Naughty little princess. She can’t resist slipping her hands down my trousers and grinning at me, until I cover her hand and move it to my heart.
We arrive at the base of the castle without interference, after spending a night at the inn where I spent ten days recovering. A sack of coins ensured the innkeeper’s silence, and as a bonus, she repaired Briar’s original dress.
In the morning, we stop at the blacksmith’s and swear on a holy book to cement our union. Instead of rings made from blades of grass, I present her with a thin gold band and a small diamond. It’s nothing like the ring she would have had from Alistair, but her eyes shine with unshed tears as I unsteadily slip it on her finger.
I never thought I’d marry anyone. Never believed I was worthy of it.
At the pathway to the mountaintop castle, the thorn forest parts for us in a rustle of leaves. We no longer fear the harpies roosting on the lee side of the steep slope, though they tilt their menacing heads at us as we pass by.
At the grand front entrance, she stares up at the graceful sweeping columns. I see the castle with new eyes as evening light cuts across the grand hall. It’s a monument to her. Elegantly designed and simply adorned, the way she prefers.
“It wasn’t right of him to promise this to you.” She means Alistair, whose name we have both avoided saying.
“It’s yours.” I’ll give her everything I possess. I can have no peace without her. There’s nothing left of the knight I once was. Everything I strove for, it’s all gone. My place in the royal guard. My oath to the prince broken. All that’s left is me, the man.
“It’s not yours to give, either.” She smiles faintly.
“According to this it is.” I offer her the rolled parchment proclaiming me a duke and this castle mine. Briar takes it, examining it with a tiny pleat on her forehead, and rips it in two.
“I propose a compromise, Killian.” A mischievous smile plays around the corners of her lips. “What if we share it?”
She holds out both hands. I take them and let her lead me inside.
With the curse broken, the castle has been wholly repaired. The huge, ring-shaped candelabra I turned into a makeshift barricade is back hanging from the ceiling in the nave. Her coffin-bed is gone.
She leads me up to the next level, where a ballroom takes up the entire floor.
Above that are living quarters. An enormous bedroom appointed in blue, gold, and white, with red roses everywhere. Everywhere we explore, the castle has been transformed from a ruin into magnificence.
Hand-in-hand, we climb to the top of the highest tower. Below, the thorn bushes have knitted into an impenetrable wall, but they’re alive with bright blooms. Pink, white, and red roses dot the thickets.
“The fae didn’t abandon their creatures,” she says, gazing out over the land. “They sent me to protect them, and gave me beauty to pull them into my orbit. But I was cursed and had no way to know.”
“Why did you choose me, Briar? I killed them. I hunted the creatures you are meant to protect.”
Indeed, there are harpies nesting on a rooftop below, and a basilisk basks on the ivory balustrade, soaking up the last rays of the day’s sun.
“You can’t be king of the monsters if you fear them.” She lifts one shoulder and lets it drop, still staring out at her domain as if she can’t believe it’s real. Then she turns to me, somber. “Can you imagine what the prince would have done if I really could control them?”
I inhale so sharply it feels like breathing in powdered glass.
Part of me regrets treating my only friend the way I did. But Alistair is the one who tried to claim what didn’t belong to him. He is the one who took what he felt was his due, then left me to die in a run-down inn.
Briar chose me.
Her beasts accepted me.
This is our castle.
This is our reign.
I draw her into my arms and drop a kiss on the top of her warm head. “My sweet Briar.”
She curls her hands over my forearms and leans against me. “Welcome home, Killian.”
33
Killian
