Page 153 of Beast and Remedy
I will be losing sleep over the next coming days to finish these stories fast so I can visit you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Rosebud
33
Hugs and Love
Marian and Leo curve into one another as we all walk to our sleeping quarters, talking about who has the better shot and swearing that, the next time they go practice, the other will prove them wrong.
Beau and I linger a few steps behind Jules, Christine, and Marcel. I want to do the same as my sister, but instead, I’m squeezing my thighs and clutching onto his tunic sleeve.
My arousal grows with each step, and Beau eases closer to me like he also struggles to restrain himself.
Everyone stops near the first set of doors, taking turns hugging as Leo suggests, “We should leave at first light.”
“We should leave when we all wake,” Christine argues as she smooths out the wrinkles in her shirt.
“If that is the case, we won’t leave until nightfall,” Marcel teases.
Jules suppresses a laugh, and Christine rolls her eyes before facing her oldest brother and me.
“What do you think?”
Beau runs a hand through his hair, glancing at me. “Did you get any information from the princess?”
All my friends turn, and I press my lips together, not wanting to give them any false hope.
I clear my throat. “I didn’t get my chance to ask her much, let alone ask her if she could look into anything for me.”
Christine sighs. “The secrecy behind magic is ridiculous.”
I reason with her. “It’s a secret because kingdoms could take over each other if they knew what abilities the other territories had. And that’s not what the Makers ever want for Draymenk.”
“And how do weknowthat’s not what they want?” Marian challenges. “Maybe they do want us to fight and merge regions. I mean, Palaena did it, and there was no war.”
“I think you are forgetting the part where Queen Tove almost died because of the fight that broke out.” Beau’s voice turns stern and serious. “Plus, her mother arranged for her to marry Jerrick.”
My sister crosses her arms. “But why? Was the late Queen Asta or her husband a seer?”
Beau shrugs. “I don’t know.”
Marian waves. “Exactly, so if you don’t know, then why all the secrecy? Everyone is starting to know of your abilities like Queen Tove’s. Soon enough they’ll learn of Vi’s, and King Jerrick’s, and Unterkirch’s, and Northtry’s.”
A shiver skates down my spine. The small fear of divulging my abilities might lead to someone overpowering me and takingover my kingdom like how the Makers tried to warn us about. And here I went and told Sybille of my gifts before she even confirmed her own.
Could the princess be playing me? Could she have manipulated everything to work for a future she saw?
The pit in my stomach deepens.
“I’m open about mine because I use mine to help others and feed my magic the knowledge it needs to remain useful. But I cannot speak for Vi’s or anyone else’s magic,” Beau says, pulling me from the worry clouding my mind.
“Magic,” Marian scoffs. “The entire thing is ridiculous like Christine said. I hate it.”
My heart sinks. She never once believed that. Not when we were kids.
“Marian, you can’t mean—”
