A Curse Of Blood And Sorrow

Chapter Twelve

Blake

I wander around the castle for a while before I give up and go to Avery's room. I need to apologise. I shouldn't have continued to question her when I knew that she didn't want to talk about it. Even if I know she's hiding something more about the witch. As I round the corner, I hear a monstrous roar come from Avery's room. The beast has come into the castle, undetected, and has caught Avery. Damn it. I grab a sword from one of the metal armor statues tucked into a corner and charge forward at the beast, hoping that I've learnt enough from Rebecca not to die instantly. My sword plunges into the huge stomach of the beast and I stagger back. For some reason, it didn't feel as good as I thought it would. The beast's claws palm at me and  I dodge them all as effectively as possible, getting slight scratches on my bare arms. I grab my sword again and yank it out of its stomach and drive the sword deeper into the beast's belly, immediately pulling it out again. The beast starts spluttering and staggering back, transforming into something else. Something human. It's features ones that are recognisable. Avery.

Avery

The last thing I thought before turning was about how Blake would look at me with disgust when he found out and I was right. He does. I place a hand to my stomach, feeling the blood dripping down my skin in a river. Shit. This isn't good. I start to collapse but strong arms wrap around my waist and break my fall. "Need Rebecca." I whisper before passing out. I'm going to die.

When I come too, Rebecca is sitting next to me on my bed and a thick bandage is wrapped around my middle. It must have been bad if she's sat beside me. "Blake." I manage to croak out before having a coughing fit.

"Shhh Ave, don't talk, you'll rip your stitches open. Blake is still here but he's confused and barely holding it together. He hates that he hurt you but is devastated that you're the beast. He was falling for you and now he doesn't know who you are. He wanted to be here for you when you woke up but I said it would be better if he stayed away until you were up to answering his questions." She strokes my hair back and looks at me seriously, "You scared the life out of me Ave, why didn't you come to me when you felt the change happening? Why did you lock yourself up in your room when you know that when you're the beast you're strong enough to break through it without much effort?" She manages to sound both annoyed and nurturing. It is surprisingly scary.

"I didn't want to hurt him. Or you." I whisper.

"You know that I don't care if you hurt me and I would've stopped you from hurting him too. You know that."

I nod a little and rub my eyes. "I want to see Blake. Can you bring him in?" I request.

"Are you sure you want to see him right now? You know he's going to ask you a tirade of questions."

"I'm sure, I don't have to answer them all."

"Okay. I'll bring him in." Rebecca gets up and leaves my room with a slight glance at me before disappearing behind the door. I groan. Why did this have to be my life? I can't get a break from hurting those I love. Those I love. Oh god.

I love Blake. The easiness of being around him, the butterflies I get whenever our fingers brush against each other, the way he makes me feel about not only him but also myself. I'm in love. This just got ten times worse.

Blake enters my room with surprising calmness for someone who just found out the person he's been staying with for the last few months is the monster who has killed a load of her own people. I stare at him. "I...er...do you think you could help me to sit up?" I ask tentatively. He gives me a funny look before helping me lean forward and pull my cushion up to a comfortable height. "Thank you." I whisper.

"Not a problem. Mind if I sit on the bed?"

"Go for it." I reply unfazed, he sits down hesitantly.

"Look Avery, I know I have no right to question why you kept this a secret from me, that's on you and your personal choices but I do have some questions, if that's okay of course."

"Yeah, I thought you might, but I have questions too."

He smiles a little and nods, like he's familiar with the situation we're in.

"You go first, your questions are probably a lot easier to answer than mine." He jokes.