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“I’m sorry.” He looked apologetically down at where he thought she must be. “But I have no choice. Ihaveto move.”

She gave another soft sigh. “Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?” she murmured.

“Don’t worry.” He gently removed his sleeve from her grasp. “It’s part of the story, remember? Things have to look bleak right before everything is fixed.”

“In the histories, yes,” she said in a worried tone. “But remember there’s no guarantee the Legacy will see the story all the way through. That’s why we’ve had to be so careful to keep feeding it. You aren’t the first ones to attempt this.”

Her final line made him freeze with one foot already out the door. He turned back to stare in the direction of her voice.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“Since the Legacy keeps the manor clean, I’ve had some spare time since I got here,” she said. “I’ve been using some of it to do research in your library. You’re not the first ones to try this. It’s not surprising, really. It’s unusual for circumstances to align as perfectly as they did in your case, but the Legacy is influencing details all over the kingdom, so it’s bound to happen from time to time. And given the potential wealth on offer, some people have gone out of their way to help create the right scenario.”

“And all those people tried to act out the whole story like we’ve done?” Dimitri asked.

“Not all of them. But some have tried it—either in an attempt to gain the wealth or to free themselves from the form of a Beast.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked.

“There’s a reason it’s not tried more often,” she said softly. “Many of the attempts didn’t end well. But I didn’t discover that until after we’d begun, and there didn’t seem much point telling everyone at that stage.”

“I see.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. Even now—even knowing it might end in disaster—if he could go back, he would make the suggestion just the same.

“On a more positive note, you seem to have a very mild case in terms of your transformation,” she said, clearly trying to lift his spirits. “I think that means the Legacy recognized you’re more purehearted than most who make the attempt.”

“Thank you?” he said, wondering what greater discomforts the other Beasts had suffered but glad he didn’t know at the same time.

“And you said you love her,” Daphne said softly. “I think that will help as well. It’s not just playacting now. You really did fall in love.” The silence lengthened, and she finally continued. “I know my friend. She’ll return tomorrow…if she possibly can.”

Dimitri’s feet started moving again before he realized he was back in motion, carrying him out of the dining room and toward the entryway.If she possibly can.The words rang in his mind, repeated on a loop that threatened to drive him mad. He had been worried about Jace, but should he be worrying about the Legacy instead? Would it conspire against them to keep them apart?

He had trusted her brothers to watch over her, but what could they do against the Legacy? He would just go and check on her…

He wrenched himself to a stop with his hand on the front door handle. The Legacywasworking against them—it had sent a fever to confuse him. If he left the manor grounds, their story would be broken.

Rosalie was counting on him to do his part. He had to prove he was stronger than the Legacy’s wiles. If it wanted to test their resolve, it wouldn’t find him lacking.

“I will wait for you, Rosalie,” he said, each word pulled out of him with great effort. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he pried his hand off the door, finger by finger.

When he succeeded, he felt as weary as if he’d fought and won a great battle. But the restlessness lodged beneath his skin wouldn’t fade. He strode toward the stairs, beginning another circuit of the manor.

He had intended to at least lie down once night fell, even if he already knew sleep was unlikely. But the agony of inaction made it impossible. Instead, he paced the manor in the moonlight with the same confident steps he’d used during the day. He knew the building well enough now to need little light to guide him.

When dawn finally sent its creeping fingers over the horizon and through the windows, he could wait no longer. He refused to let the Legacy break him, but Rosalie might arrive at any moment. If he couldn’t go to her, he could at least ensure therewasn’t a moment’s delay to their meeting. He would pace the manor’s gardens instead of its rooms.

But Rosalie didn’t appear. Time had passed slowly the day before, but it was nothing to the agony of each tick of the clock after dawn. Every minute must surely be an hour, and every hour a time too long to fathom. The sun kept climbing, and he felt the same urge to move, but his body was no longer obeying his commands.

His arms and legs were weak, and he staggered more than walked. At one point he thought he heard someone calling his name with concern, but it wasn’t her voice, and he couldn’t make out the words.

Eventually he staggered hard enough to fall, and he couldn’t get back up. A cool hand pressed against his forehead, but it wasn’t her hand. He didn’t have to open his eyes to know that.

He couldn’t open his eyes. For the first time he realized deep in his bones that he might never open his eyes again. He hadn’t broken, but the Legacy might still defeat them.Many of the attempts hadn’t ended well.

Chapter 25

Rosalie

The first light spearing through the canopy sent desperation flooding through Rosalie. She thrashed wildly, trying to free herself, no longer worrying about drawing attention in the process.