…And Lancelot’s latest victim.
The knight was standing over another body. It looked like a gremlin. The sharp angles of its face were still locked in an expression of terror. Avenant hadn’t really considered his cousin a prime suspect for the murders that kept cropping-up in the labyrinth, but there was no arguing with the evidence. Lancelot was literally ankle deep in blood.
Avenant wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or not.
Either way he didn’t have much choice. Not with his True Love standing right there, defenseless and small. Avenant got to his feet, reaching for Belle’s arm. “Stay behind me, while I go kill this idiot.”
“Hang on now, I didn’t do this.” Lancelot proclaimed loudly, gesturing to the body. “He was already in pieces when I got here. You’ve gotta believe me.”
“I believe you.” Avenant didn’t believe him.
“I’m telling you, I’m innocent! Lancelot insisted. “I would never do something this Bad. This is the work of a monster.” He glanced at Belle as if realization had suddenly dawned. “He did it!” He pointed at Avenant. “Of course, he did. I should’ve known. He’s trying to set me up!”
Belle shoved her way in front of Avenant. “That’s a lie. Avenant was with me the entire night.”
Avenant snorted. “Don’t bother, Bella. He’s just trying to deflect the blame so he can steal the Icen Throne. They don’t like to crown potential murderers. Believe me, I know.”
They ignored him.
“Avenant’s evil!” Lancelot snapped. “He probably used evil trickery to sneak away and evilly slaughter this poor gremlin while your back was turned.”
“He didn’t sneak anywhere. He was right beside me.”
Lancelot gasped in overacted horror. “He was beside you? You slept with the Beast? What kind of floozy would…?” He stopped short as Avenant stepped forward. “Wait.” Lancelot backed away as if braced for a blizzard to freeze him solid at any moment. Maybe the guy wasn’t such a lack wit, after all. “Let’s be reasonable.”
“You think beasts give a shit about reasonable?”
“Belle, talk to him! You’re the only one he ever listens to.”
“My True Love isn’t your biggest fan.” Avenant snarled. “Aside from the fact that you’re a chauvinistic dickhead, you’re trying to steal the kingdom from her, too.”
“I just want what’s mine! I didn’t…” Lancelot broke off, an amazed expression on his face. “Hold on. She’s your True Love? You get a True Love?”
“Belle’s mine.” Avenant confirmed. “And neither of us likes you.”
“Avenant?” Belle grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him to a stop before he could take more than two steps towards Lancelot. “Don’t.”
The woman and her soft heart drove him insane. She always had endless compassion for everyone except him. “Why shouldn’t I destroy him?” Avenant demanded. “Give me a reason.”
“Because he’s your cousin. Because it would be wrong to kill someone for killing someone if he didn’t actually kill anyone. Because he’s a jackass, but I don’t think he deserves to die for it.”
“Exactly!” Lancelot agreed with a vigorous nod. “Geez, anybody Good would know all that, Avenant. Even a woman. This is why it’s only right that I be in charge of the kingdom.”
“Shut-up.” Belle said absently, her attention still on Avenant. “And finally… because I’m pretty sure that’s a rabbit hole, right in front of you.” She pointed to a shimmering spot on the ground. “If you fall into it, there’s no telling where you’ll end up.”
Avenant’s eyebrows soared, catching sight of the mirrored pool. It was only about a foot wide, but it was far more dangerous than even the minotaur had been. Rabbit holes were dimensional vortexes that made black holes seem predictable. They led to places you certainly didn’t want to go and which you probably couldn’t get back from.
He glanced down at Belle, confused as to why she’d just saved him from toppling through the looking-glass surface. Given her mood, it seemed more likely that she’d shove him in.
“I hate you with a festering passion.” She said softly. “But, I don’t want you lost forever somewhere in space and time. I think I might miss you. A little.”
Avenant’s mouth curved, realizing that was the sweetest thing Belle had ever said to him.
Lancelot used their momentary distraction to take off in the opposite direction. “You’ll never defeat me, Beast! I’ll claim this kingdom for all the Good men of the realm!” He ran down the path, the hedges shifting behind him so no one could follow.
Not that Avenant even cared enough to bother chasing after him. Instead, he stared down at the rabbit hole. His own face gazed back at him. He’d always hated mirrors. All he saw was his father. Logically, he recognized the fact that he was handsome, but what difference did it make? It certainly never got him what he wanted. Belle would choose a Good man over an attractive one, any day. Beneath the surface, she knew he was…
His head tilted, a new thought occurring to him. “Read that journal entry, again.”
Belle quickly backtracked to grab her knapsack, following his logic. She got the book out and flipped to the entry he meant. “A prince must have faith in those around him and not in a mirror.” She read. “Otherwise, he will be lost in the darkness for all time.” She looked up from the page. “You think Adam means the rabbit hole? You think we’re supposed to go through?”
“Only one way to find out.”
Chapter Thirteen
His parents knew Avenant was Bad all the way through.
It was why they detested the very sight of him.
Many nights I was dragged from the cupboard and lit up, so his mother could read to him about his ancestors.
She hoped that if he heard about the royal line, he’d try to live up to their example.
Or at least not to be such a total disgrace.
Testimony of the Palace’s Talking Candlestick- The People of the Northlands v. Prince Avenant
Five Years Ago
“The woman is making a goddamn fool of you!” Vincent, Prince of the Northlands threw the newspaper at his son and heir. “She outsmarts you at every fucking turn and you do nothing to stop her. How do you think that makes us look?”
Avenant didn’t even bother to duck as the day’s headlines rained down. He could read them as they drifted around him, the typeface three inches tall:
Belle Bests Beast!
She’d singlehandedly stopped Avenant from strip mining the Great North Mountains. Her environmental appeals and legal tactics had scuttled the project for good. Millions in gold would be lost so that Belle could protect the homeland of some rabbits and owls. The minerals would stay trapped beneath the rocks, the wildlife would frolic, and Belle would win.
And his father would kill him.
Avenant eyed Vincent, prepared for a fight. His father was the one who’d wanted the mining deal to go through, even though he’d made sure Avenant was the face of the project. He might despise the fact that his only child was Bad, but he knew how to use it to his advantage. All the family’s unpopular actions were blamed on Avenant. Strong-arming uncooperative teddy bear shop owners… Jailing people for picking the royal roses… Seizing orphanages so the land could be used for lucrative property deals… Everything that would necessitate threats or extortion or heartless greed. Vincent liked to keep his hands clean with the citizens, wearing a façade of princely nobility.
But, within the castle walls, the mask fell and he was free to be his cruel self.
“Were you even trying to defeat her or where you thinking with your cock, again?” He demanded nastily.
“I was trying.” Avenant said. Belle had just out-maneuvered him. “I didn’t anticipate her getting the funding for those ridiculous commercials with the crying chipmunks.”
The public hadn’t liked the idea of making the chubby little rodents extinct. Especially not when Belle got done editing videos of the fuzzy bastards frolicking to m
ournful music. Then, she showed some photos of what their homes would look like after the bulldozers came through and rows of little chipmunk graves and hearts broke throughout the land.
The woman played hardball.
“You’re an impotent moron.” Vincent leaned forward in the Icen Throne, looking so much like his son that Avenant hated his own reflection. “That girl is laughing at you. The whole kingdom is laughing at you. And you stand there like the failure you are.”
Avenant didn’t respond to the insults. He was used to his father’s hatred and scorn. It had been heaped on him every day of his life. This was just the warm-up to the real reason he’d called Avenant into the throne room. Vincent wouldn’t have summoned him for a private audience unless there was something far bigger brewing.
Something to do with Belle.
His father wasn’t an idiot. Over the years, he’d watched Avenant interact with the girl. Vincent knew that Avenant enjoyed Belle’s antics. Even when he lost, Avenant loved that they were playing. He loved the fact she’d ruined his father’s plans. He loved that she fought back against people who could crush her. He loved that she wasn’t afraid of him.
Not that she had reason to be. Belle could’ve set him on fire and Avenant wouldn’t have harmed her. He put up a front, but anyone paying attention would’ve seen the truth.
And Vincent was always paying attention.
“That do-Gooding commoner is your True Love.” It wasn’t a question. “You get her under control or I will.”
Avenant stared at his father and felt the Beast stir. “No.” He said quietly. “You won’t.”
Vincent didn’t like being contradicted. “None of this would be happening if you weren’t so weak.” He snapped. “When her parents died, they were so in debt you could’ve owned that girl. Instead, you ensured she kept everything. The house and the lands. Then, you secretly set it up so she’d have backing for that fucking bookshop. You think I don’t know that was you? You even closed the library to help her with sales.” He snorted. “At least that idea showed some business sense. But, of course, you screwed it up and gave her a new library the minute she got in your face about it.”
“She sued us to have it reopened, remember? How could I stop the judge from ruling in her favor?”
“You could’ve bribed the prick.”
“I tried. She bribed him more.”
“With the money you made sure she had!” Vincent shook his head in disgust. “The point is, you should’ve used Belle’s misery to your advantage. That was your opportunity to bring her to heel.” His hand fisted. “To break her.”
“I don’t want her broken.”
Belle had been far too close to shattering when her parents died in a carriage accident the year before. Avenant had done everything he could think of to shore her up, but he’d felt helpless in the face of her grief. For the first time, Belle had seemed fragile to him. Of course he’d covered her parents’ debts. He couldn’t let her lose her home on top of everything else. He would’ve done anything to make her feel like herself, again.
Even if it meant giving her new reasons to hate him.
She’d been furious when he won everything she owned in that auction and then handed it back to her. For the first time in weeks, she’d been shouting at him and it had been like old times. Belle had eventually bounced back, more bitchy than ever. Over the past months, she’d been twice the foe she’d been before. Tougher. On the offensive. Harder to predict. Every day, she seemed to wake-up and devote all her energy towards scheming against him.
Avenant was so delighted he couldn’t stop smiling.
Belle attention was fixed on him and he’d never been happier.
“If you don’t break her, she’ll break you. That’s the only way you get ahead in this world. You have to crush the competition and take what’s yours. Otherwise, you’ll just look weak. Is that what you want? The woman to think you’re a pussy?”
Avenant’s jaw ticked.
“Rosabella Aria Ashman is Good.” Vincent reminded him smugly. “Do you think she’ll ever willingly have you? Prince or not, you’re a beast and the whole kingdom knows it. If you ever plan on owning the girl, you’d better start thinking like a man.”
His father thought of everything in terms of ownership. It was no wonder his mother had jumped off the highest turret in the castle when Avenant turned eighteen. She’d no doubt been looking for an escape. His parents were a classic example of what happened when people married for position instead of True Love. They cared for nothing but power and it had rotted them from the inside out.
Listening to Vincent talk about love was like trusting a fish to give you rock climbing tips.
“I know what I’m doing with Belle.” Avenant told him shortly. Sooner or later, she’d surrender. It was inevitable.
Vincent scoffed. “If you know what you’re doing, why isn’t she here in the castle, pregnant with my grandchildren? Providing me with an heir I could actually be proud of. Why is she living in the village, organizing fucking protests against us?”
“She’s not ready.”
“Not ready?” Vincent repeated incredulously. “She hates you, you twat. And who can blame her? She’s probably down there screwing every man in the village, hoping to find a True Love who isn’t a dickless monster.”
The Beast snarled. So did Avenant. “Belle is my True Love. No one else’s.” He ground out. “Deep down, she knows it…”
Vincent cut him off. “Good folk don’t know their True Loves until they’ve bedded them. That’s what you need to do. Fuck the girl. Now.”
Avenant blinked. “She’s not ready.” He repeated. Even the Beast knew that.
“Who cares? Hold her down and take what’s yours. Once you’re inside of her, she’ll know who she belongs to. They’ll be no more of her meddling in my business plans.” He waved a hand at the newspaper.
Avenant couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You want me to rape my True Love?”
“I want you to stop being a failure.” Vincent jabbed a finger at him. “Show that woman you won’t be beaten and she’ll respect you for it.”
“Even if that were true, how can I show her I’m a winner by hurting her? She’ll never care about me if I do something so horrible to…”
Vincent cut him off. “She’ll never care about you, anyway. But, if you take her hard enough, at least she’ll fear you. It’s about as much as you can hope for. Force her and she’ll submit.”
“You’re insane.” Avenant knew the words would just piss his father off more, but he couldn’t stop them. He’d endured Vincent’s punishments and sadistic commands all his life, but this…. Not even Avenant had ever considered something like this and he was a goddamn villain. He gaped at his father, seeing the man for the first time. “You’re fucking insane.”
“And you’re Bad. Stop trying to pretend otherwise and go do what needs to be done.”
Vincent knew nothing of Bad folk. By and large, they were fanatically obsessed with their True Loves. No matter how evil, they treasured what was theirs. They protected it. It was their primary drive. A threat their True Love was a declaration of war.
Rage filled Avenant, feeding the Beast. “‘That woman,’ as you call her,” he gestured in the direction of Belle’s house with a desperate swing of his arm, “is my goddamn wife.” Even if it wasn’t official yet, Belle was his one and only bride. She had been from the moment he saw her coloring with crayons at the kindergarten table. “Do you think I’d ever harm her?”
“If you’re going to be all weepy about it, you can tie her down with pretty silk ropes and hand her a pillow.” Vincent sneered without a drop of compassion. “Just so she knows who she belongs to when it’s over. I’ve had it with that bitch making me a joke in my own kingdom.” He arched a blond brow. “Either you handle her education or I’ll have my men do it. I have them standing by to pay her stupid bookshop a visit.”
The Beast surged forward. It happened so fast, Avenant
almost lost control of the chains. As it was, the monster was less confined than he’d ever been. It prowled towards the man who’d targeted Belle, wanting blood.
…And Avenant let it.
Vincent leapt to his feet, seeing the change come over his son. “What are you doing? That thing is getting loose…” He trailed off with a yelp of panic as Avenant seized him by the front of his suit and hauled him closer.
“If you threaten my princess again, I’ll stake you to the front gate with an icicle through your heart.” He said, meaning every frosty word. “Belle Ashman belongs to me.” He paused, making sure his father saw the Beast’s cold rage. “Actually, she belongs to us.” For once, he didn’t even bother to try and contain the monster. It felt liberating. “Understand?”
Vincent looked up at him with pure hatred, but he gave a curt nod.
“That’s what I thought.” Avenant dropped Vincent back onto the throne. In that moment, the man stopped being his father. Stopped being his prince. He was just the son-of-a-bitch who’d planned to harm Belle. “Nobody touches what’s mine. Remember that, because you don’t want to see my Bad side.”
“You think I’m sacred of you?” Vincent spat out.
“I know you are.” Avenant had known it from childhood. His parents were repelled and fearful. The citizens of the Northlands were cowed and bitter. There was only one woman in the world who’d ever showed him any warmth. Who treated him like a person. The only woman who mattered to him. And no one was going to hurt her. “You’re right to be afraid of me, too, because there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep my True Love safe. Nothing.”
“She’ll never love you.” Vincent spat as Avenant turned away. “No matter what you do, she’ll always see you as the monster you are.”
Deep down, he knew his father was right, but Avenant refused to react to the bitter words. “Just stay away from Belle or I’ll inherit this kingdom far sooner than you have planned. I promise you.”
“Underneath, you’re nothing but a mindless animal.” Vincent called as Avenant stormed out. “Nobody could ever want a beast.”
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