Before Beauty (28 page)

“
I spent so many days and nights
trying to come up with ways to break the curse. I sought every
action known to man to redeem myself and my home, and yet, in the
end, it was nothing I did that broke the curse.”

Isa was confused. “You healed me.
Wasn’t that when the curse was broken?”

“
Yes, but it was not my action
that broke the curse. Rather, it was my heart.”

Isa shook her head. “I still don’t
understand.”

“
A new strength had to be found.
You, Isa, brought a new strength to the Fortress one that had never
been known even to me. Your strength wasn’t military might or skill
with a sword. You brought the power of the heart. You taught me
once again how much strength lies in love.

“
Second, what was broken had to be
remade. Yes, I had broken you as a child. I, myself, had been
broken in body, but even more importantly, I had been broken in
spirit long before that. I had to have my trust in the Fortress, my
relationship with it healed. Truths I had abandoned as a young man
needed to be made real to me again. At the moment I happily gave of
myself, I, too, was healed.

“
Finally, I had to be willing to
die. This was the hardest demand for me to understand. I thought I
had been willing to die before, but what I risked in battle was no
true risk. I grew up on the battlefield where men die every day,
but my strength allowed me to desperately cling to life. With my
power, I could never truly know what it means to sacrifice for my
kingdom, or even for you. The Fortress knew that for me to truly
serve my people, I needed to understand self-sacrifice. The only
way I could learn that was for the Fortress to loosen my vice grip
on my power.”

Suddenly, Ever’s breath shook as
he spoke his next words, and his large hands gripped Isa’s arms
desperately. “Isa, the moment I thought she had killed you, my
world lost its meaning. I realized I had no reason to hang onto my
power if it meant living without you. You had brought light into my
darkness. You were the only reason I was able to truly hope, and if
you died, it would be because of my own selfish ambition. Giving
you the rest of my strength was the easiest thing I have ever done.
I was more than willing to die. And in offering up my strength, I
found a peace. I could die serenely, knowing once again that I was
forgiven and that I was loved.”

With that, Ever stood, and Isa
stood with him. Her head swam with his words, making him even more
attractive than she had known him to be before. To her relief, he
had leaned in for another kiss when a throat was cleared behind
her.

“
What is it, Garin?” Ever nearly
growled, and Isa giggled.

“
I apologize, Sire, but the people
are beginning to wonder where you are. It is nearly time for the
final ceremony.”

“
We will be there in a few
minutes,” Ever snapped.

Isa laughed again. His temper
hadn’t changed as much as his appearance, and it put her at ease to
see so much of the old prince in the body of the intimidating new
king.

“
It’s strange how the things that
brought you peace and healed you were the same things that helped
me as well,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “And yet,
we were broken so differently. I always blamed my weakness for my
lack of purpose in this world. And yet, it was my very weakness
that allowed me to fulfill my role here.” She gave a dry laugh. “If
you had done what was right, I would not have been injured all this
time, and I would be a dancer now, married to Raoul.” She shook her
head. Compared to what she had now, that existence was the last
thing she could ever desire, the wisp of a future she never wanted
to consider again.

“
This place has a strange way of
working things out like that.” They both looked up in wonder at the
soaring white towers above them that glistened even in the
dark.

“
One more thing I don’t
understand,” she said as they slowly began their walk back. “Why
did you just disappear? Why did it take a whole week for you to
return?”

“
I’m not certain, but I have an
idea.” He gave her a sideways glance. “If I had survived and
defeated Nevina, would you ever have seen yourself as
queen?”

“
I’m not sure.” Isa shrugged. “I
suppose not. I probably would have looked to you for
direction.”

“
Exactly. Without me, you had to
admit to yourself, the Fortress, and to the people that this was
truly your place. You were meant to be queen, with or without
me.”

Isa nodded as she thought about
this. As she did, another question popped into her head. “Where
were you though?”

Ever chuckled a bit before
answering. “I’m not really sure. The Fortress brought me to a place
of healing and dreams. I have to admit that it was a relief. I
haven’t had a tranquil dream since I was quite young.”

“
What did you dream about for an
entire week?”

“
Some dreams were memories. Others
were scenes of a life I’d never lived, a life of peace and children
and gray hair.” Ever laughed a bit. “I can’t recall many of them,
but I do remember one thing in particular.”

“
What was that?” Isa found herself
breathless as she awaited his reply. In response, he stopped
walking, drew her to him, and leaned down to kiss her
again.

“
You.”

Dear Reader,

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Before
Beauty
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For the next book in The Becoming
Beauty Trilogy, Book Two, read on…

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

Blinding
Beauty - Chapter One

Isa threw her hands up to protect her face, but
it was too late. The blue flame from his sword had hit her head on.
She should have used her own sword to deflect it, but her weapon
lay uselessly on the ground a few feet away. The blow knocked her
across the floor, and her head slammed against the stone with a
sharp crack.

Sheathing his sword, Ever was at
her side before the ever worrisome servants could make it to the
center of the training room’s large floor.” I’m sorry.” Ever gently
lifted her head and examined the spot that had struck the ground.
“I didn’t mean to make that one so strong.”

His wife gave him a weak smile,
but winced when his fingers found the spot they were looking for,
buried at the base of her thick, auburn braid.

Pulling off his right glove, Ever
placed his hand over the bump that had already begun to rise,
releasing just enough power to draw the swelling down. As the blue
light rolled back and forth between the knot and his palm, Isa’s
breathing evened, and and she let out a gust of air.

“
I truly am sorry,” he said again.
Isa gave him a genuine smile this time, and as they often did, her
large eyes caught him off guard, holding him captive in their
midnight depths.

“
It was my fault.” She shook her
head and accepted his help in standing. After dusting her clothes
off, she went to retrieve her sword. “I don’t know why I keep
missing that attack. I see you coming, but I’m too slow to
parry.”

“
Your wrist is too stiff.” He
moved to stand just behind her so he could put his hand over hers
where she gripped the sword’s hilt to show her the proper
form.

Instead of fixing her stance as he
had demonstrated, however, she turned and leaned in for a kiss, and
Ever couldn’t help himself as he bent his head to meet her soft
lips. Somewhere behind him, he heard the sound of retreating
footsteps, and he smothered a laugh.

Before his wedding and coronation,
the crowd that gathered to watch Everard’s practices had generally
been large. In those days, as their then-prince took on single,
double, even seven or eight opponents sometimes, his spectators
would watch in awe. Fathers would point out specific moves to their
sons, and the women would whisper about how graceful and strong he
was. Everyone agreed they had never seen the like.

Since his wedding and coronation,
however, though he still practiced with his soldiers, the
spectators had learned early on that their king was not shy about
flirting with his wife.

Even during weapons
practice.

“
I don’t know what else they think
they’re going to see,” Ever had once overheard Garin, the Fortress
steward, remark with a chuckle. “It’s only been five months since
the wedding. They would do well to let the love birds
be.”

But in truth, Garin and Ever both
knew what the spectators wanted to see from their new queen. And as
time went on, everyone, Ever included, grew more anxious when it
didn’t show. Today had been no exception, and the flirting wasn’t
to blame.

“
That’s enough practice for one
day.”

Ever cringed as Gigi’s sharp words
drenched the warm moment like a bucket of melted snow. He should
have known the exiting footsteps had belonged to one of the kitchen
mistress’s spies. Grudgingly, he stepped back to allow Gigi to
examine Isa more thoroughly.

“
I thought we discussed this,”
Gigi scolded him, lowering her gray brows when she found a rather
large bruise on the back of one of Isa’s arms. “What if she were
with child? How could this possibly benefit any of you?”

At this, Isa let out a huff. “We
have been through this, and I am not with child. And Ever is right.
I’m still not very good at defending myself.”

“
Well, you’re done for the day,”
the older woman clucked, taking Isa’s sword and handing it to Ever
as though it were a dead serpent. “We have to fit you for new
gowns.”

“
More? What in the heavens
for?”

“
I’ll tell you on the way.
Speaking of which, Ever, Garin needs to see you.”

Knowing better than to argue, Isa
let the matronly woman lead her away, and Ever turned to find his
steward smirking at him.

“
You may be king, but that woman
orders you about more by the day.”

“
She doesn’t do it in front of the
servants.” Ever sheathed his sword. “I can’t see any
harm.”

Garin didn’t argue. Gigi had been
more of a mother to Ever than Queen Louise had. Certain liberties
were hers for the taking. She had earned them.

“
How was practice?”

“
I thought she would be more in
control by now. But she just stagnates.” Ever let out a gusty
breath. “She’s so unsure of herself as it is. I just don’t know how
to help her.”

“
I remember the day you first
discovered your strength.” Garin waved his hand at the servants to
open the doors to the king’s study. “You certainly never hesitated
to use it.” The glint in his steward’s eye told Ever he was
remembering all the tricks Ever had played on the Fortress staff as
a small boy. “You were quite imaginative, if I may say
so.”

“
It came so naturally.” Ever shook
his head as the doors closed behind them. “I never had the problems
she’s having.”

“
There is quite a difference
between discovering the Fortress’s strength as a child as opposed
to an adult,” Garin said as he lifted a stack of parchments from
Ever’s desk and began rifling through it. “Children accept life as
they see it. But Isa has had to face an enormous amount of
self-doubt and adversity. Her confidence is still shaky, at best. I
know you do not want to hear it, but give her time, Ever. The
Fortress knows what it’s doing.”

Ever placed his hands on his desk
and let his head sag, something he never allowed any of his other
subjects to see, or even his wife, for that matter.

“
In truth, did any of the other
queens struggle this much with their powers?”

Garin’s eyes grew very old, as
they always did when talking about the Fortress’s past. “Let me
remind you that many of the queens never even gained the Fortress’s
strength at all. The Fortress never saw them fit to carry its
power. As for those who did receive and master it, I’ve found it
best not to compare. The Fortress will teach her in its own time.
Her heart must be ready. Now, for other things to talk of.” He
handed the stack of parchments to Ever. “I think you’ll find some
of today’s reports quite interesting.”

Ever grinned a bit when he took
the papers and noticed their broken wax seals. It was nothing new
to Ever for his steward to read his messages first, but Isa’s
younger brother, Launce, had once seen it and gawked.

“
When you’ve overseen the Fortress
business for a few centuries, you, too, may read the king’s
messages,” Ever had told him when he saw the young man’s
astonishment.