The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,47

the oath, but maybe telling her about my suspicions regarding Raven wasn’t the greatest of ideas. They were probably friends. Confidants. If I wanted to confront Raven, I needed to catch her off guard rather than give her time to prepare a story.

I braided my fingers together. “I need to find a beast that will help me remove Noc’s oath. He’s getting worse.”

Kaori’s gaze returned to Calem, as did her hand. “Is anyone well in that place?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Physically? Sure. I think we’re all mentally and emotionally a little bruised in one way or another, though.”

She nodded. “It’s feeding his beast. The turmoil. He should stay with me for a while. I’ll teach him how to control his emotions”—something dark raced through her expression, and she arched a single brow—“and when to let them run free.”

My pulse quickened. “That doesn’t sound exactly…healthy.”

She flashed a weak grin, and the points of her canines seemed to sharpen. “Trust me, it’s healthy for people like us. I’m not suggesting he allow them to consume him—just channel the buildup in a way that keeps his mind intact.”

My jaw tightened. I did this. “If you say so.”

“Leena.” Kaori gripped my hand. Her sapphire emblem caught in the light, drawing my attention to the network of mercury veins pulsing outward across her wrist.

“Yes?”

“You’re partially to blame for this, you know.”

Black spots burned in my peripheral vision, and a sudden burn of tears turned my world blurry. To have her say it out loud… To verbalize the guilt I already felt… “I know.”

“No.” She shook her head once, bringing my focus back to her. “He fought for you and his brother. He accepted this risk. What I mean is, you not being able to move on, you not forgiving yourself for what happened… How do you think it makes him feel when you can’t even look at him? Not like you used to, anyway. Not like he needs. He is the beast because that’s what you see.”

My throat tightened. “How…”

“Because it was the same with me.” She swallowed, eyes cast far away, reliving some memory I couldn’t see. “Calem and me, we’re different now, but we’re still us. We don’t need anyone reminding us of what happened or what we sacrificed to get here.”

Tears fell down my cheeks, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. “I can’t look at him without reliving how he died. How I caused that.”

Kaori stood and offered me her hand. “He made a choice, Leena. Respect that.”

I took it, allowing her words to click into place in my mind. They settled like tiny weights, pushing down the doubt and fear and guilt. I couldn’t stand around and wait for Calem to crack. Couldn’t punish myself for something that had already happened. Why was it so hard to assume that Calem could forgive me for ordering Onyx to attack? He already had. Likely a thousand times over, and he would say it to my face a thousand times more if that’s what it took. I just needed to forgive myself and let go.

“Thank you, Kaori.” I sighed and wiped away my tears.

“You’re welcome. Now, why don’t you go find Yazmin and Gaige? It sounds like you have an offer to accept. When Calem wakes, I’ll be here.” She called for an attendant from the foyer and rattled off instructions for a pot of tea containing honey, mint, and some other herb I didn’t recognize. Eyes light, she offered me a soft smile. “He’ll be fine. Go.”

“Take care of him.” Turning on my heels, I walked out of Kaori’s quarters and hit the stairs. Maybe it was simply knowing that Kaori had dealt with this before, or maybe it was finally accepting what had happened, but a lightness invaded my chest and took hold of my heart. If Calem had hope, then so did Noc. I’d find a way. I’d protect them all.

Crossing the courtyard and heading for the main portion of the keep, I hooked a right into the hall that fed into the open throne room. Dotted with droplet-shaped crystals and laden with leaves, heavy tree branches were threaded together to form a makeshift ceiling. Rays of sunlight pooled through small openings and bathed the marble slab in splotchy light.

One beam fell directly onto the statue of Ocnolog and Celeste just behind the Council’s thrones. The stone glimmered in the light, and my gaze traveled from top to bottom, taking in the expert craftsmanship.