in front of his face and profile gilt in firelight, he looks like a monarch in repose.
And I’m the supplicant at his feet. I don’t like sitting here, but my legs are too stiff for me to move.
Or I could pretend we’re a happy couple, just back from a walk in our winter garden. He built up this fire for me like my dad used to, and we’ll stay up late, lounging in front of it together…
“What are you thinking about?” I ask when the silence stretches. I can’t forget he’s my captor, and I’m at his mercy. Any chance to get in his head, I should take it.
Not fantasize that we’re a couple, ala Stockholm Syndrome.
“I’m surprised your father didn’t sell out sooner.” I must be used to his deep voice, because it’s soothing. “He would’ve done anything for your mother.”
“Yes. But he couldn’t. His research was her only hope.” I flinch as I always do when talking about my mother’s disease. The Beast is studying me so I quickly add, “Besides, we didn’t need more than what we had. We had each other.”
“A touching story.” he sneers at the fire. “I suppose love kept you warm?”
I raise my chin. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“I understand perfectly. Your mother died. Your father turned into a shell of his former self.”
I flinch with each denouncement as if he’s struck me.
“Is that why you no longer remain true to your vow?”
“What vow?” I cry out, finding the strength to rise to my knees.
“To remain pure.” He seizes my shoulders. “Tell me, Daphne, why, after all these years, do you whore yourself for a rich man?”
I twist out of his hold. “I don’t whore myself to anyone. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? The nights out? The fine dining, the symphony? When did you spread your legs for him… after he gave you this?” He grasps the necklace I wear. The chain digs into my neck and I cry out, flailing at his arms.
“Stop it! My mother gave me this, you…you Beast.”
“Beast.” He lets me go and I fall back, tucking the rose charm away. “Fitting. I suppose that’s how you see me.”
“You’re crazy.” My voice is shaking. I was stupid to let down my guard with him, even for a second. “You’re a Beast because you act like one.” I run a hand through my hair. Why am I even bothering to explain? “I don’t care how you look.”
He tilts his head. I stare until his features blur, wishing again for my glasses. Something about his face is familiar…
“Don’t care about looks?” he asks bitterly. “Only how much money a guy has?”
I raise my chin. “You don’t know me.”
“I know you better than anyone else does.” His words echo in my head, triggering deja vu. I tilt my head, chasing the memory, but it disappears.
“What do you know about me?” At some point in the past moments, I’ve taken his hand. He turns my pale one over his, studying it as if it’s a bird flown into his hands, fragile and precious.
“You’ve always tried to be what your father wanted. But you’re more than that.”
I close my eyes, remembering another time, another moment, another man telling me these things. But that man was kind, gentle. Nothing like the Beast.
“What did my father want me to be?”
“Hope. A lifeline. A savior. But he failed.”
I flinch, drawing my hand back.
“You both did.”
I stare at the fire. “You’re speaking of my mother.”
“Yes.”
“We tried to save her.”
“It wasn’t your burden.”
“Yes it is.”
“Why? Because you can profit from it?” he sneers.
“What happened to you?” I ask, rising up on my knees before him. “Who hurt you?”
His face hardens. “They took everything from me.”
“Who? My father?” When he doesn’t answer, I add, “Adam?”
Large hands close over my shoulders, shaking me hard. “Do not speak his name!” he roars.
“Please,” I cry. “I’m not with Adam. I never have been.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Now the Beast is on his feet, tugging me up. Oh gods, will he put me back in the tower?
“Please, I just want to understand—” I plead as he drags me down the hall. Past the door that leads to the tower. I relax, only to stiffen again when he drags me to another door, and down a dark staircase. The temperature begins to drop again. “You’re scaring me!”
“He won’t ever have you.”
“Where are you taking me?” I all but shriek as he leads me down the freezing stone corridor, holding my upper arm