Page 61 of Beast of Blood and Roses
Beast slowly stepped back, but he looked like a pit bull ready to charge at the slightest provocation. “Fine.” He glared at Dad. “Don’t touch her.”
“I’m not the one who is threatening to kill her.” Dad straightened his sleeve with shaking fingers. “If you want to save Rosalie, you must give me The Witch’s Heart.”
My stomach plummeted to the floor. I thought of Tinker Bell, the curse eating away at Beast, that horrifying painting upstairs showing his transformation growing worse by the day. The Witch’s Heart was his only protection, his only hope of survival. How could I ask Beast to give up the one thing keeping him alive?
Beast went utterly still, the kind of stillness that preceded an explosion. “Trystan told you this directly?”
“Why would I lie?” Dad’s fingers found his throat, as if anticipating Beast’s attack. “I have no intention of dying for anyone, not even her.”
The casual dismissal of my life made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and goosebumps broke out all over my arms. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling suddenly cold.
“I’ve never known him to threaten an innocent.” Beast wrinkled his nose as if in disgust. “Sniveling cowards like you he kills by the dozen without a second thought.”
Dad’s composure wavered, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air. “How would you know? You don’t know Trystan like I do.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Beast’s lips pulled back in a snarl that revealed far too many teeth. “I know him very well.”
“Then you’ll know he’s deadly serious. He wants The Witch’s Heart and he’ll do anything to get it.” Dad’s gaze shifted between Beast and me, calculating and cold. “How much is my daughter worth to you? Is her life more valuable than that trinket around your neck?”
The words stung me like a hard slap, and a sickening feeling swirled in my stomach. Beast’s only salvation versus my life. The impossible choice stretched between us, tearing at my heart.
Beast’s hand moved to clasp The Witch’s Heart against his chest, and a faraway look filled his eyes, as if he was seeing all the possible futures this choice would create.
“Monsieur, you must not hand it over,” Marcel pleaded desperately, stepping forward with his hands raised. “Without it, you’ll be vulnerable again. The curse will?—”
But Beast’s gaze found mine, and everything else seemed to fade away. With deliberate, careful movements, he reached behind his neck and unclasped the leather cord. The Witch’s Heart seemed to pulse with one final beat of warmth before he placed it gently in my trembling hands.
“You’re more valuable than this,” he said quietly. “I would do anything to protect you.”
Something inside me cracked open at the quiet declaration. The gentle certainty in his manner, the way his eyes never wavered from mine—it was everything I’d never known I needed to hear. My father sat just feet away, but he might as well have been invisible. All I could see was Beast, this fierce, dangerous man who somehow saw worth in me that I’d never seen in myself.
I stared into his emerald eyes, searching for any trace of the monster I’d been told he was. He was ruthless—he’d even killed an innocent girl—but somehow I believed he’d changed. He cared about me. Fighting the wolf shifters to protect me, buying me clothes, even trying to bake me macarons despite his complete lack of skill, these weren’t the actions of a heartless killer. And now he was willing to give up the most valuable thing he owned.
Dad stuck out his hand impatiently, his fingers trembling slightly. “Give it to me now. My life depends on it, and so does yours.”
The impossible choice lay before me: leave Beast vulnerable to every magical threat, or save my father’s life.
The amulet felt impossibly heavy in my hands. Give it to Dad and leave Beast defenseless, or keep it and watch my father die. Neither choice felt right, but I couldn't let Trystan kill us both.
My heart raced as I made my decision. Beast had protected me from so many threats, now maybe I could shield him from Tinker Bell and the dangers ahead. My magic was growing stronger. I just hoped I wasn’t making a deadly mistake as I placed the warm amulet in my father’s outstretched palm.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Rosalie
“Give it to me.” Dad ripped the amulet out of my hands before I could even react, his fingers rough and greedy.
The familiar sting of his selfishness hit me harder than the feeling of his nails scraping my palm. This was exactly who he’d always been—taking what he wanted without a thought for anyone else, not even a thank you for what I’d just sacrificed.
“Dad, I—” But the words died on my lips as he turned away from me, dismissing my existence now that he had what he needed.
A loud pop reverberated around the room like a gunshot, the sound so powerful it seemed to shake the very air. The force of it knocked me backward, my feet leaving the ground for a terrifying moment. Beast immediately caught me, his strong arms pulling me against his chest protectively.
The magical shockwave sent Marcel and Colette flying into the far wall with sickening thuds. Colette criedout as she hit the plaster hard, crumpling to the floor. Marcel groaned, trying to push himself up on his elbows, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead.
“Oh god!” I started toward them, but my legs felt like jelly. Marcel was bleeding, and Colette wasn’t moving. What had I done?
An eerie golden aura began to glow around my dad, growing brighter by the second. His entire posture changed—straighter, more confident, predatory. When he looked at me, his eyes held a coldness that froze my blood.
