Page 44 of Legacy of Roses

She stared back at him, seeming momentarily bereft of words.

“Rosalie?” he prompted, and she blinked, breaking eye contact.

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered. She shook off his hands, and he reluctantly let them drop.

“It matters to me,” he said firmly. “Please tell me. You say Jace is a bigger threat than I realize—convince me!”

As he had hoped, that proved an irresistible lure. The light in her eyes fired up again, and she immediately responded.

“He’s already taken steps to entrap my family. He’s not going to change his mind because he heard rumors you were flirting with Blythe!”

“Your family?” Dimitri’s hand strayed to the hilt of his sword before he realized what he was doing. “What has Jace done to your family?” The words came out as a growl, but he didn’t try to take them back.

Rosalie grimaced, realizing the trap she’d fallen into.

“Look,” she said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you. You should just stay out of it.”

His eyebrows rose. “Nothing to do with me? Isn’t my coming here the cause of all this? Of course it has to do with me.”

Rosalie groaned. “Fine! My brothers did something very foolish and got themselves into debt. Somehow Jace found out and has bought the debt. He’s threatening to have them arrested unless they can repay the full amount in three days—which we can’t.”

“What?” Dimitri’s anger rose. “Why?”

Hadn’t Jace already hurt Rosalie’s family enough? What did he stand to gain by such behavior?

Rosalie slumped, her voice dropping so low he could barely hear it. “He’s told them he’ll forgive them the entire debt if they bring him a rose from your garden.”

Dimitri’s muscles tightened, his hand clenching on the sword hilt. He’d been right. It did have to do with him. A thought occurred to him, and his brows lowered.

“And your brothers were the ones to tell you about Jace’s demands? He didn’t accost you again?”

Rosalie shifted uncomfortably, an expression that looked too much like fear flitting across her face.

“We had…words on my way here.”

“I think I need to havewordswith Jace,” Dimitri growled.

Rosalie’s hand flew to grasp his right arm, making his muscles jump.

“No, no!” she cried. “You mustn’t go looking for him. That will only make everything worse.”

Logically, Dimitri knew she was right. Jace had a whole gang of men, for one thing, while he was alone. But it was still hard to beat back the anger pulsing through him. Ever since he had arrived at the manor, it felt as if his life had become a game. He was sick of being a pawn in the middle of the board while shadowy figures chose the moves. If this was what it meant to live in Glandore, then perhaps his mother had been right about the Legacy.

Except running away hadn’t been a solution either. There had to be another way. A way for them to be the players instead of the played.

A thought hit him with enough force that he gasped aloud.

“What?” Rosalie asked.

He gripped one of her arms again, hardly even noticing the gesture as excitement coursed through him.

“What if we do what Jace wants?” he asked.

Rosalie stared at him with a look that said her patience was running out.

“You think we should just allow ourselves to be victimized by the Legacy so Jace can profit?” she asked.

Dimitri shook his head. “No, the opposite. I want us to stop being victims. You’ve spent your whole life fighting against the path the Legacy is trying to force on you. But what if we do the opposite? What if we embrace it? The historical merchant’s daughter and her family had a happy ending, remember.”

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