Page 236 of Beast and Remedy
Instead of responding, he asks Beau, “How long?”
I study them, Beau’s expression filling with regret. “If I stop the healing sessions and stop administering the fake cure…” He takes a long breath, then exhales. “Not much longer.”
“P-P-Papa?” Marian stutters, before she thrashes, rage escaping. “You can’t believe him! Don’t listen to him! He’s lying. Don’t believe him. Don’t believe anyone but me.”
My father’s anger, resentment, and remorse strain his features as he lowers his voice. “There will be no trial and no execution.”
Marian relaxes with relief. “I love you, Papa.”
“But you will live with the consequences of your actions.”
She gawks, blinking rapidly. “I didn’t do anything—”
“From this moment until your last, you will live with the infection you started and relied on so many others to fix. You will not be given any more healing sessions, any more tonics, and nothing even close to the cure. You will be alone, forced to experience the doom you brought not only to your kingdom but to your family,” he vows, shocking me.
He hunches forward, eyeing her before continuing, “You will feel your emotions run rampant, feel the control you had of your thoughts run wild, and feel the awareness of your situation settle deeper into your decaying mind. And you will realize even your slow and painful death will be only a fraction of what you deserve for trying to change the fates of the Makers and ruin your own family.”
Without another word or hesitation, my father strides for the exit.
His judgment fills the area as Jerrick looks at Beau before nodding and leaving.
My mind swirls with different ways to approach the rest of this moment, but I can’t bear to speak to her. I lower my head and have Leo help me leave.
Marian laughs again as the guard eases the cell door closed. “You have no idea what is coming. You aren’t cut out for it!”
She isn’t herself. She hasn’t been for a while, and she’ll never be the sister I loved ever again.
Our padded footsteps echo in the dungeon, and she hollers, “Be careful in the shadows!”
I stop.
The group halts, everyone peering back and staring at me.
Jerrick arches a brow. “What does that mean?”
Anxiety laces around my heart. The same phrase repeated from three different people.
“Vi?” Papa asks me.
The sudden tenderness in his voice drags me down. My heart thuds loud in my ears, my mind racing with the warning I cannot seem to discover the right answer to.
“I-I-I don’t know,” I admit, no longer wishing to dwell on the words. “But we need to get the cure dispersed immediately.”
“Let’s meet in the drawing room,” Beau suggests, and turns to my father, Jerrick, and Tove. “Would you be willing to stay? Queen Verena and King Vinzent needed to leave, but if we can iron out more details about the cure, they—”
“Let’s go,” Papa grumbles.
Jerrick and Tove share an exchange before they agree. “We’ll stay.”
Beau gestures for them to leave first, followed by Marcel. Leo and I stride forward and are stopped by my father.
“I’d like to take my daughter from here.”
Leo eyes me warily, reluctantly allowing my father to fill his place as he follows Marcel, leaving me alone with Papa and Beau.
Palpable tension stretches between us, and Papa lowers his voice, a tenderness seeping through. “Thank you for letting me decide her fate.”
“It’s whatclosefriends do,” Beau replies, and my eyes widen at his insinuation.
