A Beast's Tale

Chapter 69

I kicked the door open and stormed into the room. Keith looked up in surprise. I stormed across the room and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to his feet and slamming him into the wall. A blue bird screeched and took flight, flapping and chirping within its cage. I wanted to snap its neck.

"Explain."

"Prince Chevalier! I—I'm so sorry, I didn't—I don't know—that is, I..." Keith stammered and fumbled with his words, and I gritted my teeth, glaring at this bumbling idiot who couldn't hurt a fly. Nor could he make eye contact with me. His golden eyes darted to the right, to the left, down, anywhere but my face, and I had the distinct impression he would have crumpled into a ball on the floor if I released him. It was as Nokto had said. He was over-apologizing for an incident he didn't seem to remember.

I growled and slammed him into the wall again. "Stop. I want to talk to the other you. The you who had his hand around her neck."

He sucked in a breath, his eyes widening and snapping to mine. There was a moment of tense silence, aside from the frightened bird's obnoxious noises. Then, in an instant, he changed. His eyes narrowed. His agape mouth closed as his lips curved up into a smirk. His back straightened and his shoulders pulled back, throwing his broad chest forward. He plucked my hands from his collar and smoothed his jacket. "Heh. Shoulda known you'd figure it out."

"Explain," I repeated. This was not bizarre enough to distract me from the reason I'd broken down his door and was struggling not to reach for my sword. Nokto had caught him in my private library with his hand around Ivetta's neck. His title was the only thing keeping him alive right now.

"He's too soft," Keith said. "If I wanted answers, I had to take over. You woulda gotten rough with her too if our roles were switched."

"And you wouldn't blame me for ripping your throat out if our roles were switched," I bit out.

He shrugged. "Look, I didn't hurt her, and I wasn't gonna. I just had a few questions for her, and she needed a little... motivation."

"Touch her again, and you're dead."

"You've really got a thing for her, don't ya?" His smirk widened. "I can see why. She's tougher than she looks. If I want anything outta her, I'd have to drug her, and that would take too much effort when I'm pretty sure you wouldn't tell her the important stuff. But I know she isn't Belle now, and I know you haven't made a move on her yet. Guess that means she's fair game, huh? And she can take some force. Sounds like fun."

I punched him.

He rubbed his jaw, unfazed. "Wow. Sore spot?"

"Touch her, and you die. Hurt her, and I'll make it a slow, painful death. Do you and whoever else is in there understand?"

"It's just me and the other guy, and you already know he's a wimp. Of course, it's been me actin' like him most of the time we've been here, which has been a real pain. But sure. I'll play nice with your precious little dove. Now, since the secret's out and you're here, why don't we talk business?" He walked past me toward the door, which was hanging at an awkward angle from its hinges. Even his walk differed from the Keith I knew. He had a confident swagger I'd never seen before.

I clenched my fists and picked up the paper he'd dropped when I grabbed him. It detailed the properties of a plant I'd never heard of. "To my knowledge, there are no new poisons or medicines on the black market."

"Well, that takes care of one question. Settle down, Dill." He reclaimed his seat on the sofa and kicked his feet onto the coffee table, crossing them at the ankles as he reached a finger toward the bird cage. "That plant is illegal in Jade because it's used to make a tasteless, odorless, fast-acting poison. If people start dropping dead at random, let me know. How 'bout the weapons trade with Obsidian?"