Savage Beauty

by Casey L. Bond

  “I told you I cleaned,” I defended.

  “Yes, well you shouldn’t have touched my things! Now, how will I find what I need?” She scowled at the shelf and the spices arrayed on them.

  “They’re in alphabetical order.”

  “Alphabe—” Her word faded away as she took in my handiwork. I thought she liked it until she gripped the counter and swiveled her head toward me. “Perhaps now is the perfect time for you to walk through the dark forest.”

  “Do you overreact to organized spices and kindness very often, or are you just cranky because you woke from your nap?” I snapped, immediately regretting the words. I wasn’t a coward, but neither did I want to die at the hands of a fae witch.

  To my surprise, she didn’t gut me. Instead, a slow smile stretched over her lips, as brilliant as I’d imagined. Not that I’d imagined she had those small fangs...

  Cat ran across the floor and jumped toward the woman, who caught her and cooed at her as if she were a baby.

  I caught the word ‘ember’ in her mumbling.

  “Ember? Is that her name?” I asked, nodding toward Cat.

  The woman scowled. “It is.”

  “It suits her.”

  “Of course it does, young Prince.” I wore no crown, but my tunic and clothing must have given me away. “Tell me, what Kingdom will you one day rule? Are you first born?”

  A memory of my brother surfaced. I cleared my throat. “I am the second born, but will one day rule the Kingdom of Grithim.”

  The woman froze, her eyes widening in the warm firelight. She blinked away her surprise. Her brows nearly touched one another. “You’re William’s brother?”

  It was my turn to cock my head. “You know my brother?” Could he still be alive? Hope blossomed through my chest.

  She must have seen it on my face, because the witch shook her head slightly. “I knew him,” she corrected, confirming my fears.

  “How?” The hope faded into despair once again, heavy as a mill stone ‘round my neck.

  “He was murdered by my sister.” I would have been less shocked if she’d backhanded me. The sting of her words was almost more than I could bear.

  “Who is your sister? What did she do to him?”

  “My sister is Princess Aura of Virosa. You should probably sit down. You look pale.”

  I felt lightheaded. Not as if I would swoon, just... I couldn’t believe what she’d told me. “Virosa has twin princesses. Are you her twin?”

  “I am. My name is Luna.” She motioned toward the chair near the hearth and I made my way to it and sat down, keeping her in my sight in case she attacked me again.

  Twin princesses... But Luna was undeniably fae, which meant Aura had to be as well. My father would never have traded with Virosa had he known. He would have sworn them off, girded our borders, and forbidden anyone to enter their Kingdom, and denied anyone from Virosa entry into ours. “Have you always been fae?” I asked.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Since birth,” she answered wryly.

  They’d been born fae, but weren’t of a fae Kingdom. One of the servants in our palace was from Virosa, and she was human. None of this made sense. How did my brother end up in their clutches?

  “What’s your name, Prince of Grithim?”

  “Phillip,” I answered. “What did she do to him?” Or a better question might have been, what did he try to do to her? William hated the fae as much as my father, and he’d never doubted their existence.

  She inhaled deeply. “It’s a long story, and if you’ll be patient, I will tell you. But not right now. I have work to do.”

  What sort of task could she possibly have? She just woke from what was at the very least a seven-day sleep.

  Luna stared at me, her yellow-green eyes aflame. They raked over me from head to toe. Was she assessing me as a threat? She turned away, waved her hand, and all thirteen locks on the mystery door disengaged. She strode across the hall and disappeared behind the door, the locks engaging once more. Apparently, witches didn’t need keys. Ember and I kept each other company, ignoring the noises that came from behind the door.

  Clanging.

  Banging.

  A shrill, animalistic screech.

  I wondered if I would die at this witch’s hands the same way my brother died at the hands of her sister.

  It was a difficult decision to make: trust her and stay, or run like hell – and my first thought was to run. It may have been the first day of autumn and the equinox, and fae may have been hunting, or Luna could be lying and trying to keep me in her cottage so she could boil me for supper. The one thing that gave me pause was that she knew what happened to my brother. Or she said she did, at least.

  I argued with myself. She had to know. She knew his name.

  Grabbing the bag I’d packed, and threading my sheathed knife onto my belt, I didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Ember. I needed to get out while she was busy. Easing toward the door, I avoided the floorboards that creaked and groaned. I turned the door handle, but nothing happened.

  Tugging on it did no good. The worn brass wouldn’t turn, even when I twisted it until its cool surface became warm beneath my hands and I felt sure it would break.

  “The door is spelled. You aren’t going outside,” she yelled from behind her door. “You should conserve your energy. You’ll be leaving soon enough.”

  chapter five

  LUNA

  I had to leave his presence. Just looking at him was painful in a way I didn’t know was still possible. Sinking back against the door, I scrubbed my face and willed the locks to turn, shutting him out and keeping me within my safest and most comfortable space.

  It was autumn. The equinox. Fall was finally here, but so was he. Phillip needed me. And I needed rid of him.

  He, with his full bottom lip and square jaw. He was more muscled than his older brother, but still lithe. I bet he’d never been injured so badly before in his princely little life, and wondered what had happened to him. Did someone try to kill him? Did he fight back?

  “I knew he looked familiar. I should have known,” I said, cursing myself for being so stupid.

  I attacked and choked him. My fingernail drew his blood, and somehow, he understood why without me having to explain it to him. If I was being honest with myself, I was scared out of my mind. No one came into my cottage while I slept. Not during the summer season, and certainly not during the daylight hours.

  And yet he waltzed—limped— right in here. There were traces of William in Phillip, just beneath the surface. Perhaps they took similar traits from their father. Phillip had different mannerisms for the most part, but the gallant look on his face, his posture, and the way he quietly observed what was happening around him, reminded me of things I’d tucked away, better left forgotten.

  Squeezing my eyes closed, I cursed myself for comparing the brothers, but I couldn’t help it. William was driven, hell-bent on doing whatever was best for his Kingdom and determined to wear the crown. I didn’t see that same ferocity in Phillip, but he wore his duty proudly, like a crest. He would rule out of a sense of obligation and pressure, not passion.

  But, it was pressure that transformed coal into diamonds.

  William would have ruled justly. He was a good man, but proud and stubborn. He would have been a protective King, but he was selfish and could be cruel. I’d seen the way he treated the servants charged with keeping him comfortable during his stay at the palace, when he thought no one was looking.

  Phillip was a different creature. While I slept, he treated me and my home with respect. He didn’t take anything he didn’t need. He even cleaned as a way to thank me for letting him stay here. He was different from his older brother. William wouldn’t have apologized for having eaten my food. He wouldn’t have done anything to improve the cottage or my circumstances. William felt entitled to the world and everything in it, simply because he was a Prince who would one day be King.

  A Kingdom with a selfless King?
What a sight that would be to behold.

  I took a deep breath. This was a lot to take in after a summer-long slumber.

  Upon waking, my first order of business was supposed to be finding Malex. At the end of spring, he agreed to help me when I woke. He would be expecting me.

  I needed his help.

  He vowed to help me concoct a spell to end the cycle.

  Though he hadn’t been exactly forthcoming about what his conditions or demands would be, I knew the price would be steep. But it had to be paid.

  Only he could help me break the tether to my sister. I would do anything to end this. To end her.

  If our life forces were severed, I would finally be free... free to seek revenge for what she’d done to William. William, the prince who came to Virosa by chance, whom my sister tried to seduce, who refused to fall for her tricks, and who fell in love with me instead. The man she tore apart. I vowed that she would feel everything he felt in his final moments, but I wanted to draw her torture out much more slowly. I would make her beg for mercy, but she would find none in me.

  The sharp tips of my nails cut into my flesh, but I felt it repair itself immediately.

  Gritting my teeth, I pushed away from the door and stood in front of my cauldron.

  First, I would heal Phillip so he could return home safely. It was the least I could do in honor of his brother’s life. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t want him here. I didn’t want the memories to keep being dredged up. Phillip’s injuries weren’t grave, but they were painful, even now that they’d begun to heal.

  The very sight of Phillip reminded me of William.

  It hurt. I decided to put my feelings for him in the darkest corner of my mind and move on. With the power I had, I could do a great many things, but I’d never been able to take someone out of the arms of death. I couldn’t save William from my sister’s rage, and I couldn’t go on with my plan to focus on Aura instead of William if his little brother was squatting in my house.

  If I was rusty with the healing spell, he would be well enough to travel within a few days. If I executed it perfectly, he could leave tomorrow night, when I could fly him to the woods just outside of Grithim, leave him there, and never think of him again.

  I wish I could stop thinking about him now.

  Phillip’s hair was auburn, darker than William’s, and Phillip’s eyes were dark brown, dark enough to lose yourself in, where William’s were a light tawny color, like amber being held up to a light. They were both tall. Both muscled, but not overly so. Both handsome. Where William was strong and steady, knowing what he wanted and unafraid to take it, Phillip looked at me and at the world around him with an intensity that made me question what I was seeing, and I hated it.

  I hated that he saw the world as I couldn’t.

  I had to remind myself that Phillip knew from the moment he saw me that I was a fae witch. I could see the fear and wariness on his brow. He was wiser than his brother. William knew we were half-fae, but didn’t fully appreciate our power. He didn’t know until his final moments what Aura and I were capable of.

  I was glad Phillip was afraid.

  Phillip’s fear was well-placed, but he had no idea what he’d gotten himself into. He would have been better off dying in the woods than face my sister’s wrath, and if she found out he was here, that was exactly what he would face.

  Clutching the table in front of me, I willed the wicks of every candle positioned all around the room to ignite. The tiny flames flickered and then grew stronger. When the room was bathed in warm light, I went to work, gathering ingredients from the labeled bottles strewn across the countertop.

  Thank God he hadn’t picked the locks and cleaned in here. Some of these ingredients were deadly.

  Yes, Phillip had to go as quickly as possible, as soon as he healed well enough to run if he needed to. I could take him to the border, but if something happened between it and his palace, he would have to fend for himself. The people of Grithim, especially their King, hated faeries.

  I wouldn’t betray William by letting something or someone harm his family, but I would only step so far onto Grithim lands. Malex had warned me against them in the spring, saying they’d caught and tortured several of his subjects who had wandered unknowingly into their forests. While I couldn’t be killed, I could still feel pain and didn’t want to feel helpless ever again.

  I loosened my grip on the glass bottle of yellow root when I heard the telltale sound of glass fracturing. Deep breaths. I needed to focus on this potion. To heal his fractures, I would need bone. My fingers danced over the bottle tops until I found the ingredient. To heal his connective tissue, I would need exactly that. Now, where were my tendons and ligaments?

  I plucked the bottle from the shelf and smiled.

  Time to work the magic…and get the young Prince of Grithim the hell out of my house.

  A few hours later, I poked my head out the door and called for him. “Phillip!”

  “Yes?”

  “I need something from outside and was wondering if you could retrieve it for me.”

  “Of course. What do you need?”

  So eager to help. “I need the feather of a dove. There should be some on the ground near the window sills. You have to hurry back in.”

  “Why would there be dove feathers under your windows?”

  Because my sister has no original thoughts in her mind, I thought with some measure of aggravation. I had a familiar—Ember—so she decided she wanted one, too. It was a dove named Peace, which I affectionately nicknamed Pieces. If Ember ever caught her, that was what she would be. Then we could roast her over the fire and enjoy the bird for the first time since she’d started visiting.

  For now, I needed him to feel light as a feather so his body wouldn’t be strained while working with broken parts. “Did you hear the part about hurrying?” I shouted.

  He’d been here for a week. I wondered if Peace had already seen him outside and reported back to Aura. If she knew he was here with me, Phillip was already in danger.

  He brought the feather in and handed it to me, his finger brushing mine during the exchange and lighting a fire beneath my skin. “You need to stay inside unless I’m with you,” I warned.

  “But I was just outside. Nothing happened,” he argued.

  “Not this time, true, but look – even in the yard, it isn’t safe for you. And especially stay inside during the day.”

  “Why?” he asked softly, his eyes locked on my lips as I parted them to answer.

  I forced the bitter words from my throat. “Because I’m cursed and I can’t help or protect you during the daylight if you’re foolish enough not to listen to me.”

  He opened his mouth but I cut him off.

  “Thank you for the feather,” I said, dismissing him and shutting the door behind me.

  When the potion was finished, I found Phillip inside the kitchen with his hands braced on the counter, looking out the colorful panes of glass. He’d listened to me and heeded my warning. “It’s still dark. Would you like me to cover the windows?” he asked solicitously.

  “If you want to cover them, do so during the infuriating daylight, not in the comfort of darkness.”

  He blinked away his surprise and stepped away from the window. “Very well.”

  Holding the small glass of glowing blue liquid, I extended it to him. “Drink this.” His eyes locked onto the potion, a thousand questions flooding his features. “It will heal you,” I said gently. “You’ll be good as new in a few days, at the latest.”

  Phillip swallowed. “A few days?”

  “At the latest,” I repeated, punctuating each word. “I know what you’re thinking, but it will work. It’ll heal the ligament in your arm that’s torn and hanging on by a thread, the four ribs that are cracked, and the bone in your ankle that’s slightly fractured.”

  “How do I know this isn’t poison?” he asked tentatively.

  I threw my head back laughing. “If I wanted you d
ead, you wouldn’t have lasted a second after I awoke. I could have snapped your neck or sucked the air from your lungs, and there would’ve been nothing you could have done to stop me.”

  He weighed my words, but in the end took the small glass and brought it to his lips, his eyes boring into me. Then he drank it down, absorbing the healing properties of the spell and ingredients that would speed his healing. In that split-second decision, he gained the power to heal himself from the inside out and I gained a sliver of his trust.

  Phillip hid his pain well, but it was there. In every limp, every slight wince and catch of his breath, I saw it, heard it, and smelled the sweat on his brow.

  There was no way I could find Malex tonight, which meant I would just stay here. Working the magic had taken its toll. I was pathetic. A simple spell wore me out on the first night of autumn. But since I needed to rest, I could watch over Phillip tonight and make sure he didn’t do something incredibly stupid, like walk out into the dark forest on his own because he felt a little better.

  He was itching to get away from here, and I couldn’t blame him.

  “You’re staying?” he asked as I came back inside with an arm full of vegetables.

  “Someone has to cook breakfast. I haven’t eaten in months.”

  His brow furrowed. “Breakfast?”

  “It’s nearly dawn, so technically it’s dinner, but it is my first meal since waking…I’m ruled by the moon,” I started to explain. “When darkness descends. During the daylight hours I sleep. And I am cursed to sleep for the entire season of Summer, which is why you found me asleep and why I’m ravenous at present.”

  “You seem so tired,” he said, walking toward me. He was right. My arms felt like lead. He took everything from my hands and carried it to the counter.

  “Magic comes with a price,” I explained. “In a few nights, I’ll be able to do that spell in my sleep without any ill effects. I just need some rest during the day tomorrow and I’ll be good as new. Don’t worry, Prince. I’ll take you home soon.”

  He nodded. “Thank you for the potion. Can I help you with dinn—breakfast?”