Chapter 31
“Dominic!” I screamed again, twisting over and crawling slowly toward him. I added a mental scream immediately afterwards. Lily! Where are you?
What? What’s happened? We’re still trying to follow you, but I think I must have gotten one of the turns wrong. Dominic took off a while ago.
He’s here. I think Cole’s dead. But something’s wrong with Dominic.
I thought he was starting to look weak. She sounded grim. Where are you?
I looked around. I don’t know. In the palace grounds somewhere. Just outside a door in the…east wing, maybe?
All right. We’re coming.
I had reached Dominic and now knelt beside him. I had been sure he had acted before Cole’s knife struck, and I could see no sign of an injury. His collapse must be the result of his curse. Leaning over him, tears streamed down my cheeks as I searched for a heartbeat, or breathing, or something. He stirred.
“Oh!” I gasped. “Dominic!”
He gave me the smallest of smiles. Are you hurt? he asked, his voice weak.
I shook my head. “How did you know where to find me?”
I grew up in this palace, I know it well. Once I realized the direction you were going, his destination was obvious.
“You saved me.”
He smiled again. I told you I would.
I gave a shaky laugh that cut off abruptly as his eyes fluttered closed. “No. Dominic, no!” I gripped his jacket as best I could and shook him. He didn’t respond although I could still hear his labored breaths.
I dropped my forehead down onto his chest. “I will not lose you now. Your kingdom needs you. I need you.”
He seemed too weak to speak, but I refused to let him go. If he could not speak, allowing me to hear him as I did the servants, then I needed to connect directly with his mind. I needed to communicate with him as I did with Lily. I had no idea if such a thing were even possible, but I was determined to succeed.
I closed my eyes, and concentrated my mind. I could feel how much my powers of mental communication had grown in the last months, honed and strengthened by my time at the castle. I shaped my thoughts as I would do to send them to Lily, but instead of sending them out to her, I focused all my attention on Dominic. I breathed in the smell of him and felt his warmth beneath my hands and head. I thought of how he made me feel—infuriated and exhilarated, cherished and so alive. I reached into my dress and pulled out the rose he had given me. Somehow it had survived being stored in two different dresses now. It hadn’t even wilted—the last piece of our enchanted life at the castle, the deep color and the pure white of the spirals in the rose garden combined into a single blossom. I pressed it against his chest and sent my thoughts flying in his direction.
I felt my mind connect with the essence of him, so like to what I had always done with Lily, and yet so unlike at the same time. Her mind felt safe and familiar, at times like an extension of my own. His felt wild and barely tamed, full of pain and grief.
Dominic, I projected. I will not let you die.
Dimly I heard the arrival of Lily and Jon, and part of my mind knew they had pulled up my hands and were cutting the cord from my wrists. But I ignored them, too focused on my new connection with Dominic.
One of his hands twitched, and for a moment I thought his eyes would open, but he did not seem to have the strength.
How…how are you here, in my mind? he asked.
This is the connection I have with Lily, have always had with her. This is how I learned to hear you and the servants at the castle. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was cut off from her at the castle, and it made me angry and afraid.
No, Sophie. You have no need to apologize to me. We have both of us had our secrets. He paused. I know that you could never forgive me for mine. Could never…love me. But I want you to know that you have taught me so much. You have shown me what it is to love. And even if there was never hope for me to be freed from my curse, you have freed my kingdom, and that is enough.
The tears continued to pour down my cheeks as I stared at his still face. Saved your kingdom? What do you mean?
Somehow our connection seemed to give him a small burst of strength. He opened his eyes, the bright blue that had always captivated me, capturing me once again. He smiled. Didn’t you notice the snow melting? Or the wolves disappearing? Or all those guards I had with me?
I gasped. The people have returned?
They have returned–thanks to you.
But…I don’t understand. I was never able to figure out how to save them.
I already told you. You taught me to love. The people of Palinar were moved to a place of protection until their ruler could learn the true meaning of love. He paused as he drew a particularly labored breath. I did not understand self-sacrifice, or how to value myself last. And then you came. I should never have forced you to come as I did, and yet how could I regret it?
I felt his emotions wash over me, a wave of love so strong I could barely breathe. For a moment, I choked on my tears.
So, I was right. It was a protection not a curse on the people.
He grimaced. It was only the royal family who were cursed. Twice cursed in my case. But now you have freed my people from my curse. No one could have freed me, however. I see that now.
No! I projected, my hands clasping at his jacket. I cannot accept that. There must be a way to free you.
You must find my sister. She has been missing for more than three years now, but I cannot believe she is dead. Find her, and help her claim the throne. She has a good heart, like yours. She will make an excellent queen.
I shook him. And what of your heart?
It is yours. And you shall have to keep it safe for me when I am gone.
I don’t want you to leave, I sobbed.
He went so still that I feared he had died, but then he breathed again, and me along with him. You would not feel that way if you could see what I have done. And you should see it, it is only right.
I felt his mind wrap itself around mine in a way I had never experienced before. And then in my mind’s eye I could see a series of memories, as vividly as if they were my own. I saw King Nicolas, exactly as his portrait had shown him, strike down villager after villager.
I whimpered at the sight. So, Dominic had been there. I wanted to cover my eyes, but the images were in my mind, and I could not turn them off. Thankfully Dominic had looked away after a few moments, but his feelings from the time continued to assail me.
Shock at his father’s actions, anger that he would attack unarmed people in such a way, and underneath it, fear at where his father’s rage might be directed next. And over all of it, confusion. It didn’t seem just, what his father was doing. But wasn’t it a ruler’s right to do with his people what he willed? They all of them lived to serve him, did they not?
I could feel his revulsion, his urge to intervene, and his shame that he did not. And then Dominic spoke over the top of the memory. I was there, Sophie. I stood by and let him kill all those people, even the babies. I said nothing. I did nothing.
I remained silent, too overwhelmed to speak.
It gets worse, he projected. I wish I did not have to show you, but it is the only way for you to understand.
The memories shifted, and I saw the palace as it had been more than three years ago, shining and full of people. The servants scattered before the king as he strode through the corridors, and I knew—as seventeen-year-old Dominic had known—that news of the king’s massacre had preceded them to the palace. By the time they approached the royal wing, not a single servant was anywhere to be seen or heard.
King Nicolas made no comment, his face cold and detached. Until Queen Ruby appeared at the top of the stairs. Dominic’s shame returned at the sight of his mother’s ashen face, and the way she met his eyes only to quickly look away. His mother would have at least tried to intervene. He knew it. She did not believe the people lived to serve them.
A spasm passed over the king’s expression. I could not have guessed at its meaning, but the young Dominic interpreted it as a sign of the king’s emotions for his wife. Of his love. Except that over the top of that sensation, I could feel Dominic’s current opinion. It had not been love. His father had not known how to love. He had valued his wife because she was beautiful, and because at times the people’s love for her had been useful. But he did not love her.
What have you done? asked the queen in Dominic’s memory. Tell me it isn’t true. It cannot be true!
They defied me. All of them. They got only what they deserved. The king attempted to brush past his wife, but she clutched at his sleeve.
Even the babies? she whispered, horror in her eyes.
King Nicolas turned on her, anger transforming his features. How dare you question me? He raised his hand and hit her, hard, across the face. She fell backwards, losing her footing and tumbling down the long flight of marble stairs.
A young girl whose presence Dominic had not even noticed, ran forward and grabbed blindly at her father’s jacket, attempting to shake him, despite his solid bulk and her slender frame. How could you? she screamed.
Her father, for it was Princess Adelaide, raised his hand as if to strike her, too. But, quick as a flash, Dominic interposed himself between them, catching his father’s wrist. For a moment, the two men stood facing one another, both of their chests heaving. And then all three of them looked down to the bottom of the stairs. The queen lay completely still, and Dominic’s certainty of her death washed over me.
I gave a gasping sob, overwhelmed with the horror of his memories. But they did not stop.
I felt the young Dominic’s determination to push his father down after his mother. But before he could do so, a flash of light blinded him. When his sight slowly returned, a figure he had never seen before stood at the top of the stairs. All three royals stared at the woman I recognized as a godmother. And yet, despite similar features, including the gray hair, the woman looked nothing like the godmothers I had seen. Instead of a humorous affection, almost grandmotherly in nature, this being radiated wrath and power.
Dominic and Adelaide drew back, the princess clinging to her brother, but their father stood his ground. A thunderous rage built in his face as he listened to her words.
The godmother rebuked him for his actions and for the evil he had brought to his kingdom. Young Dominic’s confusion made me wonder what royals were taught about the godmothers in these lands. Didn’t he know that the rulers were responsible for the prosperity of their kingdoms? Why else would the godmothers go to such lengths to ensure true love ruled?
King Nicolas had just demonstrated that no love remained in his heart. Dominic should not have been surprised to find a godmother intervening before he brought about the complete destruction of his kingdom.
She explained the protection that had been placed on the people of Palinar, and the conditions for it to be lifted.
How dare you seek to work against me? the king raged at her in the memory. And then he actually lunged forward to strike the godmother as he had just done to his wife.
The godmother, sadness on her face, stepped back to avoid him. And it seemed, in his anger, the king had forgotten who he dealt with. The winged woman’s steps took her from the top of the steps into the air, and the king’s momentum caused him to lunge head first down the stairs. Within seconds, his broken body lay motionless next to the queen’s.
Dominic and Adelaide retreated another step, their eyes now on the hovering godmother. She looked at them both and sighed. There was always hope, she said, although I did not entertain much. And now the burden of freeing your people will fall on you, young prince. I hope you will prove a more worthy student of love than your father. And she was gone.
But the younger Dominic knew only the pride his position had taught him and the anger toward his father which had been whipped now into a rage so burning hot that there was room for nothing else.
I did not know what love meant, though my mother had tried to model it to me, Dominic whispered in my mind. My exile at the castle calmed me somewhat, but it was only in watching you, that I began to remember the lessons of my mother, so different from those of my father.
My heart ached for him. I could not imagine growing up without my father’s love. It had been an anchor for Lily and me during the years that our mother had been distant from us.
A succession of short memories flashed through my mind. An angry Dominic, eaten up by guilt and shame and grief, roamed the castle, rejecting his sister’s attempts to speak with him. It wasn’t until a week after their parents’ death that he realized he hadn’t even seen her in days. He searched the castle for her, but could find no sign of the thirteen-year-old. Fear gripped him, and he called on the godmother he had so recently seen for the first time.
To his surprise, and mine, she actually came. This time she looked more like the godmothers I had met, her no-nonsense air obscuring an underlying vein of sympathy. Princess Adelaide is gone from here. She is no longer your concern.
He pressed her for more information, and she placed her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes. You have a whole kingdom of people who are your responsibility, young prince. What thought have you given to them? I had hoped that you might take my words to heart, and yet so far you have shown too much selfishness even to consider your own sister.
What consideration—or love—can I show to my people when they have all of them disappeared to a place where I can neither see nor hear them? he asked, angered by her rebuke.
She sighed. You are not your father, and you have not yet committed his crimes, though you bear the responsibility for correcting them. I can give you some assistance, but it will come at a price.
A price? I could feel the injured pride in his memory, that this unknown woman should dictate such terms to a prince of Palinar. Why should I pay a price?
For a moment, the wrath she had shown toward King Nicolas reflected from her eyes. Inside you are in danger of becoming more beast than man, young prince. As your father was before you. Perhaps if you see this reality always before your eyes, you will be spurred to consider your responsibilities toward those in your care.
As for my offered assistance, you will now find yourself able to see your subjects. But the only ones you will be able to hear are your own personal servants.
But my servants all reside at my castle.
And that is where you also will be confined. So often you have retreated there—now you must remain there until you are ready to step out and take up the mantle of kingship. If you step outside the grounds while your curse remains, you will be struck with a deadly illness.
A terrible, grinding pain ripped through the memory, as Dominic’s body transformed into the Beast. He opened his mouth to protest, but only a growl emerged.
You must transform your insides back into a man again, she had cautioned him. Because only when you have so completely transformed yourself that a woman will value you enough to marry you, despite your beastly state, will you be free.
The memory died away, and I could once again only feel Dominic’s current emotions. The strength of his mind seemed to be weakening, and I desperately tried to cling to our connection.
I heard you, back at the castle, he told me, and I frowned in confusion at the change of topic. I had come to find you, to give you the rose and wish you farewell. But I heard what you said to the servants. How you could never love a man who stood by and became a part of his father’s evil. I know you could never love me.
My eyes widened. Oh, but…How to explain to him that I had been ready to forgive Cole until he proved himself just as evil as his father. I had only said that because I could not tell them the whole truth.
When I discovered Cole had escaped, I knew instantly that something was wrong, and that I must pursue you. Must protect you from him. It did not even enter my consideration that such a course of action would mean my death. I only hoped I could retain my strength long enough to save you. His voice filled with wonder. And then, as I traveled, I began to hear flashes of my people around me. By the time I reached the garrison of guards inside the gates, I could hear them clearly. A good thing since I needed them to follow me straight into action.
As I grew closer to you, as you helped me change, the protection had begun to weaken. But only when I was truly ready to sacrifice myself did it entirely lift. He shook his head weakly. I did not realize that self-sacrifice would be so easy. When I thought of you in Cole’s hands, it was no decision at all.
You’re right, I projected, staring into his eyes. It is too easy.
His brow wrinkled, his eyes narrowing in surprise.
Dying is far too easy. If you wish to prove your ability to love, you must go on living and show that you can sacrifice every day, in the small things as well as the big.
I would live if I could, he projected. Even though I would never see you again. Merely to be in the same world with you would be enough.
The tears flowed unheeded down my face, as I knelt over him. It is evening, Dominic, and you have not yet asked me your nightly question.
He reached up a hand to stroke the side of my face. I do not deserve you.
I don’t care what you deserve. I gripped his jacket with both hands and leaned closer. Ask me.
The fading light in his eyes rekindled for the briefest moment. Will you…His chest stilled, and I stopped breathing until his own labored breaths began again. Will you marry me in the morning, my love?
“Yes! Yes!” I spoke the words aloud as well as in my mind, in case it made a difference. “I will engage myself to you in truth this time, Dominic, and I will marry you in the morning, or any day you like. Just don’t die!”
Amazement transformed his face, as he covered one of my hands with his own much larger one. But, why, Sophie? Why would you marry a beast like me?
I stared at him. There were so many ways I could answer that. So many reasons I had been wrong, and he wasn’t a monster. But every moment he grew weaker. I decided to give the simplest answer possible.
Because I love you, Dominic.
An exhalation, half cry, half groan broke from him, and his whole body began to shake. I fell back from him. Light roiled across his hands and his features, making it impossible to see through to his face underneath. His loud roar sounded all around me, only to be suddenly cut off.
The light faded, and his shaking stilled. Dominic looked up at me out of the face from the portrait, aged slightly, but easily recognizable. He pulled himself into a sitting position, gathered me into his lap, and lowered his face to mine, our lips so close that I couldn’t be sure whether they actually touched or not. He paused there, and heat rushed through me as I remembered our previous almost-kiss.
His hand reached out to stroke my hair as we hung in that moment, consumed by memories and shaken by love. I had known then that I wanted his kiss, but not why. I knew now that I wanted not only his kiss but his forever, too. We both moved at the same time, pressing our lips together as we clung to each other in joy.