Page 39 of Beast of Blood and Roses (Dark Ever After Fairytales #1)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Rosalie

I squeezed Beast’s hand tighter, feeling the incredible surge of power moving through him and into me like flames jumping between us.

I’d expected him to grow weaker as I drew from the amulet’s energy, but instead he seemed to be getting stronger.

The connection between us was feeding both our strengths rather than draining either of us.

A brilliant blue and white aura began swirling around us, growing brighter and more intense with each passing second. The magical energy crackled in the air, making my hair stand on end and sending tingling sensations across my skin.

“Give me The Witch’s Heart!” Dad cried out, the sound raw with desperation. His face had turned an alarming shade of red from pure rage, veins bulging at his temples. Spittle flew from his lips as he continued his relentless magical assault on our barrier.

I’d thought his power would be diminishing after using so much energy, but instead it seemed to be growing stronger and stronger—feeding off his fury and hatred. Meanwhile, my own strength was fighting just to survive under the constant barrage of his attacks.

The shield flickered more violently now, and I could feel cracks beginning to form in my magical defenses. How much longer could we hold out?

“Stop attacking us, Dad!” I shouted at him.

He threw back his head and laughed—a cold, cruel sound that matched his calculating heart.

Through the chaos, I caught a glimpse of Trystan standing eerily calm. He lifted an eyebrow with amusement. “You think this pathetic creature is your father?”

The shield flickered dangerously as everything finally clicked into place. “So the nightmares were memories.”

Dad’s lips curled up into a smile that held no warmth, no love, no guilt. “Such a naive little fool. Did you ever wonder why you could never please me? Why you always disappointed me?”

“Because you’re the monster!” The accusation burst out of me, loud and fierce.

“You don’t know that he murdered your parents?” Trystan studied me with something that might have been pity.

Anger surged through me, strengthening the shield. I wanted to hurt Dad—no, he wasn’t my father. I wanted to scratch out his eyes, make him suffer every day like he made me suffer. “Why did you kill my parents?”

He cast me a sinister smile. “They betrayed me.”

I didn’t believe him. My nightmares had shown me good people, not traitors. “What do you mean? Tell me the truth.”

“I wanted power.” His eyes glittered with hunger. “I wanted to be more powerful than Tinker Bell, more powerful than any witch in New Orleans.”

“So you killed innocent people?” I narrowed my eyes. “How did murdering my parents give you power?”

“Magic, you fool. Dark magic requires sacrifices.” His eyes gleamed with a fanatic’s fervor that made my skin crawl.

I could feel the blood drain from my face. “What do you mean sacrifices? Did you make a deal with someone?”

Volaris, shrugged. “I needed souls, and not just any souls. The demon wanted two of the most powerful magical bloodlines in New Orleans.”

“What demon?” Trystan stepped forward, his entire demeanor shifting. He narrowed his eyes and a low, threatening growl escaped from his lips.

I caught a glimpse of sharp canine teeth. Around us, the wolves stopped their assault on the shield and turned to follow their alpha’s gaze, sensing a greater threat.

Relief flooded through me as the constant pressure against my magic finally ceased. The shield still shimmered around us, but I no longer had to fight to maintain it. Beside me, Beast tensed, his eyes darting between Trystan and the pack that had just stopped trying to kill us.

The silence stretched as we all waited for Volaris’ answer, the air thick with tension.

“The Demon Balthazar.” Volaris grinned with unholy satisfaction. “Their deaths cleared what I owed him and gave me access to power beyond imagination.”

Anger turned to horror, and hot tears streamed down my face. “They’re in hell?” My voice broke completely.

His expression almost softened for a moment. “They died protecting you, little fool. Right up until the end, they fought to keep you safe.”

“But if he gave you your powers,” Beast said slowly, “then someone bound them afterward. Who? Tinker Bell?”

A chill ran down my spine. Not from fear, but from the sudden sense that we weren’t alone. My heart stopped completely, and I felt the shield waver dangerously around us. Standing just behind Volaris, silent as death, was Tinker Bell.

Her green eyes were fixed on the man who had destroyed so many lives, and the look on her face was terrifying in its cold fury.

“That pathetic witch?” Volaris sneered, oblivious to the danger behind him. “No. Someone far more powerful than her bound my magic.”

Trystan took a step back, and I noticed his wolves turned their attention to him. “Who?”

“Your mother bound them before she died.” Volaris tilted his head with mock sympathy.

“She bound my powers before I could stop her. Other witches were coming—including your pompous uncle—Tobias Nightshade. But before they came, I stole you.” His smile turned cruel.

“One good deed deserves another, doesn’t it? ”

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces at his words. All those years...all those years he’d been punishing me for simply existing?

For being a reminder of his crimes? The beatings, the neglect, the constant disappointment in his eyes—it had never been about me not being good enough. It had been about him hating what I represented.

Years of frustration and hurt exploded into rage. “You were going to trade me to Balthazar too, weren’t you? That’s why you kept me alive. I was just...inventory.”

“Yes,” he said simply.

Raw magic poured out of me uncontrolled, the blue and white aura turning violent and chaotic. The magical energy was so intense that Beast’s leather cord suddenly snapped, sending The Witch’s Heart flying against the shield then dropping down onto the floor with a loud thud.

Beast swayed but remained standing—the residual magic from our connection still flowing through him, though I could see it wouldn’t last long.

“Rosalie!” Beast called out, but I was beyond hearing him. Twenty years of rage and grief exploded out of me in a torrent of magical energy that made the entire house shake.

The shield around us cracked and splintered as my magic responded to the tsunami of rage and grief crashing through me.

The blue and white aura turned violent, chaotic, reflecting the storm of emotions tearing me apart from the inside.

But the explosion of power left me drained, my magic scattered and wild.

Beast shifted protectively in front of me, his massive frame coiled with tension despite his weakened state. He released a feral growl. “You bastard, you’ve been planning this for twenty years, haven’t you? You wanted to bargain Rosalie to get your powers back.”

I wasn’t going to hide behind him. I stepped around him, desperately trying to raise my palms to form another shield. But my magic was scattered and weak after the explosion. The barrier barely flickered between my trembling hands, translucent and fragile.

Volaris raised his hands and hurled another crackling bolt of dark energy. This time my weakened shield shattered instantly, the magical backlash sending me staggering backward.

“Balthazar!” he called out to the empty air. “Take her!”

He spun a deadly bolt between his palms, the dark magic whistling as it cut through the air straight toward my heart. But Beast threw himself in front of me.

The dark magic struck him squarely in the chest with a sickening impact.

His arms flew out wide and he let out a scream that seemed to tear from the very depths of his soul, raw, agonized, inhuman.

His massive body began to convulse and spin helplessly as the evil magic coursed through him like acid.

A cry escaped me as I watched the magic tear through him. Then I smelled it: something burning, acrid and terrible. The stench of flesh being consumed from within.

Oh god. It was Beast himself, burning from the inside out.

He’d saved me once again, and it was destroying him. The sight of his agony broke something fundamental inside me. I threw myself toward him, tears streaming down my face, a wail of grief and rage tearing from my throat.

“Beast!” I dropped to my knees beside his writhing form, my hands hovering over him, afraid to touch him and cause more pain. “You’re going to pay for this!” I screamed at Volaris.

Pure hatred flared in his eyes as he began forming another deadly blue arrow between his palms, rage twisting his features into something monstrous.

But he was so focused on me and Beast, so consumed with finishing what he’d started, he didn’t notice the real danger stalking up behind him. I looked up through my tears to see Trystan’s body begin to shift and change with fluid, terrifying grace.

His expensive clothes tore apart at the seams as bones cracked and reformed, his human form giving way to something far more primal and deadly. The sound of ripping fabric filled the air like sharp gunshots as muscles bulged and stretched beyond human limits.

Within seconds, an enormous snarling white wolf stood where the man had been—easily twice the size of any natural wolf, his ice-blue eyes blazing with supernatural intelligence and fury.

A low, rumbling growl filled the room, so deep it seemed to vibrate through the floorboards and into my very bones.

His massive head swiveled toward Volaris, lips pulled back to reveal fangs as long as daggers.

Part of me registered the massive wolf preparing to attack Volaris, but all I could think about was Beast dying in my arms. I couldn’t just hover helplessly.

I pressed my hands against Beast’s wounds, trying to stop the bleeding, but blood seeped through my fingers anyway.

“Stay with me,” I whispered desperately, watching his breathing grow shallower. “Please don’t leave me.”