Page 91 of Beast and Remedy (The Last of the Heirs #2)

Shadows

T repidation sings in tandem with the magic in my chest when my steps slow near the alchemy room. But the door is ajar, light seeping into the corridor.

Worry churns in my gut, my brief resolve fizzling away.

Beau might have arrived before me or escaped his own party to hide in here prior to making the announcement.

Can I face him again after telling him we were never destined to be together?

I shake away the thought and move forward, whether my heart wants to or not. I need to save my home—my people—my sister.

Easing the door open, I’m surprised by the woman hunching over the tonic vials, fussing with them. “Marian?”

She tenses and peers over, her features hardened and intense. “What are you doing here?”

I step past the threshold, my stomach dropping at the disaster in the room.

The cases of inventory we have from each kingdom are emptied and spread out on the ground. Crushed valerian mixes with the scent of lavender, and the remnants of both are scattered with the chanterelles, smushed and dragged across the deep stone.

Sweet Makers, it looks like someone stomped on the sugar beets and roseroot, too.

I arch a brow. “I think the better question is what are you doing to the tonics?”

Marian huffs a laugh. “The room was too tidy, too neat . It pissed me off.”

What the —

She turns to the carton of the cure, holding up a glass, letting it glint in the light. “And then there’s the issue with these vials.” She smashes it on the floor.

I gasp. “Marian! What the Oblivion?”

I rush to the ruined medicine, only stopping to avoid stepping on broken shards. Fury flares to life in my chest as the little light of Beau’s magic dims, the remedy destroyed.

She takes another and another, letting each one fall and break without explanation.

I grab her wrist before she can shatter another. “Marian!”

But she fights against my hold, thrashing her arm and seething. “Don’t you get it? I have to destroy them all.”

Confused, I wrestle her, needing to stop her. But she overpowers and pushes me.

I fall, landing on the crushed glass and hiss.

“Marian, please stop this. We need these!” I plead.

She cackles maniacally, reaching for the case of vials and dumping it to join the others. I reach, attempting to save what I can, but the tonics slip through my fingers.

“The whispers and shadows are a better aid than this stupid medicine. Medicine you created,” she spits.

Shadows? Whispers?

Sybille and Stefan’s words flare to life in my thoughts.

Be careful of the shadows.

My heart stops.

No.

It was a warning. Not one to piece together the cure but to save—Marian.

An eerily familiar strike of grief seeps forward, sinking me further into the ground.

She’s losing her mind. She’s speaking in riddles—hallucinating. The infection is still attacking her on the inside.

And I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t prevent it. I didn’t fix it.

I… I’m too late.

I failed .

This person in front of me—

I’m going to lose her.

Goose bumps prickle along my skin, dragging my body down as a mournful song plucks at my heart. The strum of defeat is so sharp—so painful—like I’m bleeding from the inside out.

Figures flash in my mind, lifeless and drenched in red.

Annie. Riker. Bronn . Marius. Alec.

Marian .

Blood.

So. Much—

I pinch my eyes shut and clench my fists.

Ruination boils in my veins, my temper flaring. A fierce determination stirs forth my rage as I bite down that harsh truth, refusing to believe it.

Fuck. No.

I will not accept this. I’ve sacrificed everything for this remedy, and I will not lose her.

Letum will not claim her soul.

She is still here, which means I still have time.

I will save her.

Marian moves for another crate, but I lunge forward, grabbing her ankles and yanking. She stumbles, falling on top of me.

She squirms and fusses, but I wrap my arms and legs around her, ignoring the pain from my back scraping against the broken glass.

I have to keep her from damaging the cure further. I need one to save her.

Beau …

He’ll be here soon. He’ll help Marian. He has to.

My sister digs her nails into my skin and thrashes. “Let go of me, you bitch!”

“Marian, please listen,” I beg, trying to reach my sister through her clouded and infected mind. “Don’t listen to the shadows and whispers. Listen to me. I’m your sister. I love you, and I am trying to help you.”

“Yeah, you’ve done a shit job of that now, haven’t you.” She bucks, trying to slam her head into me.

I dodge but yelp when her heeled shoes stab the tops of my thighs.

She wiggles. “The shadows have done more than you ever have. Now, let. Me. Go!” Marian rears back again, her skull catching the side of my face.

I groan, my vision spotting and my grip slipping.

Marian claws away from my hold and rolls off me. She pushes my stomach with her feet.

I yelp from the piercing contact meeting my ribs and the broken shards sliding against my back.

She bounces up, grabbing the last box on the table and lifting it above her head.

Towering over me, she breaks into a vicious grin. It’s haunting and terrifying.

I’m in pain. I’m disoriented. And I’ve lost her.

I’ve lost her!

Her breathing is ragged, pupils blown out as she seethes. “Now everyone will get to see how hopeless, pitiful, and useless you are. Now the Makers will see that everything is your fault.”

She smashes the box on my head.

In a dark, gloomy void, light urges me to open my eyes. But I shrivel away, seeking Letum rather than confronting the consequences of my actions.

A voice begs through the unyielding darkness.

“Please, please, please wake up. I can’t lose you, Rosebud. Please .”

Brightness shimmers, soothing and gentle, as if it too needs to be coaxed and restored to its full shine.

I drift, hesitant when it comes closer. A surge of warmth and comfort envelop me, and I sink into the peace, my surroundings spotty as my vision clears.

Gold, so liquid and molten, circle the rim of dilated pupils. Wrinkles pinch at the corner of almond-shaped eyes. Disheveled blond hair barely covers pinched features, and a stricken face I would recognize anywhere stares back.

“ Vi ,” Beau chokes out in relief, his magic emanating off him in waves and casting over me.

He covers me, holding my cheeks. A buzzing balm of energy surges up to my skull, pulsing.

But memory clicks into place, and I push him back. “No, stop. You can’t be doing this!”

“I can, and I will,” Beau says, barricading me.

I fight against him, but he doesn’t budge. “No! We need to find Marian.”

“We’ll find her later. I’m sure she’s fine. You, on the other hand, are not. Why did you think you could move the vials all by yourself?”

“I didn’t! Marian attacked me!”

Beau stills, his power snuffing out.

I use his shock to my advantage and force him away. “The tonic didn’t work. That’s why I had Sybille send you here. Did she not tell you?”

Beau looks around the room, like it’s the first time he’s taken in the disaster. “She only said to hold off the announcement and to meet you in the alchemy room.”

“She told me we were wrong.”

His features furrow, and I say, “Remember the warning, ‘Be careful of the shadows’?”

“What does that have to do with—”

“It was a warning from Sybille and Stefan.”

Beau arches away. “Are you saying you think they’re both seers?”

I sit up and rub my temple. “It is possible for two heirs to inherit abilities from the same Maker. It could even be King Vinzent for all we know. But what I do know is that Stefan was also trying to warn us. Help us.”

“How?” Beau asks.

“Stefan said it first before we went to Unterkirch and then Sybille repeated it.

Tonight, I spoke to her, and she told me how shadows clouded her mind from fully interpreting the vision she had told me about before we left for Belmur.

And she said that, when the news of the cure reached her, darkness lifted and allowed her to see what we were missing.

“The tonic needed blood of healers . It needed your blood and mine. I thought the warning was about the missing piece of the cure, which is why I ran here. But I was wrong. It was a sign to keep me from losing Marian.”

“But—”

“We’re running out of time. We need to save Marian!” I shove myself up, fighting against the world shifting. “You have to help her. You have to help get her stable so we can give her the right medicine.” My knees tremble as I turn for the door.

Beau gasps, and I pause, remembering my bloodied back.

His powers didn’t have enough time to heal all my injuries. Good.

I need him to conserve his energy.

“Tell me she didn’t do that to you,” he says, his voice rumbling.

“It wasn’t her. It was the infection. It’s killing her from the inside out. Now, come on, we need to find her.” I break into the hall, picking up my stride despite wanting to collapse.

Beau follows me, matching my pace. “You don’t even know where she went.”

I ignore him.

A flurry of power thrums in my veins, and I lean into it, asking it to keep me strong, keep me sharp, and find my sister. The shattering and breaking of my bones for every shift has only taught me the current fatigue and pain rippling through my body is nothing.

Maybe it was training me for this moment. Fear of the curse, the esprit appearing, it was all for this moment. The chance to save Marian.

We pass another corridor, the one closest to guests drinking and thriving in celebration. Looking at my dress, I should change.

But I don’t have time. Marian doesn’t have time.

I pick up my feet, ready to break into a run—

Beau tugs my elbow, and I whirl on him. “What are you—”

“I’ll have my advisors plus Jules and Christine check the castle and alert the guards and staff. I’m going to go get a search party. I have a feeling we might need it.”

I nod, ready to take off, but he adds, “Go to the weapons room, arm yourself and prepare to enter the forest.”

I falter. “The woods? And why arm myself? What makes you think—”

“There’s no chaos in the ballroom, so I can only assume she’s gone elsewhere. And she’s always preferred the outdoors.” He pulls me closer, lowering his voice. “And if she’s already attacked you, she’s at risk of being a threat.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, understanding. “Who are you bringing?”

“Leo, Marcel, and probably Jer. I trust them, and they are friendly faces for Marian. And Jerrick is a force to be reckoned with.”

Memories surface of when I saw what King Jerrick could do so long ago… Fear and terror creep up my spine and I try to move past it, hoping this circumstance will be different to the King of Palaena.

“What about King Vinzent and Prince Stefan?” I ask. “He and Marian have gotten close lately.”

“I don’t know him.”

His sharp tone drives forth speculation. “Is that the only reason?”

Beau hesitates, his gaze drifting to the party and guests. When he turns back, he lowers his voice. “I don’t want to risk anything when it comes to saving Marian. Regardless if he has helped us or not, I don’t trust him yet.”

With no time to peel apart his true feelings for the prince, I shrug, needing to act. “I’ll meet you outside the stables.”

Beau releases my elbow but catches my wrist when I veer away. He pulls me in, his lips crashing against mine.

The kiss is quick and surprising, my vision blurring from how perfect it feels to have him whisk me back into his arms.

Remembering where we are, I panic and shove him back.

He opens his eyes, unafraid and unapologetic as he vows, “We’ll find her. We’ll save her. And when this is all done, you and I are going to talk .” He doesn’t move to release me, and so, again, I have to be the one to push him away.

Every time I do, it breaks my heart. Lifting my skirts, I turn and sprint for the weapon room.

I don’t dwell on what he wants to talk about.

I don’t ruminate on what happens when this is all done.

I only worry about saving my sister.