Page 103 of Beast and Remedy
“What was that for?”
“For my own benefit.” He smirks. “Be right back.” Stefan bows before retreating, and my small smile grows.
But I turn to my friends wearing stern expressions and my sister’s brown eyes are blazing. Whether in anger, or hurt, or the infection, I’m not sure.
I quickly lower my hand, choosing to admire the pebbled ground, and stride to my steed.
Beau stalks toward me. “What was that?” he demands, bitterness slicing through his voice and clawing at my chest.
I pet my horse’s mane, my heart thrumming and reeling at having this conversation with prying eyes.
“I don’t know,” I mutter, unsure of Stefan’s motives.
“Hekissedyou,” Beau seethes, an envious, possessive storm clouding his senses and removing his judgment.
“Hekissedmycheeks,” I hiss. “It means nothing.”
“Then, why did you light up like the sun itself when he did it?”
I slump with annoyance at his jealousy—jealousy I’ve never seen before. And I hate the swirling in my mind telling me to direct the fury at Beau.
But this conversation is not something we should be having in the open.
I am constantly at war with how to protect myself, but now I am fighting to preserve our reputations.
I give him my full attention. “I lit up because he is a kind prince who is going to help me despite being unable to host us. I lit up because he is going to give me what I need to find a cure.”
But Beau’s anger still pierces through his eyes, his jaw clenching and muscles along his neck twitching.
I lean in, my next words driving my point. “I lit up because it was natural for me to do that in the presence of someone who finds me enjoyable.” My vexation slips. “You, of all people, should know that.”
Surprise crosses his features, and I sigh through my dismay. “You shouldn’t even be doubting me.”
“Doubting you?” he chokes out.
“Yes, doubting me,” I hiss. “We aren’t supposed to be exposing our feelings for each other around others.”
Beau exhales and scans the courtyard, and I leave him to sit with his emotions, unwilling to deal with him fussing over nothing. He’s never been jealous, let alone so angry in public.
Sweet Makers, the flares of tempers run in my family, not his.
I roll my eyes and approach Marian, needing to check on her and make sure she is okay from earlier and has no new symptoms.
Anxiety crawls forward every night, reminding me how the infection will worsen—shewill worsen—despite Beau’s healing sessions treating symptoms as they come, not the sickness as a whole. It’s going to happen faster than I can anticipate, and it kills me to be useless.
Marian beams at Leo as they whisper to each other, her joy fracturing when I approach.
“Hey,” I say tentatively, reaching to pet her horse.
She remains quiet, and I wonder if she is upset. Even Leo doesn’t say anything. And the longer the silence stretches between us, the more I worry something is wrong.
I look up to ask her, but she finally speaks. “Are you and Prince Stefan involved?”
My mouth falls, and I stumble out. “I-I-Involved?No! Why ever would we be involved?”
“You swear to Yeva?”
Rage simmers behind her voice.
