Page 200 of Beast and Remedy
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” I huff a laugh, lying about a truth as true as my hair color and my heating cheeks.
“Come on, Vi. You think I didn’t catch the contraceptive ingredients you collected during our trip?”
“What are you talking about? I only gathered stuff for our cycles—”
“I make the same brew for Christine and me all the time. I would recognize those ingredients anywhere.”
I try to brush off her insinuation. “Maybe I was making it for Marian. I mean, come on, Beau and I can’t—”
Jules slaps her palm on the table, and I jolt.
“Don’t deny it, Vi. I’ve seen you two.”
My face falls, and it’s the brief falter in my expression that spreads her lips into a grin of pure victory.
Lowering my pestle, I twist to her. “Wh-When—what did you see?”
Jules kicks back in the chair, the two front legs lifting off the floor. She shrugs like she doesn’t know whether to share what she knows or keep it to herself.
“What did you see?” I demand.
She levels her brown almond eyes with mine. “It was ages ago, before your father banished us.”
“And you just now thought to tell me you’ve known this whole time?”
She snorts. “I thought you would have picked up on me trying to get the two of you together.”
I balk. “What?”
“Why do you think we all try to leave the two of you alone?”
Surprise ripples through me as I blink rapidly. “Everyoneknows?”
“Well, Marcel, Christine, and I know,” she says, completely untroubled before she adds, “Oh, and I’m sure Leo knows, too.”
Disbelief and utter shock have me slumping, wanting to bury my head and hide.
If they know, who else knows? And if Jules caught on when we were younger, does that mean we weren’t hiding it as well as we thought?
“Does Marian know?” Jules asks.
I fidget with my hands, my voice barely a whisper. “No. I’ve never told anyone.”
I wish I was shocked and relieved of someone finally knowing about Beau and me. Yet hopelessness, heartbreak, and sorrow awaken in my heart.
“And—” My lip trembles, unable to hide anymore. “And I’ve ruined everything.”
A choked sob escapes, and I cover my face, the swell of heartbreak erupting and my magic whimpering inside. I let the damning pain, the festering guilt, and the distressing anguish unravel again.
Arms wrap around me, and I shudder as she rubs my back.
With all my heart—all mysoul—I wish I could smell his addictive citrus scent.
Taste the sweetness of his kiss.
Touch the smooth and rough parts of his skin.
Hear his steady, calming heartbeat match mine.
