Page 84 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Everything about his father, his mother, the curse. All the fragments of the story he had. She’d help him make sense of it all.
Maybe, maybe even the last words he’d heard his mother speak. She’d be able to rationalise it, let him know she didn’t mean it, or that it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter, because it wasn’t true, because she cared for him and—
Your love for her will crumble houses.
He might leave that part out.
“It’s all right,” said Adeline softly, “I’m here. We don’t have to go anywhere, just breathe.”
But he wanted to go. He wanted to go home right now, so much so that he felt like he’d wrench himself free of his flesh and gallop there.
His left arm was starting to hurt. “Adie—”
“Yo! Adie!” said a voice, slurred and thick.
Adeline groaned. “Ignore him,” she told Dimitri, as if he had any choice. He could barely look up, could barely focus on anything other than the splintering pain in his arm.
Someone was approaching them. A broad-shouldered man her age, maybe a bit older. He reeked of ale, and the smell crawled up Dimitri’s nostrils.
Something prodded his side.
“What’s the matter with him?”
Adeline stood up. “Leave him alone, Guy!”
“Guy—” said another voice, softer than his. Dimitri blinked blearily up at him, vision blackening.
Jean.
Fire spread across his limbs.
“Guy,” Jean continued, “leave them be.”
“You’ve not curious to find out who’s been stepping out with your girl?”
Jean tensed. “She’s not my girl any more.”
“And a good thing, too. Never knew what you saw in a plain-faced wench like her. Must have given you a few good tumbles in the barn, I reckon—”
The fire launched out of him. Dimitri sprung to his feet, going for Guy’s throat. The branch he’d poked him with rushed up first, and Dimitri caught it in his fist and splintered it in a second, tackling Guy to the floor.
Adeline screamed. Others raced to stop him, pawing at his clothes. A fragment of sense came back to him, just enough to stop him from really, actually hurting Guy, who flailed beneath him, grappling at his face.
Something fell away, and for a second, so did sound.
His mask had fallen off.
Guy’s eyes widened, black and glassy, and Dimitri saw his reflection in his blown pupils, a snarling, seething creature.
“Monster,” Guy whispered.
Jean grabbed Guy’s arm, hauling him to his feet. “Watch what you’re saying, Guy. I’m almost certain that’s the Young Lord you’re talking to.”
Dimitri did not move. He remained where he was, staring at the grass, seeing nothing but the fanged creature he’d become.
“Lord or no lord, he’s still a monster,” Guy spat, staring down at him. “Wonder if he’s put his filthy paws all over your girl...”
Dimitri stood up, but before he could reach Guy, Adeline stepped between them. “Get out of here,” she hissed, her voice as dark as he had ever heard it. “Now.”
