Page 85 of Reap the Night
“You did it,” Hemlock said softly. “You brought him back.” He turned me to face him, hands on my shoulders. “Thank you.” His voice cracked.
“Now what?”
“Now we play it by ear.” He offered me a crooked smile. “We’ve never come this far before. The road ahead is new but promising.”
Yes, I could feel it in my blood, the simmering beginnings of something, feelings and emotions I’d kept locked away for too long. Now all I had to do was let them free. All I needed to do was allow myself to fall.
Hemlock leftme to go in search of Ordell, promising to meet me in the kitchens for breakfast in an hour. I headed to my room to shower and change before winding my way down to the kitchen. Daisy appeared by the stove in place of Ingrid, and a pang of sadness pierced me.
“She’ll be free soon enough,” Daisy said. “Now that the master is awake once more.”
“You heard.”
“The walls whisper,” she said as she prepared a pot of tea.
“Can you make two pots? Hemlock and Ordell will be here soon.”
“Oh, I doubt that very much.” She paused in slicing a loaf. “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
But she had, and I doubted it had been an accident. “Daisy, what do you mean?”
She set down the bread knife and turned to me with a sigh. “I was going to pretend to let the information slip, but it’s too much hard work, so I’ll tell you because in my opinion, you should know. Master Hemlock has his brother chained in the chamber I took you to that time.”
“When you tried to get me killed.”
She winced. “Yes. Master Ordell’s condition has worsened considerably. I doubt he’ll be joining us. Not until this curse is broken, anyway. I heard them talking, and he plans to stay?—”
But I was already out the door.
Voices driftedup the stairwell as I descended, so I slowed my pace to listen.
“You know what you need to do to end this,” Hemlock said.
“I can’t do that to her,” Ordell replied.
“So you’d rather die?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a fucking blessing,” Hemlock snapped. “She’s lived without it before, she can do it again.” His tone softened. “Look, I know you’re worried about the after, about the beast killing her once it’s done, but I’ll be here to keep her safe. I’ll use the rune shackles to bind you and?—”
“No! Just fucking bind me and leave me here. Once she breaks the curse, I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that. If you lose yourself to the beast, not even breaking the curse could bring you back. Ordell, you’ll be lost or…or you’ll be dead.”
“I know,” Ordell said, his tone resigned and weary. “I understand the risks.”
“Dammit, it’s just sex.”
“Not to her it isn’t. And…not to me…”
Ordell was prepared to lose himself to his beast, even die to protect me and my blessing. That was his choice in the matter.
But I had a choice too.
I stepped into the room, and I stifled a cry because Ordell’s face…Oh, his beautiful face was now half beast. One yellow eye glared at me with hunger, the other, ocean blue, widened in horror. Hemlock didn’t look too surprised. Had he heard mestanding out there? Or had he planned to have Daisy send me here so I’d find out what Ordell didn’t want me to know?
It hardly mattered. I was here now, and a choice needed to be made. “How about you let me have a say?”
