The Beast I Am

Chapter 11

"A shame, Rhazien– you were such a fine Seneschal." Valentine looked at his nails boredly, not bothering to turn to face the commotion. Standing instead at the foot of the rounded stage, like an actor awaiting his mark.

There was a squeak, my fuzzy vision catching a dark blob flying in from the back of house. The small animal shifting into the male Nossard, his ears flicking with annoyance as he took in Valentine, his raspy voice an angry storm,

"This wasn't our deal."

Rhazien's face cracked, crumpling in on himself, Antonio stiffening as if he could sense the hurt. Estelle's grip tightened on the blade in a creak, Valentine's icy blue drifting to the shorter man lazily.

The click of a safety.

The barrel pressed against the base of Rhazien's spine.

Antonio refused to look at me. The fucking rat.

He told Valentine about my status. What he thought my clan was.

Perhaps it was the Beast, finally now quenched, providing the clarity I needed to force the words from my mouth, calling on my strength to keep my voice from trembling. "Let it be known that Valentine's court does not respect the most honored tradition amongst kindred. Let it be known that he– like many others before him are fucking cowards."

That got his attention.

Valentine's stiff-legged drop to the ground spurred my panic. My Beast, now focused, churning that anxiety into something productive. My hands felt hot, burning in my own handcuffs, the metal protesting as I stretched my wrists.

Estelle's blade dropped from my throat as The Prince stormed towards me, allowing my Beast to sink further than I ought it to.

Yes, girl. Let me speak.

My grin was wicked as I flashed him my teeth, his grip rough as he grabbed my throat, his fingers tightening painfully against the blood flaking off my skin.

The sound thick as it forced through a closing gap, the only sound that would escape, "...new..."

Valentine's burn narrowed, leaning in so close I could taste his breath, dry and rancid. "You dare speak to me– swine?"

My Beast knocked on the door.

Her hand still and oh so patient.

And so, I let her in– entirely.

Stars exploded behind my eyes as my forehead connected with Valentine's jaw.

The Prince hissed as he recoiled enough to loosen his grip, the chain clattering to my feet like a cheap toy. She surged in my veins, dulling the ache in my throat and clearing the fog in my mind that kept me complacent. The sound of a blade being dropped, Estelle's eyes wide as they glowed, taking in my form, her dart quick to her Prince– wiping the blood from his mouth, putting the pieces together with his Warden.

The Kina held no strength like this.

The word, a flash in his eyes, whispered only to him. New.

A ripple in his demeanor as he took me in again. Observing with a newfound sense of clarity, watching the black veins under my skin throb with the patience of the immortals. A small voice in the back of my mind– my own.

Don't give him too much.

My eyes flickered over the crowd, Rhazien's confusion, Antonio's steely features, Estelle's horror, and Aramastus' disgust.

Agreed. Too many witnesses.

I felt a presence in my mind, attempting to calm my Beast, the power a remnant of my own. Kin to kin. Valentine crossed his arms, playing the unbothered tyrant again. But I could feel the anger in that touch, his touch. The one that tried to see what I was. The Beast desperately shuttering the windows and locking the doors tight in my mind.