Page 140 of Oath of Revenge

“Pop the cork and pour it down his throat. Gently, don’t choke him,” Bella coaxed.

Scarlet’s movements were jerky, but she pushed his chin down and slowly poured the liquid inside. She closed his mouth, and saw magic glow down his throat and spread through his torso. His chest rose deeper than before. She held a hand on him, feeling pieces of glass and slowly picking each one out as she came to it.

“Thank you for removing the glass,” Bella said softly.

“It’s not the first time I’ve patched him up.”

“How long have you been together? How did you meet?” Bella asked, sinking to the floor and wrapping her arms around her legs.

As she worked, Scarlet told her how they’d met and everything that led them to this point. Wulfric didn’t move when she took out the biggest piece and blood gushed from the open wound. The glow in his torso spread to the hole, blazing brighter before fading away.

Bella hissed. “I didn’t pack a needle to sew that up.”

Scarlet shook her head. “He won’t need it sewn. He’ll self-heal once it’s wrapped.” She reached for the gauze and unrolled it.

“I—I didn’t know Growlers could do that, but it makes sense. And to think, he’s been alive this whole time, and I didn’t know. How different things might’ve turned out if I’d known…” Bella’s voice trailed off as Scarlet worked.

She monitored Wulfric’s chest and breathed easier to see him grow stronger.

“What happened here? Why was a mirror trying to suck you in?” She waved a hand to the destruction all around them.

Bella sat back on her haunches. “The wizard showed up and wanted to trap me in the mirror instead of waiting for me to die with the rose. He said the mirror would keep me from making trouble.”

Bella’s voice shook, but Scarlet couldn’t tell if it was anger or fear. Scarlet’s own hands had steadied the more she worked on the task. The silence settled between them, a gentle breeze from outside the broken windows lifting the hairs off the nape.

Finally, Scarlet sighed and wiped her forehead with the back of her bloodied hand, all the glass she could see or feel removed from his body. If she was going to make a real life with Wulfric, that meant making her peace with his daughter.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier,” Scarlet said, not making eye contact with Bella.

There was a heavy pause, then Bella replied, “It’s alright. I don’t blame you at all. For snapping or for any of the rest of it. It’s my fault. Mine and Gastone’s and the wizard’s…”

Bella tensed and looked around. “The wizard set the mirror trap. He might come back, if he can sense it broke like he sensed the shadow daemon’s death. You need to leave.”

Scarlet nodded, not moving from Wulfric’s side. “We have two horses somewhere, but you know he’s not going to just leave you here.”

Bella frowned and looked down at her father. The longing on her face twisted Scarlet’s stomach and made her ache for her own father.

Scarlet’s voice was small, barely a whisper. “If I had a chance to spend more time with my Pa, I would take it, no questions asked.”

Bella bit her lip and nodded. “I know, but I’m tied to the rose. I haven’t been able to leave the castle walls because of it and the shadow monster.”

Scarlet waved a hand. “We already dealt with that thing, and the rose is in a pot, isn’t it? Easy enough to take with us.”

For the first time, Bella’s eyes brightened in hope and slowly, she nodded.

“I need to pack some books too,” Bella said as she stood and brushed out her skirts, her body almost vibrating at the idea of leaving.

“You go, and I’ll watch him. And Bella? Yell if the wizard comes back. You knew he’d returned earlier, didn’t you.”

It wasn’t a question. Scarlet had seen the way she’d tensed at the window, the way she’d dismissed them. She’d originally thought Bella had just needed some time away from telling the story and reliving the memories, but instead, she’d opted to try fighting the wizard on her own.

Bella nodded, glancing away from guilt. “Yes, I knew, just like I knew he’d hurt you both. He can’t kill me outright, not in this form. But he can you two, and I wouldn’t risk that.”

Scarlet felt a knot in her stomach ease as Bella walked through the door. Perhaps the queen wasn’t so evil after all.

Chapter 47

Wulfric groaned and blinked, pain shooting through his body with every breath. He was getting too old to wake up with so much pain all the time.

---