Page 35 of The Botanist and the Beast

"Where have you been?" He swept his eyes over Theo's body.

"Just looking at the snow since I've never seen anything like it."

"Right." He reached up and plucked a tuft of fur off Theo's shoulder and examined it. He gave a dry laugh and shook his head. "Be careful, ward. Know your place."

"I believe my place is next to the prince, so if you excuse me." Theo rolled his eyes and brushed past him. He was irritated the whole walk back, but as soon as he entered the suite, he forgot about Lyle. Sebastian was by the door in his own black silky pajama pants and nothing else. He held out a stack of folded wool sleepwear to Theo.

"Put these on and then come sit by the fire in my room."

Theo quickly did as he was told and found Sebastian sitting on a thick fur blanket in front of his fireplace. He patted the floor next to him. "Come warm up. You shouldn't' get sick. We don't have great remedies for humans here."

"This is cozy," Theo said as he settled in at his side. He glanced at Sebastian whose eyes looked heavy with sleep. "Tired?"

"A bit." He yawned. "I usually take a nap before I come back but obviously that didn't happen."

"You didn't sleep when I did?"

"I wanted to keep watch over you," he said, closing his eyes. "It's fine, though. I'll nap after the fire goes out."

"You wanted to watch over me?" Theo repeated and Sebastian gave a sleepy sound of affirmation.He's definitely half asleep."You made fire for me, right? I'll watch it, take a rest."

"I'll just sleep for a little bit. Just a quick nap," he said, lying down and curling into himself, more like a leopard than a man.

"Right," Theo said, chuckling. He sat staring at the flames.I should be looking for my bow and arrow while he sleeps or trying to think of a way out. I need to go home.

Sebastian crawled over in his sleep and laid his head in Theo's lap as if it was a pillow. He pulled his tail up to his own chest and bit down on the tip of it. He snored slightly and every exhale he let out a small purr.

A cat if I ever saw one.A surge of butterflies hit his stomach, but they were quickly drowned out by a pool of guilt. It doesn't matter how I feel, I have to go home. I need to go back to my sisters. They need me. I know that.

Theo let his fingers lightly brush against those gentle waves of iridescent hair in the firelight.

It's foolish to want this, isn't it?

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Many citizens had their roofs weakened in town," the prince said as he held a meeting in the days after the storm. "They could use some assistance, so I need people willing to go help. Jacques, do you know if we have enough wood to rebuild some roofs near the edge of town?"

"Not sure but I can go check," he said, getting to his feet and motioning for some other guards at the end of the table to follow him. "Can you come with me? It'll make the counting go by faster."

"Sebastian, we need to make up the hunting day we missed," Oliver said after he kissed Jacques's hand goodbye. "Surprisingly, we aren't as far behind as I thought, but it's still a good idea to get back out there."

"Can I help with the hunt?" Theo offered.

"Great idea," Henri said, brightening. He sat across from Theo and leaned back in his chair so it balanced on its back two legs. "I'd like to see how a human handles himself out there."

"I don't think it's much different from nymphs," Theo said, thinking it over. "I'm weaker but everything else is the same."

"Perhaps," Sebastian said, tilting his head and thinking it over. "I don't want you hurt so allow me some time to consider it."

"You're worried about the human getting hurt?" Lyle scoffed. "He's a grown man. He should be out helping."

The door to the kitchen burst open, interrupting whatever else Lyle had to say. "Here, you all should drink some brothto stay warm during your meeting," Collette said cheerily. Her husband Marcel followed behind her with a cart of mugs and a large pot of hot broth. She ladled some broth into a mug and put it in front of Sebastian before he could protest.

"Honey?" Marcel said, pushing the cart slightly forward. "In the kitchen I—"

Before he finished a blinding magenta light flooded the room. It appeared so abruptly, it was like a noiseless bomb had gone off. The room shook as if struck by a sudden earthquake. Theo's eyes burned as if he had looked into the sun.

Fueled by pain and panic, he jumped to his feet, stumbled back, and crashed to the floor. He rubbed his eyes and just as he worried he wouldn't be able to see again the spots faded. Across the table was a horrifying sight.

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