The Beast by Megan Derr

Author:Megan Derr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magic, redemption, fairy tale, faerie, curse, fairytale, beauty and the beast, pining
Publisher: Megan Derr

Chapter Ten

He woke to the scent of roses and wondered at first if he was dreaming, so strong was the scent. In no hurry to find out, for he preferred dreaming to waking, he simply lay there with his eye closed and breathed in the sweet, soothing scent.

Meir was dead, he had recalled that immediately. The question was why, but finding the answer would require moving, and Alcor had no desire to do that, even if he could.

But there was Thomas, whose father must be frantic right now. Alcor curled his hands to ready himself to stand—and instead dug his fingers into thorns. His eye popped open in surprise, and he realized he still held the rose he had tried to destroy in a fit of temper the previous night.

He also saw much that should not have been there.

Gawking, he slowly regained his feet, turning around in a slow circle to take in what had become of his lawn. Roses, hundreds upon hundreds of roses grew across it, right up to the house, climbing the walls, tangling with the roses he could just see from the garden. They ranged in color from a delicate blush to a red so dark it was nearly black.

They were beautiful, but where had they come from? Surely not his one… yet he must have cast thousands of petals to the ground before dropping. Oh, he would never understand faerie magic. Shaking his head in wonder, Alcor sought and found the faerie lantern, carefully not looking at the mounds of fresh earth, and made his way back to the house.

He let himself in through the kitchen, setting the lantern on the table along with his jacket and the journal. His fingers lingered briefly on it, but then he walked on, up the stairs to see how Thomas fared. Opening the bedroom door, he saw Thomas was still fast asleep. Well, he would wake the boy after he got something together for him to eat.

Just thinking about food made his stomach roil and knot. Grimacing, he turned away to go back downstairs but stopped halfway down in surprise when someone began pounding on the front door. Realizing belatedly he had left Meir's sword out front, but deciding his appearance might give him a moment's surprise to work with, Alcor strode to the front door and threw it open.

"My son," the book clerk—Roger—gasped out, pale and exhausted. "Please, is my son here?"

Alcor nodded. "Yes. Upstairs, sleeping. I was going to take him home today. The soldiers—"

Roger held fast to the doorframe in relief, pushing up his spectacles with his other hand. "Yes, the soldiers—" He stopped abruptly, seeing Alcor's face. "Master Meir?"

"Dead," Alcor said flatly and turned away to go prepare food and tea for his guests, even as he wondered if he could keep his stomach behaving long enough to manage it.

Apparently he could, so long as he did not think about anything. He very nearly fell apart when he removed his jacket from the table, however, and saw the rose, the journal and the mirror.

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