Any questions?”
Isa looked to Luca.
He shook his head.
She turned to Blanca, raising her eyebrows.
Blanca nodded. She seemed satisfied with that explanation.
Isa, however, was not. She turned back to the beast.
He had been staring at her over the lantern, his eyes frequently flicking closed.
She was beginning to believe that he truly was Prince Aden of Iseldis, but she was growing increasingly more annoyed by his blatant staring. “You left your family because they were being too nice to you?”
His eyes dropped to the lantern. “That was a polite way to say that I left my family because I was ashamed of my new circumstances. I am not exactly in a position to be proud of what I am. Their kind gestures only reminded me...” He shook his head and looked back up at Isa. “For my first round of ‘nursemaid’ tomorrow, I choose Lady Bielsa. I’m sure she will find me a great help in the library.”
“I think we’ve learned everything we need to here,” Isa replied, glaring at the beast. “This secret meeting session is over.”
Chapter 16
Aden held a rose in each hand. Why was he still here?
The rose in his right hand was the one he had plucked from the garden two days prior. Without water, the base of the blossom had become wobbly on the stem. It still smelled quite fresh, though he could detect hints of warmth in the scent that had not been there before.
The cursed rose, in his left hand, seemed unchanged. He had filled a jar with water to keep it in, but other than that, he had no idea how to care for it or extend its life. It had lost no other petal and smelled as fresh as the roses in the garden.
Should he leave this mansion and its inhabitants?
He placed the cursed rose back in its jar and left the garden rose to decompose on the table next to it.
