“You’ve never mentioned wanting to see the world. And you never let on that you and Brielle had anything going on. I won’t give up on you that easily.”
“I’m not a possession, Gertie. I’m a person, with feelings.”
“Come back home with me.” She touched his cheek.
“No. I’m not going back to Dark Pines.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“I don’t want you here.” Rhyne jerked away from her.
My hands trembled at my side as I tried to stay composed.
“You can’t stop me from following you.” She reached for him once more.
“No. But I can.” Raul stepped closer, dagger in hand. “Let him go, Gertie, my cousin made his choice.”
Gertie looked to me as if I could change either of their minds. “I’m sorry. You need to go.” I hurried to Rhyne’s side and he wrapped me in his arms.
Gertie’s shoulders slumped, as disbelief seemed to set in. “Then I guess this is goodbye,” she said at last. “I-I should go.”
My chest tightened, but I didn’t move or wave farewell. I was too scared that it’d only encourage her to attempt to bring Rhyne back with her. She needed to get as far away from me as possible, even if that meant breaking her heart and ending our friendship.
She turned away and walked back into the night. When she was out of sight, I sagged against Rhyne and bawled.
“It’s for the best, Brielle. We’re protecting her.”
“I know, but it’s so hard. I never meant to cost you the love of your life. It hardly seems fair.”
“Goodbyes are always the hardest. But this is my choice, Bri. I will stand by you until either this curse is broken, or we die trying to break it. I’m in this until the end, whatever that might be. Besides, with my powers out of control, I can’t have her too close. What happens if I accidentally unleash fire or something?”
“You’ve both done the right thing. I know how hard this was for you, cousin. But perhaps when this curse is broken and you have a better handle on your magic, you can go back to Dark Pines and mend what has been torn apart,” Raul said.
Rhyne nodded his understanding, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
Guilt gnawed at me as Raul, Rhyne, and I continued our travels. All I kept picturing was Gertie’s eyes, and the hurt we’d caused her.
But what would’ve happened if she’d come along with us? I shivered, not wanting to imagine her as another one of my victims. I had enough blood on my hands. But that made me realize just how much more I had to lose this time around. Because if I didn’t figure out how to break this curse, it meant I’d lose Raul. Rhyne, too. And I couldn’t bear that thought. But it also meant I’d come back again—prey on more innocent victims.
“I think we’ll stop here for the night.” Raul interrupted my thoughts as he reined the horses in off the main road.
We climbed from the carriage and him and Rhyne went to work taking care of the horses while I found a place to lay our bedding. Their grandmother had parted ways with us the night before, making the woods seem more lonely. Rhyne was supposed to travel with her, but she thought it best if he stayed with Raul and I, so his cousin could work with him more on his control of fire.
When Raul went to fetch firewood, I busied myself with unwrapping a loaf of bread. Once I finished divvying it up, I pulled out my dagger to cut hunks of dry venison. In a couple of days, we’d have to hunt again. For once, I was thankful that Rhyne had taught me how to track, trap, and hunt game.
Soon Rhyne had a fire roaring and he sat across from me and Raul to eat his dinner. “I’ll be up for a while, so why don’t you go ahead and get some rest.”
With a sigh, I walked over to my bedroll and plopped down. Tiredness set in as I stared at the flames, the heat making me sleepy. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” Raul stood and dropped a woolen blanket about my shoulders then leaned down to kiss my forehead. “I meant it when I said, I care for you, Brielle Healer. Don’t ever doubt that for one moment.”
Tears welled in my eyes. I didn’t deserve him, not in the least. But I was grateful to have him with me. “And I you.”
I yawed, stretching in the back of the carriage. With a groan, I attempted to sit up. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the dimness. Tiny rays of sunlight peeked through the shuttered windows as we bounced down the road.
I twisted my skirts in my hand and blinked back the wetness in my lashes. A choked sob escaped my lips. The other night I’d killed a whole herd of deer. Not something I wanted to think about. But it was better than hurting a human.
The cart slowed, then came to a stop. Within moments, Rhyne jerked the doors open, Raul looking on with worry.
Raul climbed inside then knelt beside me. “How are you feeling? That buck’s antler cut you pretty good.”
“Sore.”
He moved the ripped fabric of my dress aside to check my wound. “It looks better. A little red is all.”
“Where are we?” I asked as he helped me stand.
“We’re close to Glay.”
“But that’s several days from Dark Pines. How did we come so far?”
“You’ve been asleep for a couple of days now. You needed time to heal.”
I noticed the dark rings beneath his eyes. “Me? What about you? You look like you haven’t slept at all.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I got some rest. Rhyne and I have been taking shifts driving.” He hopped from the back of the carriage, then turned to lift me down. In the fading light of the day, his gaze roamed over me and he reached up to wipe the remnants of tears from my face.
“Things will get better,” he said.
“Is there any way you can use your magic to make me stop changing into the Beast?”
He sighed, staring off into the woodland. “Trust me, my little Brielle, I’ve tried everything. But my magic, it doesn’t work that way. You see, I can manipulate the elements around me. Like fire or water or air. Even earth. But I have to have something to work with. If the answer was that simple, I would’ve already cured you. Now, let me get things in order before darkness sets in.”
I watched him as he set up our camp. Soon a fire blazed and he slipped a bowl of leftover stew into my hand.
Worrisome thoughts nagged me as I stared at him over the leaping flames. “What if I hurt one of you?”
Raul looked up at me. “I told you before, you can’t harm me. Did you not see how quickly I overpowered the wolf back in Dark Pines?”
“Dark Pines?” I glanced at him. “Wait, that night I came to your carriage and you had claw marks on your skin, I did that, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you’d nearly wandered into one of Kenrick’s patrols that night. But I found you first and was able to get you back to your grandmother’s house.”
“H-how did you learn to use your magic like that, I mean to make the wolf go away and keep me at bay?”
His eyes darkened and he set his bowl down. He tugged at a piece of grass then wound it around his hand. “I’ve had a lot of practice over the last few years.”
“I don’t understand.”
He sighed. “I’m not a nice person, Brielle. Your grandmother was right about one thing, I’m a very dangerous man.”
“I don’t believe you. You’ve always been so kind to me.”
“Kind? I’ve done things I’m not proud of. You realize I killed my first person when I was fifteen?”
My heart clamored against my ribs. “I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose.”
His face, twisted into a sneer, caused me to shudder.
“Oh, I meant to do it.” He seemed transfixed with the fire and suddenly the flames leapt higher. The intense heat made me scoot back.
“Raul?”
“Are you sure you want to hear about my dark side?” He watched me closely. I did all I could do to look impassive, to show him I wasn’t scared.
“Yes.”
He stood, pacing back and forth through the site as if full of pent-up nervous energy. “Like I said, I killed my first person when I was fifteen. You see, my parents married my thirteen-year-old sister off to our old tribe leader. They knew he was a violent man, but they preferred the treasures he exchanged for Yalena.”
He closed his eyes. “She was so beautiful and innocent. She had dreams of becoming a healer like my mother. But instead, they gave her to him like she was a prized mare. God, he treated her so badly. He forced himself on her the night of their wedding. She cried and we all heard her through the thin tent walls. She’d begged him to be gentle.”
My vision blurred with tears.
“Then the torment began. Her new husband found ways to torture her. Sometimes he tied her up, treating her like a slave. Other times he struck her in front of our tribe, using her as an example for anyone who thought to speak out against him.”
His hands glowed and I noticed sparks jumping from his fingertips.
“Raul,” I whispered, fearful. This story sounded similar to what had happened to Rhyne’s mother. It sickened me.
“My parents pretended nothing happened. But I couldn’t. It was the last straw the day I found her by the stream, beaten so badly she could barely move. I marched back into camp and stabbed him through the throat. After that, the tribe banished me, all for trying to save my sister’s life. And you know, she came to me later that night before I was punished. Yalena actually yelled at me for killing him. She accused me of ruining her life. I risked everything to keep her safe … ”
Waves of pain washed over his features as he raised his hooded eyes, staring right through me. I wanted to go to him, to make him better, but instead, I sat entranced.
“Once they forced me to leave, I found work as a mercenary, killing for hire. I learned to be strong, to survive. There wasn’t a job I turned down. I’ve slain lords, soldiers, women, priests. So you see, I’m the only real monster here.”
Somehow, I managed to get to my feet and walk across the clearing to his side. I wanted to take the sadness and anger from him. To show him that someone cared for him.
“You could never be a monster, Raul. You’ve been nothing but good to me.” My hand shook as I reached for his.
He jumped slightly at my touch as if I’d shocked him, then his fingers wrapped around mine.
“Besides your grandmother, have you heard from your family at all?” I said.
“No. But there are bands of banished Wanderers that I join, the ones I travel to Dark Pines with. However, to my family, I am dead.”
“Not to all your family, cousin,” Rhyne said, setting down another armload of wood.
My heart ached. He’d been trying to protect his sister; he hadn’t asked for any of this to happen. I nestled against him, embracing him as tight as I could.
“You are very much alive to me,” I whispered.
His body relaxed and he hugged me back like he craved our closeness. It was hard to imagine what he’d gone through. He had no family, no friends, save for Gram and me.
As we clung to one another, I realized perhaps he understood me better than anyone else ever would. We were both murderers. Prisoners of our pasts. And the truth was, I loved him in spite of it all.
Over the next couple of days, we traveled farther north. We passed an occasional hunter and carts filled with goods headed for nearby villages to trade. Some of the people would stop us to buy wares from Raul’s carriage but for the most part, we stayed clear from the main hubs, not wanting to attract too much attention.
Most of my nights and days were spent thinking of the people I’d killed. They plagued my nightmares, haunting me in visions of their death. I imagined their final resting places on the forest floor, and the accusations on so many faces when they discovered what I was. I shivered, turning my attention back to cleaning fruit.
Raul turned the spit over the fire, the rabbit meat sizzling as the fat dripped to the flames below. The scent of it made my stomach growl and I couldn’t wait for it to be done. I finished rinsing wild blackberries and put them in a bowl to go with our evening meal then leaned back against a large rock to watch Raul, while Rhyne hung a couple pairs of breeches from some nearby trees to dry.
Sensing my observations, Raul glanced up and smiled. “I’m trying to determine whether you’re more interested in dinner or me?”
My face heated as I gave a forced laugh. “You’re ever the flirt. I’m simply enjoying the night.”
He quirked an eyebrow then went back to rotating the meat. For several nights now he’d been trying to keep things light. Sometimes he’d joke around with me, other times he’d tell me stories. Anything to keep my mind from dark thoughts. But perhaps he was doing it just as much for himself as he was for me. “We should gather more firewood to last us through the night. It’s been getting colder.”
I glanced at the burnt oranges and dandelion yellows that waved from the treetops above. It wouldn’t be much longer before they were shed. The closer to the mountains we got, the colder it got. Smoke curled in the air as an ember popped from the fire and landed near my boot.
Rhyne came up beside me and helped me to my feet.
The three of us traipsed into the woods, picking up armloads of downed branches and dead twigs. It took only a few minutes to find what we needed then head back into camp.
“When do you think we’ll reach Fire Ridge?” I asked.
“A week, maybe more depending on if the weather holds.” Raul slid the rabbit from its skewer and placed it onto a wooden plate. After he cut the meat from the bones, he split the meal in half and scraped our portions into bowls.
“We should have you cook every night.” Rhyne grinned. “This rabbit is better than anything I can make.”
“That’s because you were always too busy running around Dark Pines to learn how to cook,” I said.
“Perhaps this is his ploy to make sure you and I do all the cooking on our journey.” Raul chuckled, tossing a small stone at his cousin. It nearly landed in his bowl.
When we finished eating, I washed our dishes in a small basin and put them away. As I moved across camp, a branch snapped behind me. Rhyne stilled, and he scanned the woodland. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I listened intently for footfalls.
Raul reached for his dagger, glancing first at Rhyne, then at me.
“Well, what do we have here?” A grizzled man with dirty blond hair stepped from within the confines of the forest, followed by three others. His blue eyes were cold as they flickered over me. A sneer pulled at his lips and he raised a sword, his tattered cloak billowing behind him like a torn flag.
Rough hands gripped my arms, as another man came out behind me, tugging me back against a burly chest. I almost gagged when I caught the rancid scent of manure and sweat. I fought to free myself from the man’s grasp.
“Looks like we got ourselves a fighter.” The man holding me laughed.
My insides coiled with disgust as his meaty paw groped my thigh.
Raul’s face flashed with hatred. “I’ll give you one chance to remove yourselves from our campsite.”
The blond man snorted. “I don’t think you’re in a position to barter with us. So this is how things are going to work. You will go over to your carriage and start handing my men your valuables. Once we’ve loaded them onto our steeds, I want you to go for a long walk in the woods, while your lady friend and I get acquainted. If you comply, then we’ll let you live. Make one wrong move, either of you,” he gestured between Raul and Rhyne, “and my companion, Felix, here will use her as a target for his blade.” He gestured to the behind me.
Panic raced through me as Raul stared at me, his eyes glowing crimson against his tanned skin. The other two men moved toward the carriage, laughing and shoving one another.
I squirmed against my captor, but he brought me tighter against him then whispered, “I’m going to enjoy y
ou.”
The flames from the fire roared to life, leaping as high as the treetops.
“What the hell’s happening?” The blond backed up several steps.
I watched in horror as a fiery stream zipped across the clearing. It transformed into the shape of a blazing hand and gripped one of the intruders by the throat. His flesh blackened beneath the magical fingers.
He screamed, falling to the ground and writhing with pain. The three men by the cart stumbled toward the woods, but long ropes of fire caught their legs, dragging them back into camp. Their clothing ignited as they struggled to stand, but their fiery manacles pinned them where they were.
I wanted to plug my ears, to drown out the horrific sounds of their screams.
Raul’s lips turned up at the corners as he watched them go up in flames. Then he focused on Felix, who still held me.
“Let her go.” His voice cut like razors through the air.
“No. As soon as I do you’ll kill me,” Felix said, shielding himself with me.
“Oh, I assure you, you’re going to die either way. We can make it quick or I can watch you suffer.”
I felt a blade press against my throat.
This time I watched as Rhyne made the fire leap through the air like a cyclone. “I don’t think you understand what you’re dealing with here,” he said.
“I’m leaving here and if you try to stop me, I’ll slice her open.” Felix jerked me along with him as he made his way to the woods.
I didn’t want this all on Raul’s shoulders. I’d seen the guilt and horror in his eyes when he’d told me about killing people as a mercenary. And I didn’t want to be the catalyst for Rhyne killing his first person either. Not sure how the curse worked, I wondered if I could change voluntarily. Or if it could only be triggered by Kenrick. There was only one way to find out.
If this man wanted me, he was going to get me. Just maybe not the version of me he wanted. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing for the onset of my curse. I prayed that the Beast would take over my body.
Legend of Me Page 18
