Perhaps it’s time that I stopped fighting the inevitable.
Chapter 9
Altair
I stare at Verity’s lovely figure disappearing through the crowd. Her tulle skirts are almost caught in the ballroom door as she slips through it. She’s gone. I growl, hands clenched into fists at my side. I was gone longer than I intended, but the situation with the Bloodbane couldn’t be ignore. I rub my temples. Why can’t Verity understand that?
I hear footsteps approach, Thal’s light but sure steps. I turn my head, eyes narrowing towards him. “Thal,” I snarl.
He purses his lips. “I crossed a line.”
“Damn right you did,” I say roughly. “That is my future wife.”
“And she’s unhappy,” he snaps. His green eyes flash and I feel a surge of hesitation.
“What do you care if she’s unhappy?” I ask, my tone softening.
Thal glances away, his shoulders stiffening. “Verity is a good woman. She deserves to be happy. As do you, cousin.”
He turns away before I can respond, and I feel as if I’ve been doused with cold water. Is it me that’s making Verity unhappy? Am I a more terrible beast than I was before she saved me? My heart clenches painfully in my chest and I scowl. This is not how I anticipated this night. I had imagined that the ball would be the perfect chance for Verity and I to grow closer, to enjoy each other’s company.
“Altair,” Navi says from behind me.
I turn and loose a sigh. “What is it?”
Navi wraps a hand around the hilt of her sword and purses her full lips. She shakes out her short hair. “It’s good that Verity retired for the night. The moon is full now, and your guests are getting wilder by the minute.”
I snort softly at Navi’s attempts to console me. She’s thoughtful and observant, but not always empathetic. “Thank you, Navi,” I say. “I think I’ll go as well.”
She nods sharply and strides away, ever resilient of her duty. I rake a hand through my dark hair and sigh. I had hoped that after Verity broke the curse, we would find happiness. I would find happiness. But it evades me still.
I unbutton my jacket around the collar and sigh as I stride towards the ballroom door. No one will miss me now that the festivities have taken a raucous turn. I’m not interested in celebrating with my subjects. The only one I wanted to be with tonight was Verity, and for an instant, I was.
In the hall, I turn towards the stairs where Verity would have gone. Maybe I can still salvage this night, maybe I can find her and make it right. My gaze drops to the floor. I can never make it right. My time will always be split unevenly between her and my duties. And if she can’t learn to forgive me for it, then we can never be happy together. The thought almost makes me sick to my stomach.
Suddenly, I hear running footsteps approaching. I turn, alert, to see a foot soldier sprinting towards me. He skids to a halt in front of me, panting. “Your Grace, there’s been a murder.”
“Show me,” I demand.
He turns back and hurries the way he came. I follow, taking one last look over my shoulder in the direction of Verity’s room. But I have work to do. Work that never seems to end. The foot soldier leads me out the main doors and down the steps. At the bottom of the stairs, I see a cluster of guards and a few healers. They part silently for me and my stomach recoils as I see what captured their attention.
The messenger that left me only a little while ago is crumbled and folded on the cobblestones. Blood pools around him and coats his face and limbs. I see bones protruding from his skin at odd angles, jagged and streaked in blood. It looks as if he fell from a great height. Lips twisted with disgust and regret, I glance up. There are no parapets here, only open sky.
“What happened here?” I ask.
One of the healers clears their throat. “It appears that he fell.”
“From where?” I demand.
Everyone exchanges a glance. “We don’t know.”
I turn away from the sky and back to the messenger. I was going to send him back to my generals once I finished my letters, but I never did find him. Now I know why. “Take care of this,” I say quietly. “Prepare his body for the funeral and send word to his family with my regards.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” a guard says.
The soldiers lift his corpse gingerly and follow the healers into the bowels of the castle where they embalm those who die inside my walls. I look to the sky once more. The stars wink brightly, as if nothing in the world is wrong. Suddenly, a star disappears before shining again. And another. I narrow my eyes, straining to see. My heart drops as I catch a glimpse of a red cloak flickering in the light of the moon.
Two Bloodbane witches soar above me, heading for the mountains. One of their hoods slips away and I recognize the pale blond hair of its rider. Maaz. My hands clench into fists at my side as I realize what they’ve done to the messenger. They killed him because he gave me news of the border tower. And now they know that I know of their movements. They know they’ve lost the element of surprise and I’ve lost the slight advantage I had over them.
They’ll fly back to their mountain keep and strategize. The Bloodbane will be moving quickly now. I need to move even faster. I crouch and change into the form I wore while I was cursed. My limbs stretch and bulge with muscles, my fingernails curl into heavy claws. I feel my face morph into that of a jaguar, hair sprouting over me. My vision sharpens and brightens in the dark. I stretch out my wings, flexing them. It’s been weeks since
