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Chapter Twenty

F or it was Grim striding toward the gate.

He was dressed in all black, but instead of his usual leathers, he wore a doublet made of fine silk and fitted breeches.

His boots were of expensive leather, and a heavy black cloak hung from his shoulders.

His hair was carefully arranged in an orderly manner, unlike its usual messy style.

From this angle he appeared like a dark angel, with his rough-hewn features and dark clothing. If she hadn’t known him, she would have found him terrifying as well as beautiful. It was hard for her to be afraid of him now, however, as his face melted into relief as he drew closer.

“Serena!” he called, picking up his pace. “I’m glad you’re all right. I was worried when I landed here without you. And wearing these ridiculous clothes.”

He looked down at himself self-deprecatingly.

“I’m fine,” she replied, squeezing his hand, which she then hastily drew back remembering how they had left things.

“Come inside,” he said, leading her toward the castle. “You must be freezing.”

“Oooh, be careful with that one, beauty!” trilled the sparrow.

“Bad blood, very bad blood,” said the robin.

“Oh, do be quiet, both of you. This is just my friend Grim.”

Grim looked between her and the birds bemusedly. “I leave you alone for a bit, and you end up with bird admirers?”

“ Gri-i-im,” said the sparrow, stretching out the name thoughtfully.

“Bad omen, that name,” said the robin.

“Mustn’t wear it out—wouldn’t want to summon it.”

“Careful with that one, beauty,” they both trilled again.

At the mention of bad omens, Grim tensed. The birds were still staring at them, unnervingly. Serena turned to Grim and shivered dramatically to distract him. It worked automatically, and he snapped into action, taking off his cloak to wrap around her as he herded her indoors.

“The castle is enchanted,” said Grim as they entered. “It will give you anything you ask for—it’s actually a little creepy.”

“I think that sounds magical.”

On the way here she had resolved not to let Grim’s reaction push her away. While she was still unhappy with him, she was determined to not only figure out why he had rejected her, but also to let him know that she would not let him push her away.

The castle was magnificent inside. It was painstakingly decorated, tastefully so.

Exquisite art hung on the walls, along with magnificent tapestries with embroidery that was so beautifully done, that you could hardly tell that it was sewn and not painted on.

The carpets on the floor were thick and luxurious, and when they reached the dining hall (where Grim marched her after her stomach started rumbling,) she gasped at the beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

It was larger than her bed back home, and shaped like a beautiful orchid, with small golden butterflies that seemed like they were floating above the flower.

As they entered, the candles lit inside it in a breathtaking golden glow, and soon the room was awash with light.

They took a seat at the table, and no sooner had she spoken about wanting food, that a mouthwatering banquet appeared in front of them.

Some of the dishes were familiar, like the roasted chicken that sat in the middle of the table, which she studiously avoided looking at.

It was surrounded by different kinds of gravy and five kinds of potatoes.

There were also dishes she had never seen before, like the small bowls made of bread that held blue and purple mushrooms glistening with butter.

Unable to resist, she picked up one and moaned in pleasure at the rich taste and spices that hit her tongue.

Beside her, Grim was eyeing what looked like jellied fish in a vivid purple color.

At her encouraging nod, he placed it in his mouth and his eyebrows rose in surprised approval.

After they had finished eating their fill of the meal in front of them, it disappeared, and was replaced by a row of desserts instead.

“Oh, well, this is just not fair,” said Serena, her hand edging toward the plate of sugared biscuits nearest to her .

“That looks exactly like you.” Grim chuckled, pointing at the dessert at her left. It was a pale-pink pastry, decorated with tiny heart-shaped berries, and topped with a heavy dollop of cream. The sweet glistened in the light, and to her surprise, Serena realized it was also covered in glitter.

“Very amusing,” she grumbled, her eyes glued to the lovely creation. She was loathe to ruin it, but she took a bite and was pleased to discover it tasted as divine as it looked.

Once they had finished eating, she turned to her companion. “What do you think is going on here? If this is the tale of beauty and the beast, where’s the beast?”

“Are you calling yourself a beauty?” he teased.

“Very funny.” She sniffed. “I’m serious.”

He shrugged evasively.

“Who knows what Lore has planned. We’ll get to know in time, I suppose.”

Serena frowned. This was very unlike him; normally he was always rearing to go find clues and solve problems. It was odd of him to be content with just waiting around.

However, by that time, she was already starting to feel the heaviness of a full stomach, and she yawned loudly.

“Is there a place I can sleep?” she questioned. “I think I’m about to fall down right here.”

“I did come across a room, which I believe is supposed to be yours.”

He led her to the bedchamber in question, and as soon as she entered, Serena knew what he meant. Everything in this room had…frills. The bedcovers, the pillows, the armchairs. Even the furniture design had a ruffled trim to it.

“Ah…I see. ”

He turned to leave, and she caught his sleeve. “Wait where are you going?”

He raised his eyebrows. “To find a room to sleep in?”

“Are you crazy?” she hissed. “You’re not leaving me alone for some beast to show up.”

He sighed. “Very well. I’ll take the floor. Just toss me a pillow.”

Serena grabbed a pillow and then hesitated.

“The bed is big enough,” she said. “We could both easily fit on it.”

He froze, his eyes widening.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” she snapped. “I’m not going to molest you in your sleep. I can take a rejection. It’s just that there’s plenty of space and no need for you to sleep on the floor. Besides, that thing is so large, we won’t even notice each other.”

She had been wrong.

So utterly wrong.

She was very much aware of him lying next to her on his back. Her cheeks pinkened at the realization that if she rolled over, she would be flush against him. Her mind fantasized what it would be like if he reached over and pulled her closer to him, just like when they kis—

No, no, she could not let her mind go that way. He had made his feelings clear, and she was not going to be pining after him like a lovesick puppy.

She stretched her arms, trying to focus on a subject that did not make her want to throw caution to the winds and pin down the man next to her. Unfortunately, the movement made her hand brush against his, causing electricity to jolt up her arm.

“Sorry,” they both said together, and she chuckled despite herself.

“Serena,” he murmured, and she felt her body go hot at the husky way he said her name .

“Yes?” she asked, embarrassed at the way her breath caught.

“Good night.”

“Good night,” she echoed, feeling slightly disappointed.

Fidgeting again, her leg accidentally brushed against his, and she could have sworn she heard his breath hitch a little.

Images crowded into her mind, all of which were incredibly inappropriate, and in that moment she was thankful Grim could not read minds.

Her body felt like it could set fire to the cool sheets, her face flushed and her breath coming in short spurts.

He rolled over then, and she looked over to see his very well defined back muscles.

Almost as if in a trance she reached out before realizing what she was doing.

Embarrassed at her own antics, she snatched her traitorous appendage back and rotated away as well.

However, to add to her string of bad luck, she ended up getting tangled in the sheets instead.

Whilst in the middle of an effort to untangle herself, she ended up somehow rolling into his very warm, very male body.

“Eep,” she squeaked.

He had gone unnaturally still, as if he did not quite trust himself to move or to speak.

Scrambling back, she accidentally brushed against something that made her think that perhaps Grim wasn’t as immune to her presence as she had thought.

Cheeks burning, she turned away, taking more care this time to not ram into him somehow.

It was going to be a long night.

She woke to the sound of voices.

“Beauty wasn’t careful at all, was she,” chirped one of them.

“Bad omen, bad omen, not careful at all! ”

She groaned. It was the pesky birds back at it again. Opening her eyes a crack, she wondered what the heavy weight on her was. A very heavy, very male arm was wrapped around her midsection, and her legs were intertwined with his.

Letting out a squeal, she jumped away. Or tried to anyway, since Grim was too heavy for her to move by herself. The noise woke him up though, and he took one look at their entangled limbs and hastily extricated himself from her.

She was almost insulted by how quickly he did so.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m not sure how that happened.”

She nodded quickly, and then turned her attention to the birds that had made their way into her chamber. Putting her hands on her hips, she faced them.

“You two!” she said. “Do you know where the beast is?”

“What are you talking about, beauty?” asked the sparrow.

“You need to pay more attention,” said the robin, and the sparrow chirped in agreement.

Throwing her arms up in frustration, she turned to look at Grim.

“Sorry…would you mind leaving so I can get changed?”