Before Beauty (20 page)

A thoughtful look filled Isa’s
eyes as she stared into the fireplace. “But the longer I’m in this
place, the more I’m convinced the Fortress is more than capable of
protecting itself. Instead, I feel as if it is more concerned with
my heart than my head.”

She smiled at him again, and he
couldn’t help but wonder if she was right. If only she knew what he
had been through. But then, perhaps he didn’t want her to. He had
given her enough loss without grieving her more. Instead, he asked
her to dance.

“
Of course.” she smiled up at him
with that sweet innocence that sent his heart pounding in his
ears.

Slowly, they shuffled out to the
dance floor. Though they’d been going through the motions for
months, Ever felt something different tonight as he took Isa’s
crooked hand in one of his own and her waist in the other.
Frustration inside him howled as he realized the hand that held
hers looked just as thin and frail beneath the glove as the girl’s
did. Likewise, the hunch in his back put them eye to eye. Her good
hand held his left arm, and if it hadn’t been for all his clothes,
could have nearly encircled it.

The familiar shame filled him as
he recalled how far he’d fallen. Just a year ago, his arm had been
solid and four times as large as it was now. Isa was tall for a
woman, but he would have still stood a good three inches above her.
A year ago, he would have been able to protect this beautiful
creature from anything that threatened to harm her. Now, she was
probably just as capable of protecting herself, if not
more.

He wondered if there was any
possibility that she could ever see him not as a captor or a king,
but as a man. Could she ever respect him? Could she look up to him,
trust him to keep her safe? Could she desire him?

Even as they danced, the warmth of
her skin radiated through his gloves, and suddenly, the correct
posture the dance commanded wasn’t close enough. Somewhere in the
back of his mind, Ever remembered his tutors’ instructions about
proper distances between a man and a woman, and it took all his
willpower to adhere to them.

As the dance came to an end,
however, he realized with panic that she was going to leave him, as
she did every night. When the music died, instead of immediately
turning back to her chambers, however, Isa seemed to suddenly be
struggling as he was.

Without thinking, he leaned
forward slowly.

Her breath was uneven as their
faces touched. She lifted her chin just a little, and for a moment,
his lips rested on hers.

Slowly, to his disappointment, Isa
pulled away. Her eyes pierced his, full of fear. Bit by bit, her
fingers loosed themselves from his own, and before he knew it, she
had fallen back a step. Then two. Then, without a word, she was
gone.

As Ever walked back to the Tower
of Annals, guilt crashed over him. Here he was, falling in love
with her, and yet, as Garin had pointed out, he was pushing her
towards a cliff from which there was no return. She clearly wasn’t
ready for him. But he was dying. He would have to continue with the
plan.

Despite his determination to carry
out his schemes, Ever was haunted that night by those midnight blue
eyes. Large and frightened, they watched him as they had for all
his life. And in his sleep, Ever couldn’t help but weep.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Ironclad Dreams

“
You seem unhappy.”

Isa jumped a little as the prince
sat down beside her on the stone bench. Usually, she heard his
approach by the dragging of his feet, but she had been distracted
this morning. She twirled the rose in her hands again, wondering
how much the prince would really like to hear what was on her
mind.

Not that he had been unkind to her
as of late. In fact, he’d been more chivalrous than ever. In the
week following their near kiss, however, she had found herself
avoiding him. She could see that it hurt him, but she really was at
a loss for what to do.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted
him to kiss her. Every muscle in her body had wanted nothing more
than to meet his lips on the balcony that night. But it frightened
her that things could change so quickly. He had gone from being the
evil prince who had ruined her life thrice, to a sweet companion
whose company she found herself craving increasingly. What would
her family say?

It was this sentiment that had
brought her out here today. She couldn’t bring herself to dance,
but being outside made her feel a bit closer to home, now that the
days were warmer and the sun shined more often. If she closed her
eyes and focused on the warmth of the sunbeams, she could sometimes
pretend she was back in her parents’ garden, sitting on the little
stone wall behind the house.

She could almost hear her mother’s
tools scraping in the garden dirt, and Megane running around after
the chickens. She wished so much that she could ask her mother for
advice. Was this right? Were her feelings right? Isa imagined her
mother’s responses, but she shied away from imagining what her
father or Launce might say.

“
Well…” Everard’s voice brought
her back to the present. He’d dropped his eyes to the ground and
began to stand again. “I suppose if you–”

But Isa grabbed his arm and pulled
him back down. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. I was just
thinking about my family.” She sighed as he settled in and looked
at her expectantly. His eyes were serious, standing out from his
haggard face even more than usual in the early spring sunlight that
filtered through the clouds. She half expected him to scoff or get
angry, but instead, he simply nodded, so she continued.

“
I just wish I could tell them I’m
safe. But even more than that,” she paused shyly before finishing
in a whisper, “that I’m happy.”

The prince stared at her for a
moment before the apprehension melted from his face, and he was
suddenly left beaming. The expression looked a bit strange in the
gaunt, ashen face, but it wasn’t unpleasant either. Isa decided
that she rather like it.

“
I think that can be arranged. Is
there a token, something you could send with a letter so that they
would know it was from you? I’m afraid your father will trust
little that I send.”

Isa laughed and nodded. “I’ll send
this rose.” Touching its petals, she added, “It’s just about to
bloom.”

Everard stood up again, still
smiling. “I will send Garin since your father knows him. Perhaps he
will believe the words of an old friend.”

“
Is he human again?” Isa suddenly
sat on the edge of her seat, thrilled with the idea of seeing
another familiar face. Since Cerise had regained her body, more
servants had been turning every day, but they were mostly the ones
tending to her.

Everard gave her an even bigger
grin, suddenly looking a bit boyish. “I woke up this morning to
find him hovering over my pallet like a mother hen. Although,” he
paused, “I’m not entirely sure he was ever human to begin
with.”

The joy in Everard’s voice was
infectious, and Isa found herself suddenly feeling lighthearted.
Perhaps she would dance this morning after all.

Her good mood lasted throughout
the remainder of the day and into the evening. Supper was more
animated than usual as well, as Everard kept her laughing with
stories from when he was a small boy. Even dancing was less
awkward. He didn’t try to kiss her again, and Isa nearly allowed
herself to enjoy the warmth of his arms.

When she laid down in bed that
evening, as the servants scurried around to prepare her bedchamber
for the chill of the night, Isa imagined how her family would react
to Garin’s message. Her mother would cry, and Megane would snatch
the rose up to dry and save it. Launce would let out a few insolent
remarks to the Fortress steward, and Ansel, even more. But even
with all the carrying on, Isa knew the rose would mean hope for
them where there had been none before.

As the servants finished their
tasks, and Isa began to drift off, she heard thunder in the
distance. It grew closer as her eyelids grew heavy.

“
Look at her.”

Startled, Isa’s eyes flew open and
she tried to sit up, searching in the darkness. Her fire was out
and her room had grown cold, which was strange. The servants never
let her fire go out.

“
Cerise?” she called out
nervously. But Cerise didn’t answer.

Instead, the strange woman’s voice
sounded again in the night. “Really, Captain, do you think this is
necessary? After all, she doesn’t know us. It seems a bit unfair.”
The stranger didn’t sound sorry though.

“
We never promised to play fair.”
This time, it was a man’s voice, not as deep as Everard’s, but
menacing.

As he spoke, a cry of a large bird
sounded above Isa, and she could feel air whoosh past her as it
swooped down, narrowly missing her head. As she tried to duck, Isa
realized she was no longer lying in her bed, but was tied to a
chair instead. Again, the beast dove at her, and this time, it hit
her ear. Isa felt a sharp pain, followed by a warm trickle that
rolled down her neck. As she gasped, trying to see straight through
the pain and thick blackness, she thought she could make out shape
of some sort, two shadows, perhaps.

“
Captain, you will have her dead
in five minutes if you keep this up. Let me handle this,” the woman
said impatiently. Without another word, the man disappeared, and
only the woman’s silhouette remained. The stranger pulled up
another chair and placed it across from where Isa sat, straddling
it and resting her arms on the chair’s back.

As her eyes adjusted, Isa could
see that the woman was very handsome, but she immediately sensed
that this woman was also was very, very dangerous.

Her slick black hair was pulled
back tightly into a knot, and her dress was slit up both sides so
that long legs wrapped in men’s trousers could stick out. Her
unladylike position on the chair and the muscles that ran up and
down her bared arms made Isa feel even more frightened.

Full lips curved into a strange
smile as Isa finally met her gaze. The woman’s green eyes were
bright, and would have been beautiful if they hadn’t been so
threatening. It was only then that Isa realized the light that
filled the room was coming from those eyes. They were filled with
rings of golden flame.

“
I apologize for the
inconvenience,” the woman gestured to Isa’s bonds, “but I needed to
talk with you, and I knew you would run before I had the chance to
explain myself. The least you can do is listen to me, woman to
woman. Then I will be gone, I promise.”

Isa sat, petrified. Who was this
terrifying creature, and where had they brought her? For she surely
wasn’t in her room any longer. She tried to open her mouth to
scream for Everard, Garin, the servants, anyone who would hear her,
but nothing came out.

“
See now? This is why I had to
bind you.” The woman shook her head. “Since you obviously can’t
escape, and no one has heard you, you might as well listen to what
I have to say.”

Isa considered this that for a
moment before ceasing to struggle against her ropes. The woman had
a point. Isa was going nowhere fast. She had no choice but to
listen. Maybe after the woman spoke, she would simply leave, and
Isa would be returned to the Fortress somehow.

“
I have been watching your
dreams,” the woman began.

Isa wondered how that was even
possible.

“
You were wise when you first
arrived here, back when you hated him, feared him with everything
in you.” She gave Isa a coy smile and wagged her finger. “But just
as all women are with him, you were drawn in. Oh yes,” she chuckled
at Isa’s expression, “I’ve felt the draw, too. He is a fine
specimen of a man-or was, at least. The draw was even stronger
before he wasted away so. You should have seen him in his prime!”
She pursed her lips then smiled for a moment before going on. “But
no matter what he says or does, you are going to always be his
captive.”

Isa frowned, unsure of why this
strange woman was telling her all this. While she couldn’t deny
that his early days had indeed been terrible, it seemed unfair to
allow the man she knew now to be spoken about as such. “He’s
changing,” Isa squeaked, her voice nervous and her throat dry. “He
is a different person than he was then.”

“
He has stopped insulting you, so
now you think he loves you?” All traces of her smile left the
woman’s face, and the golden fire of her eyes bored into Isa. “I
was hoping you would be wise enough to see through him as you did
at first, but obviously you’re as foolish as the rest of
htem.”

Taking Isa’s chin firmly in her
hand, the woman jerked her face up so Isa had to look her in the
eyes. “He is using you, Isabelle. A man like that cannot love. For
power he sold his soul, and you along with it.”

Isa wanted to cover her ears and
hide, but the woman continued to speak, and Isa continued to
hear.

“
You see, the prince wants to use
your power for his own ends, to heal his own self.” She let go of
Isa’s chin and sat back in her chair again, her eyes suddenly
brilliant. “This end he has conceived for you does not have to come
true!”