I breathed deep. “And if it isn’t?”
The man’s eyes widened again and he shifted in his seat as he put his hands together in front of his face as if in prayer. “Very interesting. Very interesting indeed.”
“So you’ll help him, father?”
“No. Absolutely not.” The fascination disappeared into a glare of stone.
“Please, sir. I need to know what happened so I can try to fix things now.”
He pushed on the arms of the chair, standing before me again. “I owe you nothing, prince. Fix your own problems. Now go.”
He flicked his hand at me twice, then started toward the steps into the temple.
Veda looked at me, and our eyes locked in a silent plea. She frowned and charged after him stopping just before the creek.
“Don’t you always say ‘truth is the path to freedom’, Father? Who are you to deny someone on their search for enlightenment?”
Veda’s father froze, a proud grin breaking across his harsh expression. “My daughter, how am I to become a wise man when you are more clever than I? But what if the truth leads to further suffering? Is it not my duty to protect others?”
She stepped forward. “Only if he chooses to be protected. You’ve warned him. If he still seeks the truth, you must oblige his wishes as you are not the master of his destiny.”
Edwin turned around at the base to the staircase and leaned against the railing. He grabbed his chin and brushed the thick stubble as he pondered his daughter’s request.
“If he accepts the consequences of his request, then I guess I am not doing my duty as a wise man not to provide answers.”
“Thank you,” I whispered and Veda looked away, the simple gratitude blooming pink across her skin.
“It’s simple really. Once upon a time, as the storytellers say, there was an evil king. Selfish, ill-tempered, and generally a complete brute. One day he irritated the wrong person and suddenly he was cursed to become a beast--not much of a difference from his normal self, to be honest, just a bit hairier.”
My fingers curled into fists, my arms tensing as he painted a dark picture of my father. Maybe coming to talk to him wasn’t the best idea. Maybe I should’ve just gone home and asked my mother.
“And then one day an old man happened across his castle and he held him hostage. His daughter offered herself in his place, and the evil beast took her as his captive. He crushed that smart and beautiful girl until she foolishly believed she could change him and broke the curse with her love. Makes me sick to even think about it.”
He scoffed and started back toward us. Veda returned to my side, hanging on every word.
“That can’t be true. My father is a good man. He loves my mother more than anything. He’d never do something like that.”
“Oh really? It’s nice to know this nightmare has a happy ending. And then I guess that’s where you come in. The golden boy with the golden eyes who sits on the throne of lies.”
My pulse pounded in my temples, spots of light and dark flashed in my vision. A wise man? Or just a self-important jerk? “And why should I believe you?”
The man stopped and sneered, sensing my anger and from the delighted smile broad across his face, reveling in it.
“Because I was there, you fool,” he laughed. “I used to spend my time at the castle. Attending court. The glamorous, ridiculous balls. A wasted existence kissing the feet of a tyrant who kidnapped a girl and made her his bride. A girl who should’ve never been a queen.”
“If you were so important, why aren’t you there now? How come I’ve never heard of you?”
He splayed a hand across his chest and feigned devastation as his jaw dropped almost comically. I grit my teeth so hard they threatened to shatter. How could this guy and Veda be family? Her mother must be where she received her compassion as Edwin had none.
“Because I finally saw the light. I told him to let the girl go, but he wouldn’t listen, so I walked away from your father’s sick and twisted game.”
“You left, or did he send you away?”
I shouldn’t have said it. As soon as the words rolled off my tongue, regret pooled in my mouth, salty and warm like blood from a fresh wound. Veda’s father laughed. A disturbing cackle not of humor but of vengeance. He stormed toward us.
“Do not speak of things you don’t understand. You were not there to watch the entire kingdom fall apart at the hands of a maniacal king. You did not spend your days cleaning up one mess after another. You’ve never had the sulphuric breath of a beast on your face as you begged for your life, one clawed hand wrapped around your neck the other positioned to shred the skin from your bones.”
The memories flashed through the man’s eyes, everything red and sinister. The scar on my hand throbbed, his image reminding me of my own near-death at the hands of the beast--the beast who was not my father, just a curse that needed to be stopped.
“So what do I do? My father has changed and even if he was the awful person you say he was, he’s not anymore. How can I break the curse if I don’t know what caused it?”
Veda leaned closer, her body shivering in the afternoon heat as she wrapped icy fingers around my bicep, gripping tight. I pulled my free arm across my chest and enveloped her hand with mine, tension draining from her grasp as my palm melted the chill pulsing through her and I bent to rest my chin on her head.
“What exactly is going on here?” Veda’s father bellowed and she twitched beside me, pulling her hand away and straightening her stance.
“Nothing, Father. Just tell us what to do now.”
He ignored her and stepped in front of me, a finger pointed in the center of
