He rose from the bench, back stretched to his full height, and walked toward me. Warning sirens went off in my mind to run and hide and never let him find me. Instead, I stood my ground, spine straight, shoulders back, and chin continuing to rise the closer he came to keep my eye on him.
“Our child.” His hushed voice said it with reverence as his gaze traveled over my face, down my neck, and lingered on my breasts. “I desire our child.”
I felt naked and vulnerable and completely out of my comfort zone. The ball gown offered very little consolation. I didn’t breathe because I felt like if I did, it would be an admission to desires I didn’t feel and didn’t want to feel, a response to his heated gaze he had no right to coax from me.
“One,” I reiterated, fighting the urge to breathe. “That’s not a life sentence.”
His eyes lifted, and I stole a breath when the weight they carried left my chest. “You were tenacious and protective of your brother and refused to leave him in my care. How do you think you would fair with your own babe?”
Every emotion struck at once. I clenched my jaw to keep my chin from quivering and refused to think about it so I wouldn’t cry.
In the blink of an eye, he was nose to nose with me, cupping my face. “Vicious.” His lips nearly brushed mine as he spoke. “I desire that, too.”
I shook my head to dislodge his grip. “If I don’t?”
“You will still owe thousands of debts. Any one of those could last a lifetime.”
“You son of a bitch,” I fumed and shoved him. Astaroth willingly gave me space, backing up until his legs touched the bench. “You never intended to let me go!”
His face hardened. “No.”
“So, you’re going to imprison me here like you did these poor things? If I don’t fall in line, will you put me in a glass bulb, too?”
“You know not of what you speak.”
“Look at it!” I reached up to pull it down. “It’s dying!”
“Do not touch it!” His voice boomed through the garden. The ground shook along with his fisted hands.
I jerked back from his tone, bumping into the pole and grabbing it to steady myself. The glowing ball fell like a setting sun, extinguishing when it hit the bricks. It shattered the deadly silence. A tiny body with beautiful shimmery wings laid prone on the ground.
As Astaroth hurried over to collect it, it pushed off the ground and darted away.
Astaroth
Jessandra entered the inner sanctum first, with Mergle not far behind. They skidded to a halt when they saw the glittering pieces of glass spread over the bricks.
“Sound the alarm!” I shouted.
Jessandra advanced on Calista, anger tightening her features. “What did you do?”
“It… it was an accident,” she pled her case as she backed up behind the wood pole, gripping it as if she’d crumble on her shaky knees if she didn’t.
“Jessandra,” I snapped.
She towered over Calista, ready to throttle her, but heeded my unspoken command.
Mergle ran to the opposite wall, leaping onto it and repelling himself into the air to grab the rope that rang the warning bell. Instantly, bells rang throughout the castle and cascaded outward through the labyrinth in a wave as others joined in.
“Send word one is free. Everyone is to search. We do not stop until it is found.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He bobbed his head in a subtle bow and disappeared into the garden.
Jessandra wrestled Calista out from behind the pole and held her by her bicep. “What about her?”
Shoulders hunched, Calista squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head. She should be fearful. Who knew what surprises were in store for us now. This took precedence over coddling her for her mistakes.
“Get your pizza and go to your quarters.”
A portal opened behind me as I felt for the escaped prisoner’s energy, whipping my hair about my face. I turned to step through it but stopped when I heard her whisper my name.
After all I had done for her, I couldn’t bear to look at her guilt-ridden face with those sad eyes and forgive her again, only to have her shun me. I stepped through the portal and set out to find a pixie in an ever-changing world.
