“Are you hurt?”
“No. Not physically. My heart ...”
Isabeau pulls me into her arms. “Am I ...”
I sniffle, half choking on a sob. In a small broken voice, I tell her, “I wish you’d never sent the request for the Hunter.”
“What is my curse?” Isabeau shudders. Her voice fills with panic as she examines my face, my arms, my hands. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I pull Isabeau to me and cover her mouth in a kiss that steals every word and thought away. I cannot have found love only to have to kill her. My hands roam over her frantically.
Isabeau stands, letting me wrap my arms and legs around her. Holding me aloft, she stumbles toward the bed. When her legs bump into the mattress, she lets us fall backward, her body cushioning my fall.
“I cannot imagine life without you,” I sob between kisses.
“I am the monster, then?”
My tears fall faster with every word Isabeau says. I think I may drown in them as she suggests, “Rest in my arms, Hunter. I will guard you, and tonight you will stop the beast.”
“I should see the queennow ... about ... the beast.”
“You have not slept,” Isabeau says, not unkindly.
“Do you remember anything from last night?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I remember the start of a fever, and you covered me, and then you came in with cold water and splashed it on me. Then I know nothing until just now, when I woke.”
I try to sit upright. What kind of monster am I to stay in the arms of a killer? “How can I blame you for what the beast does?”
“Because if I die, the beast will die, too,” Isabeau says.
Tears continue to stream down my face. “We must go to see the queen. Perhaps she knows something, or you can be ... uncursed.”
Isabeau holds me close, stroking my hair and kissing my brow. “Rest, please? The Beast of Brimmond only kills at night. I have been with you throughout many days. Right now, I am only myself. Let me hold you for a few hours before ...”
She does not finish the statement, does not say “before you murder me,” but I hear it all the same. I finally have the person I love, and she loves me in return. Yet I am destined to end her life.
“Hold me.” I nestle closer to her, trying to capture the memory of her kindness and love. I will let myself stay in her arms, let myself forget what she is, forthismorning only. I say, “I will rest now if you promise to stay in the library at the palace when I consult with the queen. I need you to be locked up safely.”
“I would do so for all eternity, love,” Isabeau murmurs.
I choke on another sob. “I know.”
“I promised to accept every facet of you,” Isabeau swears between gentle kisses she presses to my cheek and temple. “That means I accept that you must do your duty now.”
Isabeau settles back into the pillows, relaxing more and holding me in her embrace.
“I love you,” I murmur.
“I have always loved you, Gabrielle. Always.” Isabeau pets my hair rhythmically, and I let myself forget for the moment that she is the monster. I force all my horrible thoughts away.
She is not a terrible person. Sheimploredme to kill the Beast of Brimmond. She was kind to my mother and sister. She is passionate and clever and funny. She now accepts that she is going to die. Instead of raging or trying to flee, she seems placid about the matter. How is shealsothe monster that knocked me unconscious? How could she have killed so many men? How could she kill myfather?
In my sleep-deprived state, I think that perhaps I can fashion a dungeon of sorts where I will lock her away at night. I wonder if that’s what the duke did. Was he locked away at night? Why was she able to be around people all this time? Did the curse only come to her after his death? Was he cursed and we simply don’t know?
Amid all the questions, one stark truth remains:Thegeasmeans I have to kill the monsterIsabeauhired me to kill, and she is the monster.Thegeaswill eventually end my life if I do not fulfill it. Magic is harsh. And if I am dead, Isabeau will again be loose, terrorizing Brimmond Wood, and Rylan will be the Hunter who must kill her.
I drift to sleep, knowing all too well that I must kill Isabeau later today.
