Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn

Author:Chanda Hahn [Hahn, Chanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chanda Hahn

Chapter Fifteen

Come morning, I found myself back in my locked room in the inn, with no memories of crawling back through the window or how I had escaped the men in the woods. Prudence was lying on a mat near the door fast asleep, her hand over her eyes. Her chest was moving, and a slight snore could be heard.

I was still wearing my red dress from the night before. My head pounding, I struggled to walk to the table without falling over; the floor seemed to move like waves beneath my feet as I grabbed the wall for support. Making my way to the table with a washbasin and pitcher of water, I wet my hands and splashed my face.

Looking down, I gasped—the water was tinged with red.

My hands shook as I brought them up to my face. There were specks of dried blood all over them. Whose blood? Mine? Panicking, I checked my neck in the mirror, but there was only a small scratch across my throat from the thief’s knife, no other significant cut.

Then I saw the dark patch of red on my skirt. The fold of my red dress had hidden it, but there was no mistaking the blood.

Fear raced through me as I clawed my dress, trying to rid myself of the bloody shroud.

“What’s the matter?” Pru asked as she awoke and rushed to my aid.

“Get this off me,” I cried out. Her fingers made swift work of the laces where mine had fumbled, and then the dress was off.

It landed in a pile on the floor as I crawled into my bed, pulling my knees to my chest and rocking back and forth as I tried to piece together what had happened.

A loud snore came from the trunk, and I knew if Gobbersnot was comfortable enough to sleep and not worry, then I could be as well. But I didn’t.

“When did I come in last night?” I asked anxiously, my eyes wandering around the room, searching for clues.

“I don’t know. I fell asleep a few hours after the troll attack and didn’t hear you return.”

“And what time was that?”

“A little after the tenth mark?”

Closing my eyes, I tried to push down my fears. It was okay—my curse had just reared its ugly head, and I had another episode of memory loss. But I would need to double or triple my dose of wolfsbane to keep it at bay so it wouldn’t happen again. Maybe I was weakened from using so much magic away from the ley lines that it left me vulnerable to the episodes.

“Miss, are you okay?” Her words comforted me. She seemed to actually care about my well-being.

“I will be, I hope.” My voice lost its hard edge, one born of defense, and my tone changed around her. I was warming up, becoming a softer person.

Pru went downstairs and came back with hot water, and I dropped my special tea bag in, letting it steep longer than usual. I would need to make a more concentrated dose, but this would do for now.

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