Page 36 of The Beautiful Blade

"Well, at least you're not as selfish as I thought." Belle pursed her lips as she apprised me anew. "His mother defied the moon and married the wrong man, and now he’s cursed to live as a beast. Avarix will break the curse if he marries the fairy princess he choose for Adom: you."

"And if I don't?"

"If you don’t marry him, the moon will take its revenge on Evergrove next."

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JORGE

Ileaned back against the cold stone wall, my muscles aching from the rough treatment of the guards. I'd been stripped of everything, thrown into the dark like an animal. No, worse than an animal. At least they hadn’t chained me. Yet.

My body was still, but my mind refused to rest. One thing I was certain of: this wasn’t Adom's doing. The Lion Prince would’ve faced me directly, his claws bared, his amber eyes glaring into mine. Adom fought his battles with honor, no matter how much he despised the opponent.

No, this was the work of someone else. Someone more dangerous: the Sky Keeper Mages. They didn’t care about honor. Only outcomes.

I flexed the fingers of my remaining hand, the muscles in my arm twitching at the absence of weight on the other side. I felt the phantom of it, the mech I’d built and rebuilt over the years, as much a part of me as my own flesh and bone. They could strip it from my body, but not my mind. I was still linked to it, still in it.

I slowed my breathing, letting my heart rate even out. The coldness of the cell began to fade as I sank into my focus. The faint hum of energy that connected me to the prosthetic sparked to life. My awareness spread outward, beyond the confines of the cell. Past the bars. Past the guards who had sneered at me as they hauled me in. The prosthetic wasn’t far—it couldn’t be. I searched for it in the dark, the pulse of my connection stretching like a hand reaching through shadows.

There.

The faint flicker of power hummed at the edge of my consciousness, the metal fingers twitching where they’d discarded it. They’d left it among the rubble, assuming it was nothing more than a glorified decoration without me attached to it. Fools.

I brought it back online with a thought. A rush of relief flooded through me as I felt it respond, as though a part of me had just taken its first breath after beingsuffocated. My next move was already forming in my mind when the sound of approaching footsteps broke my concentration.

Boots. Two sets. One heavy and deliberate, the other light and cautious. The clink of keys on a ring accompanied their approach. The light from a flickering torch danced off the damp walls, casting long, distorted shadows that grew closer with each second.

I pulled myself back into my body but kept my form limp against the wall. I was the picture of dejection and rejection. It was an easy role to play. I had tons of firsthand material to act it out.

The flowery scent hit me and knocked my spine up straight. The fragrance was too delicate for this place. It clung to the air, sweet and unmistakably fairy.

Charlotte.

No. Wait. It was too sweet. No sharp tang of embers coating it.

Even cloaked in shadows, the imposter wore her resemblance like a weapon. Her lavender skin, her curls, even the tilt of her head mimicked Charlotte perfectly.

The guard unlocked the door. The imposter—Belle, her name came to me like a whisper—took a step forward, then hesitated. Her hands hovered near me as if she wanted to help but didn’t dare.

Smart girl.

I stumbled toward her, each step calculated agony. When I got close enough, I noticed something that made my gut twist. She was wearing Charlotte’s cloak. Had Charlotte given it to her? Or had Belle taken it from her cold, dead body? I was certain I knew the answer.

Outside, sunlight seared my eyes. The partial eclipse cast eerie shadows across the ground. The light filtered through Avarix’s shadowed ring, dim yet piercing. Belle handed me my prosthetic, and I set about reassembling myself.

“Let me guess; she traded herself for my freedom.”

Belle flinched but nodded, unable to meet my gaze.

“And you agreed, because you love him.”

Her silence was confirmation enough.

A laugh escaped me, sharp and humorless. “I had every plan to kill that bastard, but he got under my skin, too.”

“Adom acts like he’s a monster. But he’s really just a cub who wants to cuddle.”

That pulled a real laugh from me. “I’m sure he’ll love hearing that from the woman he loves.”

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