Page 220 of Beast and Remedy
Is this all a farce?
I glance at Beau, trying to make sense of this, and I immediately regret looking.
He struggles, blood seeping from his injury as he mouths,Get her to talk.
I face my twin, my words stammering in my tightened throat as I piece together the possibility. “Y-Y-You did—”
“I did,” she confirms with more certainty. “And you want to know what she said?”
She sneers. “She told me I didn’t deserve to know. Didn’t deserve to have any knowledge about magic because it wasn’t going to pass down to me, anyway.” She points at me, accusatory. “All becauseyouwere born first.”
Vicious cruelty seeps from her lips. “So, I tested her word and acted before she could transform. And as I stood with nothing happening, I knew I was robbed. I didn’t even get amorselof it. And it was all your fault.”
“My fault?” I startle, my mouth gaping. “You killing Mama ismyfault?”
“Did me pushing you off a horse alter your ability to see things clearly, Vi?” she asks with disapproval. “Or was it when I messed up the medicine for that wolf?”
I flinch, and she smiles sardonically, a slow realization settling itself deep in my core.
Did she really start thisall?
Rage, full and heavy, floods my body.
“This whole time—” Beau’s voice cracks, his golden-honey irises locking on mine.
I lift my hand to caution him and keep him from being hurt further.
He nods once in understanding. His unwavering trust tugs at my soul, but I turn on my sister.
“You’re infected, Marian. And if you’ve lied this entire time, thenyouare the problem.”
Her eyes flash with fury as her cheeks turn red. “No.Youare! The timid, quiet sister who prefers the company of books to people and ruling a kingdom. The sister who doesn’t see the magnitude of power in her possession. The sister who can’t even handle it. Why do you think I’ve stayed quiet and watched all these years?”
I don’t respond, too stunned. Too devastated by the rage and her treachery.
She shakes her head with disappointment. “I wanted to see what your magic could do, learn what to expect, and then ruin you.” Her condescending voice slaps me harder than a physical blow as she delivers her final words. “Because I wasn’t going to watch from the side my entire life as a royal advisor and let you disgrace the Makers, disgrace our kingdom, and disgrace our parents. And what better way to do it than to help everyone see how much of a failure you are?”
My blood, my bones, and my body ignite, the shift no longer deniable and the pain indiscernible as I charge toward my sister.
The sting of her betrayal boils my fury, my scream erupting into a roar as I drag my feet forward, unable to swallow down the wrath within as I transform.
Beau gapes as I lunge, my temper snuffing out the love for my sister, draining the grief and the despair.
Marian jostles off Beau, eyes still crazed and bloodshot as she grabs her weapons, and scampers into the woods.
Big mistake.
Infected or not, I will not let her escape.
Beau hollers my name, but I ignore it, keeping ahead until I step into a clearing and sniff the air.
I growl, low and lethal, as I dig my front claws into the dirt. Preparing to charge, I carefully take in more of the area, stopping on two wild eyes.
Marian throws her dagger, and it hits me close to the chest.
Pain ripples through me as she throws another, and I snarl, pushing forward to stop her.
If we both are to die here and now, then so be it.
