The snow fell heavy outside the mansion as Rory clutched her cup of hot cocoa. Echoes of the laughter from the evening of pre-birthday fun were beginning to die as the night set in, and her parents retired to their bedroom. Cordray had been almost as much of a daredevil as Henry, and the two egged each other on to jump bigger hills and go faster around dodgy turns. Adam had remained by her side, riding at a brisk but reasonable pace through the woods near Henry’s cabin. Though Adam was around the same age as Henry, he’d always seemed much, much older to Rory.
Of course, Benjamin hadn’t permitted her to ride by herself. He’d held onto her waist as she controlled the pace and daring of her snowmobile.
The house was quiet, but for the thrumming of her heart as she waited until she was certain her parents and the staff were asleep. She hadn’t changed into her pajamas, but wore her usual business clothes – black slacks, a gray top and a charcoal cardigan.
Her mind drifted to worry as the minutes ticked by, inching closer and closer to the dreaded day the curse was coming due. She talked a good game that she wasn’t worried about Malaura’s curse, but as she waited standing in the window of her bedroom, her palms began to sweat. There was so much she hadn’t experienced, even though she’d tried to cram as much life experience and accomplishments into her twenty-five years. Though, looking back on her life now, she wondered if she’d put a few things off because they were too risky, too public, or required her to ask for use of Remus’ magic, which she refused to do. He’d sacrificed too much for her already.
Rory swallowed hard and took a chance, setting her mug down and calling Adam, even though they’d just spent the evening together.
“What?” came his signature growl. It didn’t matter if she called him at ten in the morning or midnight, he was surly at all hours. That he answered his phone for her was a grand tribute to their friendship; he wouldn’t offer another kindness on top of that.
She fiddled with the hem of her gray v-neck, the soft cotton sliding between her fingers as she picked at a stray thread. “Tell me my curse isn’t anything to worry about.”
Adam didn’t answer at first, but rather breathed into the phone for several beats. Rory knew Adam understood the gravity of curses; he’d been deformed by one easily enough. He had just over a year before the last petal was predicted to fall from the enchanted rose Malaura had given him when she’d cursed him. After that, he was doomed to join the Lupine – a group of cursed men and women who had befallen similar fates, unable to escape Malaura’s wrath. The pack of wolves were outcasts from society and had lost everything upon their transition. The Lupine couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property, and weren’t thought of as people any longer once they went through the change from human to enormous wolf.
When Adam finally spoke, Rory felt her knees start to weaken. “You know I can’t tell you that.”
She gripped the windowsill to keep herself from teetering, and then nodded with her eyes closed. “If I prick my finger tomorrow, and Remus’ counter-curse actually works, will you…” She wished he would fill in the gaps, so she didn’t have to say the embarrassing words, but Adam remained silent, never speaking unless absolutely necessary. She’d already had this talk with Henry, who’d assured her without a doubt that it was already in his plan to try and wake her, if it was in his power to do so. She swallowed hard, summoning up her gumption and gulping back her insecurities. “If Cord and Henry can’t wake me, will you try?” Pressure began to build up behind her eyes, making everything feel that much more humiliating as she waited for his response.
Adam sighed heavily. “You know that won’t work. We’re not in love.”
A solitary tear spilled down her cheek, marring the creamy skin with a tract of desperation. “But if we were, Remus’ counter-curse would work, and I’d wake right back up! I’m not asking you for anything but a chance. Please. If they can’t wake me, I need to know you’ll try. I’m barely holding it together here.”
Adam’s snarl could be heard clearly, and Rory could picture his furry upper lip curling with distaste. “We had a great evening, and here you go, getting all emotional.”
“Please, Adam! If there was a chance I could undo your curse, I would try anything!”
“Fine!” he roared, making Rory shake under the weight of his rage. “If Henry and Cord can’t wake you, I’ll give it a try. Make sure there’s a photographer there, though. Wouldn’t want to miss out on getting a picture of the grand moment. I can see the headlines now: The Beast Scares Sleeping Beauty out of her Coma.”
Rory wanted to snap at his temper, but she knew there was no point. Adam had grown bitter and mean, and no amount of any sort of pleading would soften him. She’d accomplished what she wanted, so she decided not to push him any further. “Thank you,” she said, and then hung up before Adam could say anything that might bait her to bite back.
It took a solid five minutes to rid herself of her tears, but finally, she was able to appreciate her view of the moon for what it was – a solitary light in the sky that shone brightly, regardless of how kind the stars were to her.
When the clock struck eleven, Rory finished her beverage and slid her winter coat back on, knowing exactly whose arms she wanted to be in when she closed her eyes. She held her shoes and padded in her socks down the hallway, not turning on any lights as she felt her way toward the side door on the main floor. She tiptoed through the kitchen, but nearly shrieked when the lights flipped on, illuminating her escape. “Benjamin! What are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Benjamin was standing by the side door, leaning against the wall with too much understanding in his gaze. “You pack quite well for a sleepwalker.”
She met his eyes with a defiance she rarely bothered him with. She ran through a list of excuses, but the winter jacket and shoes were pretty damning. Instead of fighting it, she rolled her shoulders back and raised her chin. “I’m going out, and you’ll let me.”
Benjamin shrugged. “Since when have I ever barricaded you in the house? Go wherever you like. This isn’t the palace. You’re a grown woman. By all means, sneak away.”
Rory froze, not wanting to question the too-good-to-be-true offer. “Okay,” she replied slowly, and inched for the door he was standing next to.
“Of course, I’ll be driving you to wherever it is you haven’t told anyone you’re going. Meeting Cord somewhere?”
Rory’s shoulders slumped. “Please, Benjamin. I never ask you for anything. Just think, you could’ve gotten stuck guarding Henry, or any number of dignitaries who could’ve made your job a nightmare. Give me this one night, Benjamin. Please.”
Benjamin met her gaze with his own brand of scrutiny that had seen through many a nefarious character. He reached out and wrapped her in a hug they rarely exchanged, but never denied each other. “I held you the day you were born, you know. I was only twenty, and fresh out of the Academy. Your father wanted someone more experienced, but your mother saw something in me. She told me I could work for the family as long as I took care of you, so that’s what I did. Your first step. Every first day of school. Every birthday. Every test day. Every workday. Every weekend. All of it, I’ve been there. But now you’re asking me to let you go? This close to the finish line?” He squeezed her and shook his head. “For the next twenty-four hours, you and I don’t separate. We’ll eat together, sleep in the same room, all of it. You can sneak out to wherever you like, but I’m sneaking with you. That’s the best offer you’ll get, kiddo.”
Rory slumped in his arms. “You won’t approve, but it has to be done.”
“Talk to me.”
“No.”
It was gentle, the Pulse that Benjamin began to thrum into her. She was sensitive enough to his nuances that she could pick up the subconscious suggestion easily enough. “Tell me why you’re sneaking around tonight. Tell me where we’re going.”
Rory gritted her teeth, but Benjamin’s Pulse was well-honed from years of interrogating her family’s attackers. Benjamin’s self-loathing was visible as he Pulsed the truth from her. He could feel the trust crumbling on both ends of their friendship that had taken decades to build.
Rory debated trying to shove him and fight her way out, but she didn’t have the heart to raise her hand to Benjamin. “Please, Benji.” She invoked the nickname she’d used for him when she was a little girl, and had been too young to attempt three-syllable words. “I wanted to go to Cord’s condo. When I prick my finger, I want to fall asleep in his arms, so I can wake right back up. I don’t want to go out like this, barely having cracked the surface of all I want to accomplish in life! I don’t want to waste away in a sterile bed somewhere.” Her voice climbed to a hysterical pitch as she pictured her body laid out in a shapeless gown, tubes running in and out of her. “Don’t let me rot away in a hospital!”
He shushed her, his cheek pressed to the top of her head. “It’s okay. I won’t let you rot. I’ll be with you every second of every day until you wake back up. You think you’re tired of me now? Wait until your coma. You won’t be able to push me away then. I’ll read you my Westerns that you hate, and sing so off-key that you’ll wake just to shut me up.”
Despite the seriousness of the moment, Rory softened in her guard’s arms. “Tell me I’m worrying over nothing.”
“Why you ever worry about anything at all when I’m around is beyond me.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her temple. “Let’s go.”
Rory’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Benjamin’s mouth pulled to the side. “Did you honestly think I’d let you hole up here? It’s the first place Malaura will come looking. It’s all been arranged.”
Leah and Stefan came down the stairs, each with a suitcase in their hands. “Three cars going three separate directions. I’ll make sure I’m seen far away from you,” Leah promised. “That might draw them out my way.”
Stefan kissed his daughter’s forehead and clapped Benjamin on the back. “I’ll do the same.”
Rory’s head whipped from Benjamin to her parents, shocked that this had all been planned without her. “Wait, no! We should stay together.”
Leah had tears glistening in her eyes. “And this is how we’ll make that happen. Separate for one day, and then we’ll get to keep each other forever. This will work, honey. Go with Benjamin. Your safehouse is already set up.”
“Where? Mom, I don’t like this.”
Stefan smiled at his daughter, and Rory could see the softness in his eyes he often got when he was remembering what she looked like as a baby. “I ordered a birthday cake for you. It’s waiting at your safehouse, but we’ll celebrate properly next week, when all of this madness is behind us.”
Panic welled in Rory’s throat, but she swallowed it down, knowing that if something bad was coming for her, she wanted it far away from her family. At least this way they would be safe. Moisture pressed behind her eyes, and nearly spilled over when her mother caught her in a tight hug, and then handed her over to her father for an embrace that squeezed a few tears from her. “Daddy?” she whispered.
Stefan held Rory tighter, and it wasn’t until Benjamin cleared his throat that he released his daughter into the arms of the man who’d been trusted with her safety since her birth. He cupped Benjamin’s shoulder and squeezed. “Tell me again that this is the right move.”
“This is the only move,” he assured the Chancellor. “I’ll return her in twenty-four hours.”
It wasn’t her father’s forced expression of bravery, but her mother’s growing sobs she tried to muffle in her hand that made Rory’s knees start to tremble. Anxiety over parting from her parents gripped her around the throat, choking any profound parting words she wanted to utter.
Then they were gone, and Rory felt the hard swing of fear threaten to take her to a place she wouldn’t return from. She couldn’t give a voice to her terror if she wanted to make it through the next day.
Trepidation filled Rory like sand, slowing her movements as she plodded into the garage through the side door and ducked into the back, seeing an overnight bag already packed and ready to go. She jumped when the backdoor opened, and her uncle slid in beside her. “Uncle Remus! What are you doing here?”
He shot her a withering look, his gray slacks and light green dress shirt never daring to wrinkle. “Did you honestly think I have it in me to leave your protection to anyone else? You sincerely underestimate my controlling nature if you think I’m taking a breather now.”
She reached over and squeezed his hand, gratitude welling up inside of her. “Thank you.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m here.”
When the driver’s door opened, her hands found her way back to her lap, and she began twisting the fabric of her shirt nervously. If Remus was concerned enough not to let her go through this last stretch without him, then she knew there was very real reason to be afraid. “Benjamin?” she croaked, her voice and her bravery forsaking her.
Benjamin started up the car after two more guards slid in, giving Rory slight nods of assurance. Though she knew them well enough as palace guards on loan from King Hubert, she reached over and clutched Remus’ hand as she’d done when she was a child and needed to steady herself for the press. The simple touch held her to the planet as the garage door creaked open, and the cavalcade of black cars rolled slowly out into the night.