Page 40 of Ash and Roses

I point to the board of knives and flash him a smile. “Try anything and I won’t hesitate to stab you.”

He laughs at that, and I think it’s the first genuine laugh I’ve heard from him. “I actually believe you would try.” He moves to the armchair by the fire and props the pillow against the wall, leaning his head against it to hold it in place. It looks far from comfortable, but if he’s anywhere close to as tired as he looks, then I’m fully confident that sleep will find him eventually.

I crawl under the blankets and make myself as comfortable as possible. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit awkward having him in here with me. We’re hardly better than strangers—even with all the bickering since my arrival—but tonight we share a bond. Alone in this castle, both plagued by sleepless nights. I wonder what he dreams about. I don’t want to think about how many nights he’s spent alone here, forced to watch his people transform into beasts, to hear their cries of agony turn into howls.

‘My curse is different.’ I think about his words and the meaning behind them. Having to witness this again and again, month after month, would weigh on a person. I called him an absent prince, and although that might be true, he wouldn’t be tormented so if he didn’t care about his people. I’m willing to admit that I may have misjudged him to some degree, but the fact remains that he’s hiding something…

And I’m going to do whatever it takes to find out what that is.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

QUINN

Avoice reaches me, muffled and distant. I ignore it, but each time it calls my name, it draws me closer until I can no longer keep my eyes shut tight. They spring open, and a familiar face fills my vision. My breath catches and my heart nearly stops. “Evan? How are you here? I thought you were dead.”

My brother’s expression shifts from mildly annoyed to one of full confusion. “Are you mad? Of course I’m not dead. Get your ass out of bed. Father wants us in the throne room.”

Father? But… That can’t be right. Something about this place is wrong. It’s Rosewood castle, of that I’m certain, but the dust and shadow have turned into a bright haze. Where the light is coming from, I have no idea.

“Hurry up,” Evan says, and I leap to my feet. If I was asleep, I should need to get dressed, yet I’m already fully clothed. “Slept alone last night, did you? I was half expecting to find three different women in your bed.”

I punch him in the arm, and the impact feels solid, feels real. He knows full well that I’ve never bedded three at one time… but two? I believe that did happen once. It probably says something about me I can’t remember, though I don’t remember much of anything right now. Why did I think Evan was dead?

We enter the throne room to find my father seated on his throne with my mother’s empty beside him. He’d said no other woman would sit there so long as he was alive. “What’s going on?” I ask.

Evan answers with a long, shushing sound. “We have visitors.”

“Visitors?” Rosewood rarely has visitors. Especially before... Before what? Why can’t I remember?

“Quinn!”

I turn on my heel to the source of the joyous squeal, and my younger sister Kaylee skips towards me. Before I can even spread my arms, she wraps hers tight around my waist. She’s wearing her favourite blue and white gown, and something about it feels wrong. She must have loaned that dress to someone because when I look at her now, it’s not her face that I feel I should be seeing.

“Both of you, knock it off,” Evan warns. He’s the oldest and has always been the disciplinarian when our father couldn’t.

Before either of us can tease him, the main castle doors swing open and a hooded figure enters, each step clicking against the stone flooring. A servant scurries to them and the stranger slips off the cloak, revealing a dark purple and silver gown underneath which makes her blood-red hair stand out.

“A sorceress!” Kaylee whispers excitedly.

“How do you know she’s mageborn?” Evan asks her. He too must be curious about this woman if he’s risking whispering about her.

“Because I have eyes. If she’s not a sorceress, then I’m not a princess.” She’snota princess. Not really, anyway. Not by blood, but public opinion goes far.

Something about this sorceress seems so familiar to me, but I can’t place it. Still, a feeling of unease fills my belly, sloshing side to side as if I’d consumed far too much drink. While the stranger excites my siblings, I find myself wanting nothing to do with her. As if she could read my thoughts, she turns to me and violet eyes lock onto mine.

My pulse quickens, sending blood coursing through me. I know this woman. I may not remember how or why, but I know she’s someone to be feared. “Stop this,” I say loud enough for my father to hear. His age-tired eyes shift to me, but he says nothing. A high-pitched laugh fills my ears as the woman moves closer. This has all happened before, I’m sure of it, but this isn’t how it happened. “You’re not welcome here,” I tell her.

Her grin grows wider, showing off her perfect teeth. “Not welcome? That’s not what you told me.” She snaps her fingers and the scene changes. I’m back in my room, and the poison woman is with me.

“No. No, this is wrong.”

She presses a long, slender finger against my lips before dragging a pointed nail down them to my chin. I have no doubt that it would be sharp enough to slice through flesh if she so desired. “Don’t fight it, prince. You and I both know that’s not how this goes.”

I swallow back my fear. “This has happened before.”

“It has. This is but a memory. You cannot change the end result.”

For a split second, my vision fills with red. Blood coats the floor, the walls, the bed. In the time it takes to blink, the blood is gone. “Get out of my chambers.”

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