A Beast's Tale

Chapter 53

"Chevalier! Chevalier, wake up!"

I swatted at the hands shaking me and reached for my sword, my mind still somewhere between sleeping and waking.

"Hey! No need to kill a man!"

Yves. That was Yves' voice. What was he doing in my room? Clavis had rudely woken me up many times before, but Yves never had.

"Go away," I mumbled, letting go of my sword hilt and burrowing deeper into the blankets.

"But it's Ivetta-"

Suddenly, I was throwing the covers back, sitting bolt upright in bed, my heart pounding. It had been a few days since I'd seen her, and the thought that something could have happened to her-

"Hold on, she's fine!" Yves said quickly, his deep blue eyes wide. "I mean - I guess, physically, she's fine, she's just-"

"She's just what?" I demanded, getting out of bed and grabbing my boots. "Say it."

"Well, she - I mean, I-"

I shot him a glare, and he scowled at me.

"You're not making this easy. It's kind of hard for me to think when your first response to being woken up unexpectedly is to kill me!"

"I'm not trying to kill you now, but if you don't start making sense before I finish getting these boots on, I may reconsider," I growled.

"Okay, okay. I'm kind of stressed about going to Obsidian with Gilbert after the coronation, and I was in the kitchens...you know...and she just showed up. She wouldn't say why. She made something up about the coronation stressing her out, too, but I know that wasn't it."

"And you left her there?" I asked, standing up and crossing my arms over my chest as I towered over him.

"She's not alone. Her guards are outside the door. She said she was just going to do the dishes and go back to bed, but...she seemed really shaken up. I asked Julius what was going on, and he said he had to wake her up because she..." He faltered, and then he finally said, "She was screaming."

I didn't need to hear anymore. She'd had a nightmare, worse than what I'd seen before, and the only reason I was hearing about it now was because she happened to run into Yves during one of his midnight stress baking sessions. I left Yves behind as I stormed out of my room into the dark hallway, not even bothering to grab my sword or my cloak. There was no physical threat, as Yves had said, but my bare hands were more than sufficient, even if there was.

If only I could throttle her nightmares.

The guards were posted outside of the small kitchen Yves usually used, as he'd said. Even in the dim lighting, I could see their faces pale as I approached.

"Why didn't you send for me?" I demanded of Julius.

"She was adamant that I not do so, Prince Chevalier," he replied, a slight tremor in his voice.

I sighed and shoved the door open. She was still trying to hide her problems from me, still trying to handle everything on her own. At what point would she stop being so frustratingly stubborn and just ask for help?

The room was lit by moonlight from the window over the sink, supplemented by a single candle on the central island. She was standing at the sink, her back to me, the soft splashing of water and clinking of dishes the only sounds in the stillness. Her long, black hair was clumped together in thick, damp strands, weaving a tangled path down the white dressing gown she wore. As I approached, I could see how mechanical her movements were, how obvious it was that her thoughts were far from the dishes she was removing from the soapy water, scrubbing, rinsing, setting aside to dry, reaching for the next one. Until she pulled a table knife from the water. Suddenly, she froze, audibly sucking in her breath. I stepped behind her without thinking, resting my hands on the marble countertop on either side of her, looking over her shoulder at her terrified reflection in the silver blade.