Chapter 21
LIZ
The first monster wasn’t in the forest when I got there, which gave me enough leeway to make a run for it. I headed straight towards the trees on the left, a different direction from where the first monster had popped up. I picked up a rock and kept running, ignoring the surge of pain in my ankles that traveled through my body. I had to because there was no telling when those two monsters were going to attack.
The awareness that I was defenseless slid into my mind, followed by the reality of Benjamin’s nature. I didn’t believe in monsters, not until now, because they were just fairy tales told to children to get them scared and asleep early—at least, that was what I’d been told. My life situation had left me no time to wonder, as I was too busy earning money and keeping us out of the streets as long as I could.
But now…
There was a magic forest inside the palace’s west wing, and there were two monsters. One was the crown prince.
The other was someone I still didn’t want to think about.
Footsteps sounded behind me, making me go still. I frantically hid behind a tree, gripping the rock tighter in my hand. The most I could do was hurl it on the monster’s head, enough to do some damage around the eyes—but that certain thought had my hand shaking.
It was Benjamin.
How could I hurt Benjamin?
The footsteps got closer, and a low grumble came. Goosebumps slid all over my body, and I raised my hand—
A blur appeared in front of me. With horror, I realized that I’d miscalculated and the monster was coming from the front. I threw the rock and it hit the monster’s shoulder before it was shrugged off. Claws grazed my cheek—
Another monster launched itself on us and removed the other one from me.
I landed on the ground and cried out as blood spurted everywhere. I crawled out of there, then stood up and broke into a run away from the trees. The clearing came soon enough, but the wrestling creatures followed me, rolling over and over on the grassy field as they attacked each other.
It was a horrible fight as skin scratched skin, drawing blood. Neither of them let go, and the sounds of their howls filled the air and turned the night even colder. My feet were rooted in place, buckling slowly as they finally gave way to the pressure of the pain. The two were still blocking the entrance, which meant I was trapped.
My hand reached for another rock, readying myself as I slowly backed out of there.
The first monster, who was Benjamin, kept trying to attack me, but the second monster…it was trying to drag Benjamin back and prevent that from happening, and the next few seconds made me realize the second monster was actually defending me. I stared in shock, unable to believe what I was seeing with my eyes.
The second monster slammed into Benjamin, knocking his head on the ground. Benjamin’s monster slumped, growling one last time.
He didn’t get up this time.
I watched his form—watched it transform again, losing every monster flesh there was until Benjamin was in its place, naked. Breathing harshly. His eyes were closed, and his hands were still claws.
The monster beside him stepped towards me, an almost stalking movement. I took a step back, then froze when my eyes met blue.
Familiar blue eyes.
He growled. He snarled, but he didn’t come closer. My mind screamed at me to leave, but my body wasn’t responding at all.
This monster—Lucas—stood still, too. Then he transformed just like Benjamin did, turning into his human form in a gradual manner. All the while, his eyes stayed on mine, remorseful and in deep pain.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped in a strange voice.
Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he lost consciousness right then and there.
Shaking, I slid down, too. I stared at the two slumped forms, willing my heart to beat slower. I was never one to turn blank when faced with rough situations, and this had to be the roughest one yet.
I let my mind work, the way it usually did even when too many things were happening around me. The restricted west wing, Lucas trying to drive me away for so long, Benjamin’s frequent disappearances…
The scars on Lucas’ back…
Everything started making sense now, but that didn’t stop it from being so horrible.
How many people knew? Did the queen know? Was she the one who set this odd garden up?
Had the two princes ever hurt anyone?
Just as that last thought entered my mind, I saw the dark entrance turn lighter, a flash of brightness that was brief. Then a familiar figure stepped in, taking in the surroundings.
I was on my feet in an instant.
“Kyle!”
Oh, God.
I hobbled towards him, sidestepping the unconscious forms and taking his wrist. His eyes widened, but they weren’t focused on me.
They were focused on the two men.
“You discovered them,” he said.
I blinked in shock. “You know?”
“I followed them a few times,” he muttered distractedly, striding over towards them and kneeling down. He studied them closely. “They’re both breathing.”
“Yes. They’re alive. Kyle…?” His words flashed in my mind—his dream murmurs. They weren’t dreams.
Kyle looked up. There was pleading in his eyes, and his hand clamped on my wrist. He finally noticed my ankles, and I saw the worry come. “Are you…?”
“I’ll be fine. Flesh wounds.”
“Liz. We have to help them.”
A part of me wanted to yell at him. But the bigger part of me knew he was right—I couldn’t leave them here, injured and unconscious. I kneeled down, careful not to hit my ankles on the ground as I watched the two forms. Benjamin was still breathing sharply, and Lucas was barely breathing—but they were both breathing, and that was the important thing. I gingerly touched some parts of their bodies, noting the injuries much like I did before with Benjamin.
I started with him first, heaving a sigh of relief when I determined that he was okay. There were some injuries there where Lucas’ claws sunk in, but they weren’t bleeding too badly, and he didn’t seem to have any broken bones.
Lucas was a different case altogether.
There were a few broken bones on his ribs, something I didn’t notice earlier because he didn’t look injured at all. Below his shirt, there were deep scratch marks, and I didn’t think Benjamin had anything to do with that. I remembered the blood in the stables, wondered if he was trying to hurt himself while he was transforming.
My breath stopped when I got to the side of his lower torso. There was a gaping wound there, bleeding profusely, but the blood was dark, and the grass was soaking it up. I gasped. Then I ripped at the bottom of my dress and asked Kyle to remove his shirt, placing both over the wound. I guided Kyle’s hand to press and stop the bleeding, then stood up as my mind warred with two thoughts.
As if he read what I was thinking, he shook his head. “I’ll be fine. They usually sleep before they get better.”
At a loss for words, I grasped at what I could. “How come you never told me that you knew?”
He seemed to consider the words before speaking. “I wanted to, but you had too much on your plate. I didn’t want to add to it.”
I sighed. “Next time, add to it, okay? I need to know these things.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
It didn’t take me long to get out of the forest and back into the room with the garden. Then I slipped out of the room, taking a second to gather myself as I looked around. Everything was normal here, save for the rainstorm that was still going on outside.
I couldn’t ask help from anyone yet, not unless I knew they knew. But I did have a first aid kit in my room, and that was the first plausible option to at least fix a little bit of this mess.
Okay, game plan: clean their wounds, make sure they weren’t going to bleed to death.
Then find the queen and talk to her.
I’d never talked to the queen before, not even when I was introduced as a princess, as it was assumed that we’d already been introduced in private. The prospect of finding her now and trying to wake her up was taxing, but what choice did I have in the matter? No ruler was clueless about what was going on in her own palace, and I was pretty sure that garden setup wasn’t just done by those men.
I tried to analyze it all in my mind, furiously thinking up all the clues that were just lying in front of me. My ankle was a bit better now, just snapping rather than prickling in pain, and that allowed me to quicken my steps as I tried to navigate myself to my bedroom, then back to the west wing. There was no time to lose, and I practically ran around the first corner I saw—
And bumped into a figure who squeaked softly.
My eyes widened, and so did hers. She took in the sight of me—probably a mess, considering where I’d been and what I’d been up against—shock filling her face and a soft gasp emitting from her lips.
Then Princess Ana was striding forward and touching me everywhere, her hands doing a check before I could even speak.
“Oh, dear. Are you okay? Are there any injuries? Did you get hurt?”
Oh, no. I took a deep, inward breath, willing myself to act normal and scrambling for an excuse. “I’m okay. I just—”
“Did they hurt you?”
The question had me staring. She stared back, then nodded her head firmly and started talking too fast.
“I knew it would come to this, but I still believe they couldn’t have meant it. But oh! We really need to get you bandaged up. How can you still walk? Are you not feeling confused? Numb? I’m afraid of internal bleeding.”
I shook my head and held up my hand. “Hold up.”
“Let’s get you checked out. My room is safe, and I have some medical background. I promise not to tell anyone—”
“Ana—”
“—about this, you don’t need to tell anyone, too—”
“ANA.”
She stopped talking, and I inserted myself.
“I’m fine. I’m really fine, so don’t worry about me. How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me?”
She bit her lip. Then her cheeks reddened so badly that I thought she was going to spontaneously combust in place. “I followed Prince Benjamin one time, thinking I could spend some time with him. I saw him and his brother…I saw it. I couldn’t tell anyone, and I think the queen knows.”
“What do you know?”
“That they turn into…animals every night. And they do it here in the west wing to prevent others from seeing.”
That was the gist of what I knew too, I guess. There was still a puzzle that needed to be solved, and I wasn’t going to get my answers here.
But I needed to get them.
“I’m really sorry, Liz,” Ana said softly, and I could see the concern on her face. Instinct told me it was sincere. “I would have told you. You know how close we’ve grown. But you’re a princess, and—”
“I’m not a princess.”
“What?”
I sighed, then took her hand. “It’s a long story, and I’ll explain everything to you soon. Everything. But for now…can you go to the room? Can you see to the two princes?”
Her eyes widened. “What happened to them?”
“Benjamin tried to attack me, but Lucas fought with him. They injured each other.” I looked down. “Actually, I think Lucas tried to injure himself so he wouldn’t attack me.”
She gasped.
“My brother’s there, and they’re in human form. He’s watching over them. Can you…?” I held the kit out to her, which she took without hesitation. “Thank you, Ana.”
I started walking away.
“Where are you going?”
I didn’t look back, but I called out my answer.
“I’m waking up the queen.”