Page 68 of The Botanist and the Beast

"I want to share your truth with you first. If after what I show you, you still want to save them, I will help you. Deal?"

"Deal," Theo said without hesitation.Whatever it takes, I'm going to figure it out for them. For Sebastian.

Veil waved a hand and the plants parted, showing the kingdom from another time. There was no snow, but the greenery was all wilted and dying.

Theo followed Veil to the top of a grassy mountain side. After walking a ways, Theo was brought to the mouth of a cave ,hidden on the side of the mountain he would've missed it entirely if Veil hadn't guided him.

He furrowed his brow as he looked around. "I think I've been here before."

"You have," Veil said, nodding for Theo to follow him into the same cave Sebastian and Theo would hide away in a decade later. Inside was a man and woman in a heated argument. "Watch and listen."

Theo quickly pieced together who one of the people was.

The man before him was Sebastian's father. He looked like a much older Sebastian with dark hair and golden eyes that reminded Theo of embers. He glared at the woman before him with pure hatred.

The woman who glared right back was strikingly pretty. Her skin was the color of sand dunes, her long curls were the color of black dahlias, and her rich green eyes matched the leaves of cedars in summer.

"What have you done?" she snapped. "You had a kingdom that wanted for nothing. This place stayed in the grow season all year round and you still demanded more. Now the heart is cracked because of your greed."

"If I harness its power, my rule is solidified indefinitely." He held out a chunk of white crystal that had a fading red light in its center. "Show me how to use it. There has to be a way to make the lands prosperousness mine to control. I want to dictate which areas go into the grow season and for how long."

"I can't," she said through gritted teeth.

"Wynter, this is not a request. Have you forgotten are arrangement? You do what I say without question and I leave your brother alone."

"Wynter?" Theo said softly to himself as he realized he was looking allegedly at the one who broke the heart and cursed this place. His stomach twisted as he looked closer at her face. Just as the king looked like Sebastian but with darker features, Wynter looked familiar. There were subtle hints of his own face in hers, and her voice sounded vaguely familiar as if he only heard it inmemories he couldn't quite reach. "Is what I'm seeing really the truth?" he asked Veil softly.

"It is." Veil held his arms behind his back and watched emotionless.

"Even if I wanted to help you, I can't," Wynter went on. "No one can except the veil itself. A gift from the veil is just that. A gift. Because you disrespected it, this place will now follow the same seasonal cycle as the rest of the veil. It will be a period of decay for a while, but everything will go back to being stable soon. You should warn everyone and beg them to forgive you for their temporary hardship."

The king smiled and snapped his fingers. Guards entered the cave, walking through Theo as if he was made of air and descended onto Wynter. She fought but the group overpowered her. They wrapped her in magic chains that drained her energy, and she dropped to her knees.

"You're the one that broke it as far as I'm concerned." The king knelt and gripped her hands so tight she winced. "You will either teach me to wield it, wield it for me, or fall for your crimes. Your choice."

"I can't teach or do the impossible."

"Then give me you."

"Not this again." She scowled and rolled her eyes.

"With you by my side, and the offspring we'd have, the heart won't be necessary. You will be my heart. The land will provide and take at our discretion. Our children will dominate the veil for generations."

"I already told you I won't be with you," she said coldly. "I am no more your Chosen than your current queen. I don't wish her fate on me or anyone else."

"You think you're too good for me?" the king bellowed.

"I know I am."

Rage flashed on the king's face and he reared back one hand and slapped her hard across the face.

The crack echoed off the walls and Veil, who hadn't moved this whole time, flinched.

Wynter let out a shocked laugh and shook her head. A bruise was already forming on her cheek. "Hurt me all you want. My answer isn't changing."

"Have it your way." He held her tight, and his palms ignited an angry orange. Wynter's anguished screams traveled up to the stars.

After what felt like ages, the flames finally went out. Wynter's arms were red and blistered. Her body shook with pain, but she still glared up at him as she spoke.

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