Page 45

“I’ve already told you that we don’t get to pick which parts of the story the Legacy creates,” she said impatiently.

“So we force it to give us the part we want,” he said, his excitement unquenched.

Her eyebrows rose skeptically. “And how do we do that?”

“I know the Legacy usually pushes parts of the story in different places at different times. But you keep saying how close our situations are to the original history. What if we follow the story so closely that it forces the Legacy to keep going all the way through to the happy ending?”

“Except for the part where Jace steals everything the Legacy gives us,” Rosalie said tartly, clearly not taking his idea seriously—yet.

“I said we should do what Jace wants, not that we should tell him we did it.”

“And the distinction is…?”

“Once your brother picks a rose and sends you in his place, the Legacy should transform the castle as magnificently as it did the grounds. Didn’t the original story include limitless gold and jewels? Your brothers can keep the rose and use some of the gold to pay Jace back instead. They don’t have to tell him where it came from. We can keep the whole thing a secret until we get to the happy ending. Once we’re free from the Legacy, I’ll use ournewfound wealth to make sure Jace finally faces justice for his crimes.”

“You do know following the Legacy’s path will involve you turning into a Beast, right?” Rosalie asked. “You’re not worried we might fail and you’ll end up stuck as a Beast forever?”

Dimitri gave her a cocky smile. “We won’t fail.”

Rosalie snorted. “Are you really that confident that if you can get me to move into the manor, I’ll fall in love with you?”

Dimitri blinked. He hadn’t been thinking anything of the sort. He hadn’t even properly thought through the fact that his plan would involve them both living at the manor. But now that she’d said it, it was all he could think about.

“Really?” Rosalie asked when he didn’t immediately respond.

He cleared his throat. “Everything I’ve read says the Legacy doesn’t affect emotions. So how can it know what you feel? The important thing is what you do. Think of it like acting out a play. And once we’ve reached the end—with me restored to my usual form and your family enjoying even greater wealth and prosperity than before—you can go back to finding me infuriating.”

He hoped she wouldn’t. Surely there was a chance she might change her mind about him by then? It didn’t seem like the right time to suggest the possibility, though.

Rosalie didn’t reply, and hope filled him. Was she actually going to listen to him for once?

“I can’t let you take that risk for us,” she said, but there was enough reluctance in her voice to continue fueling his hope. “A lot would hinge on us keeping it secret. If Jace found out, we might both be in danger.”

“From the sound of it, you and your brothers are already in danger,” Dimitri said. “And if you are, I probably am too. Do you have the impression Jace is going to give up?”

Rosalie was silent for another long minute, worrying at her lip the entire time, her eyes fixed on a point behind his head as she thought.

She finally spoke. “If we wanted to follow the story as closely as possible, it would have to be my brother picking the rose, like you said. I couldn’t do it myself. But I’m not willing to drag them any further into this than they already have been. What if the Legacy does something unpredictable? It wouldn’t be the first time. They might end up trapped instead of me. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”

Dimitri grimaced. Her brothers had been the ones to get themselves into debt, and Rosalie didn’t seem to question that she should take a risk to help them. Couldn’t her brothers take a small risk to fix the problem they’d created? She seemed willing to let Dimitri take a bigger one.

He made no attempt to argue the point with her, though. Rosalie was protective of her brothers, and it was something he admired about her. If she didn’t feel the same way about him, that was a good thing. She was willing to take any level of risk herself, and he would far rather she saw him as an equal and a partner than as a child who needed to be shielded.

He tried to think of another approach instead, unwilling to let the idea die. The more he thought about it, the more enamored he became with having Rosalie’s company at the manor. He was less excited about becoming a Beast. But that was a shadowy possibility, so foreign that it was easy to ignore. Rosalie was in front of him, a mixture of solidity and enticing, flickering flame. What was a shadowy possibility compared to that? But it would come to nothing if he couldn’t find a solution that didn’t involve her brothers.

“I’ll do it,” a third voice said.

They both turned to see Daphne standing beside them. They had been so absorbed in their interaction that they hadn’t heard her approach.

Rosalie immediately stepped out of the recess. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and Dimitri had to fight down a flush of his own. It wasn’t as if they had been doing anything scandalous. They had merely been talking.

“You can’t be serious, Daph,” Rosalie said, reminding Dimitri of what really mattered.

“Why not?” Daphne asked, regarding them both calmly. “You need someone else to pluck the rose so you can be the substitute. Given how much the Legacy loves substitutes, I think that part should go smoothly. But if there is a problem…” She shrugged. “I’m not as perfect a fit as you, Rosalie, but I could do a better job of seeing the ruse through than any of your brothers.” She chuckled softly, and Rosalie joined in reluctantly.

Dimitri couldn’t muster up any amusement at the idea, however. His reaction to the idea of Daphne taking Rosalie’s place had been swift and violent, and he was still working to conceal it.

He wasn’t sure if he’d succeeded. Rosalie seemed oblivious, but Daphne gave him a look that was a little too knowing for his comfort.