Page 238 of Beast and Remedy
My father turns to him, scathing and furious. “Why?”
“Because the medicine needs my blood and your daughter’s.”
Papa seethes, his jaw working, before he glares at me. “Is this true?”
I hesitate before nodding, unsure of what my father plans to do.
He’s already grieved the loss of Mama. Now it’s Marian. And me.
“And I’d like to discuss the terms regarding the relationship between Belmur and Torgem,” Beau adds, directing Papa’s temper to him rather than me.
I want to tell Beau that asking my father to lift his banishment and revisit our kingdom’s old alliance is a dream. A wish that will never come true.
Papa’s pride and stubbornness won’t let him acknowledge the mistake he made and profoundly believed for so long. Especially now.
My father’s eyes flare in outrage as he whirls on Beau. “And what else is it you wish to discuss,King Beauvais? Can’t you just leave us be?”
“I cannot,” Beau replies, the words deepening Papa’s disdain.
My father huffs, trying to mask his rage in front of Jerrick and Tove. “Care to explain yourself, then?”
“Your daughter agreed with your advisors to find a husband,” Beau says, and my breath catches.
Tove watches me carefully, pressing her lips together like she wants to stretch across the room and hug me.
My vision blurs from her empathic gaze, but I blink the emotions away, heat flooding my cheeks as Beau rises and crosses the room.
He lowers to a knee, conviction carrying through his voice. “King Bernard, our two kingdoms have been allies long before my ruling. Torgem and Belmur thrived when working together. Tragedy befell your family, and please believe me and know that I did try to heal Queen Johanne. I tried to explain myself to youall those years ago. And I understand why you didn’t want to listen and why you banished me and broke our peaceful alliance.
“But I kneel before you now, not only as a king from a neighboring kingdom, but as a friend who has always strived to help your family when it was in need. I kneel before you as a man who has built a friendship with your daughter and as a man who has fallen in love with her. Vivienne is the one I desperately seek to be with for the rest of my life so long as she will have me.”
I can’t blink the tears away fast enough, even as my father remains stoic, and Beau continues.
“Please let us revisit the alliance our kingdoms once shared and unite them as one with the joining of our families.”
“No.”
Papa’s one-word response is abrupt.
Catastrophic.
Soul shattering.
I’m frozen, incapable of moving, as my father turns to leave.
Beau jolts up and blocks my father’s path.
“Move now before I punch you again,” Papa warns.
“I deserved that earlier and probably deserve a few more. But your heir and I would fortify your legacy.”
“Fuck that,” Papa spits, twisting and lashing out. His skin deepens into a shade of red, his unrest and fury seeking an escape. “My legacy might as well die with me.”
My mouth falls, and my heart breaks as I slink into my chair.
“Bernard!” Tove gasps with mortification. “How dare you!”
She rises and marches toward him. “She’s your daughter! The last of your family! And you want to cast her aside for what? For making a mistake and risking her life to fix it? For turning to others for aid? For doing what someone of her title should do as a future monarch of their kingdom? For falling in love?”
