A Beast's Tale

Chapter 20

I was still in a good mood when I entered my office, although I was careful to show no trace of a smile. Clavis was already there, grinning.

“I ran into Ivetta in the hallway. She was beaming from ear to ear.”

“Indeed,” I said coolly.

“I hear this is the day she’ll be baking with Yves.”

“That is correct.”

Nokto arrived as I took my seat. “What’s up with that smile, Clavis?” he asked.

“Ivetta’s feeling better today.”

“About time. Does that mean I can stop by and see her now?” Nokto asked me.

“Do what you like,” I said dismissively. “After your work is complete.”

“Better get on it, Nokto. She’ll be in the kitchens with Yves this afternoon,” Clavis commented.

“Oh, that’s today, is it?” Nokto asked, grinning.

“Sure is. She’ll be making beignets. I think I’ll have to stop by for a bit of taste testing,” Clavis said with a sly grin.

“If you took as great an interest in locating the informant as you do in Ivetta, you would have found him out weeks ago,” I snapped.

“Too cruel, Chev,” Clavis replied, feigning hurt.

“He’s got a point, though,” Nokto chimed in. It was rare to get the chance to turn a joke back on Clavis, and Nokto’s crimson eyes reflected his great amusement at this opportunity. “You’re usually much better at sniffing out another spy. It almost makes me wonder if you’re in on it this time.” Nokto tilted his head to the side and smirked. “Or if you’re too preoccupied with King Highness’ pretty little maid.”

Nothing could wipe that smile off of Clavis’ face. “Preoccupied? Au contraire. The informant is among the servants, and Chev has made it clear that we’re to help him keep an eye on his lovely little dove. I’m just being as efficient as possible.”

Nokto chuckled. “If you say so.”

“I do say so,” Clavis continued, back in control. “And if you would like to improve your efficiency, then you can stop dawdling around by the servants’ entrance when Ivetta is due to arrive and leave, since I have the servant angle under control.” His golden eyes narrowed as he met Nokto’s gaze head on.

“Do you have it under control?” Nokto asked, his own eyes narrowing as his expression became oddly serious. “Or are you just deciding how you can best use her in your quest for King Highness’ head?”

“Enough,” I cut in sharply. “You’re both equally inept as long as you insist on behaving like children. Get to work or get out.”

That got them quiet for about an hour.

“Hey, Nokto,” Clavis said, finally breaking the silence.

“What?” Nokto asked, looking up in annoyance. He was attacking his work with a dedication that I rarely saw. Trying to finish early so he could go see Ivetta, I knew. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but he knew better than to try anything with her, especially since I would make it a point to be there as well. As far as my brothers were concerned, she was under my protection, for reasons undisclosed. They had their suspicions, of course, but I was careful not to encourage them.

“Would you mind getting this for me?” Clavis asked, handing Nokto a slip of paper. There was a very subtle gleam in his golden eyes. Nokto took the paper and smiled slyly.

“Sure, why not?” he replied, shrugging casually, but he got up rather quickly. “Be back later, King Highness.”

I didn’t ask, but about fifteen minutes later, Clavis spoke up again. “Aren’t you curious, Chev?”

“Should I be?”

He shrugged. “Well, whenever Ivetta’s concerned, you get a bit touchy.”

I glanced up at his annoying smirk. “You sent him to the library.”

“Just for a book, Chev. But I would have thought he’d be back by now.” Clavis faked a dramatic frown. “I wonder what could be keeping him?”

“One day, you’re going to go too far,” I said threateningly, standing up and heading for the door.

“It’s a good thing I’m busy sniffing out an informant among the servants right now. I’d hate to think what sort of danger such a person could pose to Ivetta.”

I ignored that statement and left the office. Clavis’ pranks were like an addiction he couldn’t control. Nokto was the same with women. They could both behave, but only for short periods. Normally, Ivetta could handle Nokto. But it was too soon. That smile could easily be hiding the pain she was still working through. And that smile would draw Nokto like a moth to a flame.

They were standing in front of a sofa, but to his credit, Nokto had his back to her. He wore a distinctly frustrated expression.

“Clown.” My sharp voice cut through the air, drawing two sets of eyes to where I stood in the doorway.

“King Highness, your timing is impeccable,” Nokto said tightly, picking up a book from the sofa and heading toward the door.

“After your work is done, you may play. Not before.” My voice was cold, giving no evidence of any emotion other than irritation as I strode across the library past Nokto toward Ivetta.

“Of course, King Highness,” he said, making for the exit.

“Maid,” I snapped, turning the full force of my glare on her for just a second as I continued past her into the back room.

She followed, reluctantly.

“You are a nuisance,” I snapped as soon as she’d shut the door behind us.

“I’m sorry, your highness,” she said quietly. She looked…bewildered. Any anger toward Clavis and Nokto evaporated, and I sighed.

“What happened?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out, your highness. He was just teasing me, like he usually does, but then he got serious, and I don’t know why.” She shook her head, as if she were trying to shake cobwebs out of it. “I think he was trying to give me advice to help protect me, but it won’t do me much good unless I change my entire personality.”

We hadn’t talked like this since the assault, and I suddenly found her honest, innocent confusion irresistible. “I hope you don’t intend to take that advice,” I teased, stepping closer and brushing a stray hair back behind her ear.

“I wouldn’t know how to, Prince Chevalier,” she said, blushing.

“Good.” I smirked, unable to resist a further light tease. “I have a better way to protect you.”

“What would that be, your highness?” she asked curiously.

“Do as I say,” I said simply, poking her in the forehead.

A shy smile came to her lips. “I know I can do that.”

That smile was dangerous. Her rosy cheeks, her silky soft hair, the electricity shooting up my finger where I’d touched her - it was all dangerous. Nokto had been a moth drawn to her flame. I’d swatted him away, only to get pulled in even closer. I caught her chin, not to keep her from looking away - to touch her again. To touch her more. I was rapidly losing any grasp on control.

“Prince Chevalier?” she asked, her smile disappearing.

“You want me to smile, don’t you?” I asked softly. Her cheeks immediately flushed bright red.

“I-”

“Well?” I asked, swiping my thumb across her bottom lip as she automatically bit it nervously, enticingly.

She stepped back from me quickly, the blush spreading to her ears. “We should probably get back to work, your highness.”

And just like that, her reminder brought me back down to earth. I couldn’t stay here, teasing her, touching her. My reason for coming had been to stop Nokto from harassing her, and here I was, picking up where he’d left off. I turned away and headed for the door, resuming my usual icy tone. “I’ve wasted too much time here. And you have a lot to do if you wish to have the afternoon off.”

“Yes, your highness, of course.”

I left the library and returned to my office. Clavis and Nokto were hard at work and dead silent. I took my seat without a word, and the rest of the morning passed without incident.

“Well, that’s my work done,” Clavis said with finality shortly after noon. “This kind of work, anyway. I think I’ll stop by the kitchens and pester the head maid. She hasn’t had a chance to yell at me for a while.”

Nokto, too, stood up, stretching languidly. “I’m done, too. Oh, by the way, I won’t be in tomorrow. One of the dukes in town is hosting a big party tonight, and I’ll be up all night dancing.” He winked. “Among other things.”

I knew what they meant. Both would still be working in their own ways. Clavis was pursuing the investigation into the informant, and Nokto would be gathering as much dirt as he could from the drunken partygoers. He wasn’t just a smooth talker with the ladies. His silver tongue was equally effective at plying information from men, without them even knowing what he was doing. The pair of them were obnoxious, but effective.

Although they would both probably take a break around the time Ivetta and Yves were baking. It wouldn’t surprise me if all my brothers ended up in the kitchens then. I still hadn’t decided if I would join them.

After Clavis and Nokto left, I picked up the folder about the Benitoite princess again. It would be a smart match. But it turned my stomach, for multiple reasons, all of which involved Ivetta.

‘Treats servants like dirt,’ Nokto had said.

I certainly wouldn’t marry anybody who would mistreat Ivetta.

The folder ended up in the wastebasket, and I ended up in the gardens, thinking a short walk before lunch would do me good. But I made the mistake of looking up at the palace’s southern wall of windows. The library’s largest window was quite distinctive from those surrounding it, with its massive panes of clear glass extending up more than six feet, crowned with panels of stained glass roses taking up another foot or so at the top. The sun’s rays were angled just right for me to see Ivetta sitting in the alcove, reading. I sighed and looked away quickly. It was a waste of time to think about her. If only I could stop. I knew that trouble was sure to come if I continued on like this. I should have her reassigned. Or, better yet, I should find her a safe, well-paying job closer to home, well away from me. I could still keep tabs on her from a distance.

But I didn’t want her at a distance. And I didn’t like how empty the library was when I arrived at two thirty as usual. She was in the kitchens with Yves, baking beignets. The thought irritated me more than it should have. I settled in my chair and picked up my book, willing myself to forget her and lose myself in the story.

A few hours later, the door opened, and Ivetta walked in with my tea in one hand and a small floral cloth bundle in the other. I was both pleased and annoyed to see her. Pleased to see her smile, annoyed by the sudden urge to leap to my feet, lock the door, and pick up where I left off with her this morning.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d had your tea yet, Prince Chevalier, so I thought I should bring it before I left,” she said innocently, setting the teacup and saucer on the end table. “The beignets turned out wonderfully.”

A few of the pastries were arranged on the saucer surrounding the teacup. I forced myself to look at those, to look at the small bundle in her hand, to look anywhere but her irresistible smile.

“That’s all you’re taking to your mother?” I asked as I set my book down.

“She doesn’t have much of an appetite lately, your highness. This will be plenty for her,” Ivetta said dismissively. She hesitated, and then she asked, “Do you know what stones make up Prince Yves’ earring?”

I took a sip of tea, my eyes drawn inexorably to hers as I pondered her question. Why hadn’t she asked Yves?

“Rhodolite garnets and obsidian.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense. He said it was his mother’s.” She glanced at the clock, and then she said, “Prince Chevalier, why didn’t you tell me about Prince Yves’ mother?”

“I didn’t think it would matter to you,” I replied coolly, biting into a beignet. There were only a few more minutes until five o’clock, and she seemed to want to stay and talk. If only my thoughts were so innocent. Images of her at the festival, giggling and licking powdered sugar off of her fingers, flashed through my mind.

“It doesn’t, your highness, but it matters to him,” she was saying. She sighed. “But I guess it’s none of my business.”

I smirked. “No, it’s not.”

I had to keep reminding myself that she was here to deliver on our deal, and that was all. My focus should be on the desserts instead of the sweet little maid in front of me.

“These are good,” I commented coolly.

“Thank you, your highness,” she replied, smiling brightly. “And, this isn’t any of my business, either, but Prince Yves doesn’t think you trust him.”

“I’m aware of that,” I said, chuckling as I fought the smile that had nearly undone me earlier today. But it was taunting me. She was taunting me. I propped my elbow up on the arm of my chair and rested my chin in my hand. “It’s almost five o’clock, and I gave you the afternoon off. What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Mother doesn’t know about my afternoon off, your highness, and I think she’ll be more surprised if I arrive at my usual time with her favorite desserts. Besides, I promised to bring you some beignets, and it was a bit loud in the kitchen, once all your brothers came to eat.”

My brothers. I’d known they would show up, and I sighed, imagining the scene. Knowing her, she’d let them eat everything in sight without setting anything aside for herself.

The image from the festival flashed through my mind again, and I stood up without another thought, picking up one of the beignets and walking over to her.

“Did you even get to eat one?”

“Well, no, I didn’t, your highness. But I’ll have one after I get home,” she said, blushing shyly as I stood over her.

I’d only intended to give her one of mine, but that rosy glow was far too enticing. Just a few hours ago, we had been in this same room, and she’d worn that same blush, that same shy smile. Her full pink lips beckoned to me mercilessly then, even more so now.

“Here.”

I held the beignet up to her mouth, and her green eyes widened slightly as she shook her head and took a step back.

“Prince Chevalier-”

“Is something wrong?” I asked teasingly, watching her blush deepen.

“I have my own, Prince Chevalier,” she stammered.

Her innocent confusion after the encounter with Nokto was nothing compared to this. I stepped closer, drawn in by her reactions, wanting more.

“Oh? Are mine different from yours? Maybe the half-Obsidianite prince helped you poison mine.”

“Prince Chevalier!” she protested, but there was no anger or irritation in her green eyes. Just a curiously shy embarrassment, matching her enticingly shy smile.

“Maybe I shouldn’t trust him. Or you,” I continued, trapping her against the bookshelves.

She tried to scowl up at me, but the blush was spreading to her ears.

“I’ll make you a deal, Prince Chevalier.”

I chuckled. She was trying to hide it, but she was enjoying this, too.

“I’m listening.”

“If I eat that, you’ll tell Prince Yves that you trust him,” she said coyly.

“And you trust me to follow through on this?” I teased, my heart rate increasing at the tease in her voice.

“I hope you’re not admitting that you’ve ever lied to me, Prince Chevalier,” she chided.

I smirked, holding the beignet up to her lips again. She bit her lip deliciously, and then she reluctantly opened her mouth and took a bite. The sight of her pink tongue, her white teeth biting hesitantly into the bread, the powdered sugar dusting her lips, was almost too irresistible. I met her gaze and popped the rest of the beignet in my mouth, watching with satisfaction as her green eyes widened again, her entire face bright red with embarrassment. If I just leaned in a little more, if I just gave in and kissed her, what would she do?

But there was the briefest flicker of anxiety in her eyes, and I somehow found the strength to turn away.

“Goodnight, Prince Chevalier,” she said quickly, and then she fled.

I collapsed into my chair, exhausted from the effort it had taken to stop myself. The beignet we’d shared was still in my mouth, teasing me into imagining the sweetness of the powdered sugar on her lips, the savoriness of the bread on her tongue. My fingers toyed with another beignet on the saucer, brushing up against the heat of the teacup, lukewarm compared to my skin. To bite her bottom lip myself, to run my tongue along the edges of her teeth, to steal her breath in a kiss…

Either I needed a cold bath, or I needed to find Jin and Leon and have them throw me in the pond.

I was on my way to my room when Clavis caught up to me, his golden eyes uncharacteristically serious.

“Chev, a guard’s been killed.”

A bucket of cold water dropped on my head couldn’t have been more effective than his words at bringing me back to reality.

“Where?”

“At the servants’ entrance. His body is still warm. The palace is being searched, but nothing has turned up yet.”

My hand strayed to my sword hilt. “Probably an assassin.”

“That was my thought.”

“Not a very good one, to have been noticed already.” I smirked. “I’d better make myself available. This one needs some help with his job.”

“Chev,” Clavis said as I brushed past him.

“What?” I asked, irritated, as I turned back to look at him.

“If an assassin is after you, what about Ivetta?”

Another bucket of cold water, accompanied by a slap in the face.

“My first priority is to kill the intruder. I’ll handle her in the morning.” I turned again and walked away. This time, he didn’t stop me.

I wandered through the gardens aimlessly, keeping my hand away from my sword, careful to appear deep in thought and distracted, just as careful not to allow my thoughts to truly become distracted with her. A smart assassin would have tried to strike when I was at the back of the gardens furthest from the palace, hidden from windows and prying eyes. But this assassin wasn’t particularly smart. Or quiet. I heard his footsteps, and his sword sliding out of its sheath, and I spun to attack before he’d even taken an offensive stance. He screamed as his arm and sword went flying, and he fell to his knees on the paving stones, blood spraying me and the bushes. I kicked his chest and sent him backwards, planting my foot on his neck.

“Who do you work for?” I hissed. His eyes were wide with pain and terror, but to his credit, he shook his head.

“I’m not telling you anything,” he gasped.

I didn’t feel the need to press him further. He would bleed out soon enough, and it was obvious that he wasn’t going to tell me anything in the time he had left.

“So be it.”

I removed my foot and decapitated him. His dismembered arm, still clutching the sword in its frozen fingers, had landed a few feet away. I approached and studied the sword. No markings to signify its origin. None on the assassin, either. Unless he was foolish enough to carry some form of identification in his pockets, it would take some time to determine who had hired him. I hoped they hadn’t paid him already. He wasn’t worth a cent.

I wiped my sword on the grass to remove the bulk of the blood, and then I completed the job with my cloak. It was too bloodstained to be saved, anyway.

“That was quick,” Clavis said, meeting me at the door. “You know, it’s possible to kill people without making such a mess. You should try it sometime.”

“Have someone clean that up,” I said coolly, walking past him on my way to my room.

My stomach was churning, and not because of the gruesome scene. I’d done and seen much worse without a second thought. But the assassin had killed a guard at the very entrance Ivetta used, where she’d left only a few minutes prior to the crime. She may have walked right past the assassin. If she’d been a few minutes later in leaving, there could have been two bodies at the door - the guard and her.

And if the assassin had been a few minutes earlier in arriving and decided to come looking for me in my library, Ivetta would have seen me kill him.

She’d barely recovered from the trauma of the assault, the aftermath of which had assured her that I was safe. But I wasn’t. I’d allowed myself to forget that harsh reality, the numerous assassination attempts that colored my past, to indulge in flirtation with a woman who I had no business flirting with in the first place. A woman who was now in very real danger because of me.

After I’d killed Jack, I’d disposed of my clothes so she wouldn’t see them. I hadn’t wanted to scare her further. But now…now, she needed to be scared. She needed to run away. I wasn’t safe anymore, and she couldn’t stay here.

Jack would almost certainly have killed her, too, if she hadn’t gotten away. Two near misses in just a matter of days. The thought made me sick.

My bloody clothes went into the laundry hamper, impossible to miss, and I started the bathwater. Not cold. I didn’t need cold water when my entire body suddenly felt numb and cold to the core.

If I simply told her what had happened, she would be concerned about me. That was the last thing I needed. I needed her to hate me. She had to run away and never come back. I closed my eyes, sinking into the hot water. Inflicting fear was second nature to me, and I knew exactly what to say and do to maximize her terror, but this was going to be the hardest thing I’d ever done. Hopefully, the sight of the blood would be enough. If not, I was going to have to get mean. She hadn’t truly seen the Brutal Beast at his worst.

I hated myself already for what I was going to do to her.