“Don’t tell me you can’t control the Beast.”
“Only…” he breathed, pausing between words. “When…I’m…angry.”
“Ha! Just like a man to not know how to control his temper.”
“Thisiscontrol,” he growled, closing his eyes with a deep inhale.
“Hardly.” I moved to step under his growing arm, but he lowered it.
“The Beast!” Piffle squealedin alarm.
I gave my own growl of frustration, ready to force my way past him.
When I spun to face him, I stopped.
His head, cast in shadow, was half beast, half man, the long scar down his face shining white in the dim glowing light. Eyes of brilliant blue glared back at me.
They held a pain that was rare to see, but one I recognized. I took a good look at him, fascinated by his transformation from man to beast. His yellow hair, soft and curled slightly at the ends, was a direct opposite to the coarse, dark fur sprouting alongside his face and neck.
Giving him a few moments to catch his breath seemed to help as his face began to return to its pale hue, his fangs receding back into his mouth.
“How did you do that?” I asked, curious about his ability to control the curse.
He relaxed, dropping his arm. “The Beast is not easy to control. But if he had been released down here with you…” He scratched his neck where the fur had bloomed. “It would have been worse than anything you’d meet in the western corridor.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a warning, Goddess. About the Beast and this tunnel.” He gestured at the consuming dark. “If you choose to enter, I cannot promise you will come out.”
For the first time, I paused at his words. There was very little that could kill a Goddess of the Veil.
Some things.
Some actions.
But few and far between were the fae or humans of the realm who knew of them.
I stared down the hopeless dark. “You cannot tell me why you have forbidden the western corridor?”
“I cannot.”
“Because Ishtak has forbidden it?”
“Because when the curse took me, and I spent my first night in the Underrealm, it was the first thing she showed me and the first thing she ensured I would never be able to speak of.” He kept his eyes on me, jutting his chin toward Piffle. “Him as well.”
It wasn’t unheard of for a Goddess to keep her secrets close. I had my own, but whatever it was down that corridor, I sensed the other Goddesses of the Veil would not approve.
I squared my shoulders, raising my chin. “I need to speak with Ishtak.”
“I can try to arrange it.”
“Good enough,” I concluded, adding, “For now. Piffle, you may see me to my rooms. And I’d like that cup of tea as well.”
Practically buzzing, he skittered forward. “This way, Your Ravishingness!”
Arthur’s brows furrowed at the title and I lifted my lips in a sly smile. “Your servant is quite enthralled, it seems.”
I followed Piffle toward a lit corridor to the east, hearing the king mutter behind me, “Aren’t we all.”
