Chapter 34 Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Chapter 34
The beast pushed himself off the table with a low grunt.

Before I could step back, he was standing right in front of me, towering over me.

We were so close that I could feel the warmth radiating from his body, and my breath caught as I slowly looked up.

His golden eyes met mine, and for one long quiet moment, he just stared at me.

Not with anger like before, just something ...Softer.

Something I couldn't quite understand.

My heart stumbled in my chest, or it felt like a stumble if it was even possible.

Then suddenly, something shifted.

The softness vanished behind the familiar walls he always hid behind. His jaw tightened, and the distance returned to his eyes as if he'd remembered exactly what he was... a beast.

“I am going to get some rest,” he said.

The room suddenly felt strangely empty as he made his way out the door.

I stood there for a moment before letting out a quiet breath and looking around. The servant creature had already started cleaning, carefully putting jars back onto the shelves and wiping away the blood that had dripped onto the stone floor.

Without really thinking about it, I walked over and picked up the empty bowl.

The little creature looked up at me in surprise.
"What?" I shrugged. "I might as well help."

It blinked a few times before happily clicking to itself and handed me a clean cloth.

For the next few minutes, neither of us spoke.
Well, it couldn't exactly speak. Still, we somehow worked together without saying a word. I rinsed the bloody cloths while it carefully packed away the herbs we hadn't used. Every now and then it would point to something, and I'd hand it over. It almost felt...
Normal. Strange.

Considering I was cleaning up after treating the wounds of a giant cursed beast in a castle full of monsters.

Life had become odd, very odd.

Once everything was cleaned, the little creature clapped its tiny hands together proudly before giving me what looked suspiciously like a smile.

I smiled back. "There," I said. "Good as new."

The creature nodded enthusiastically before waddling out of the room with the empty herb basket.

I watched it disappear down the hallway.

Then I was alone. The silence returned almost immediately.

I should go back to my chamber.

That was the sensible thing to do. Instead...

My eyes drifted toward the hallway the beast had disappeared down only a few minutes earlier.

I frowned.

Why was I even thinking about him?

He was probably asleep already.

Besides, what did I care?

He kidnapped me, and locked me away. He also nearly strangled me.

Then again, he had also jumped into an icy lake to save me.

He fought that monster.

He got those wounds because of me.

I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Ugh... stop it, Vera."

I rubbed my face with both hands.

"You've officially lost your mind."

I told myself I only wanted to make sure he wasn't bleeding to death.

That was all, nothing more.

Definitely not because I was worried.

With that very convincing excuse, I quietly stepped out of the healing room and made my way down the stone hallway.

The castle was silent again.

Every now and then, a cold breeze drifted through the narrow windows, carrying snowflakes inside. The firelight from the wall torches flickered softly as I followed the path I remembered.

Eventually, I stopped outside a pair of large wooden doors.

His chamber.

My hand hovered over the handle.

"This is a terrible idea," I whispered to myself, but pushed the door open anyway.

The room was much quieter than before.

The fire still burned in the large stone fireplace, filling the room with a warm orange glow that lit up the walls. Outside, snow drifted past the tall windows, but in here everything felt peaceful.

My eyes immediately found him.

The beast lay on the enormous bed with his back facing me. One thick arm rested beneath his head while the fur blanket covered him from the waist down.

For a second I just stood there, listening.

His breathing was slow. Steady. Deep. He was asleep.

At least, I hoped he was.

It was hard to tell with someone who looked like him.

I quietly closed the door behind me and started walking across the room, placing each step as carefully as I could.

The beast didn't move.

I let out the breath I'd been holding and continued.

When I reached the side of the bed, I stopped.

Up close, I could see the bandages I'd wrapped around his back earlier. A few faint red spots had already soaked through the cloth, but nowhere near as much as before.

That was good. At least they had stopped bleeding.

My eyes slowly drifted over the rest of him. Even asleep, he looked enormous.

His broad shoulders nearly filled the width of the bed, and the thick dark fur covering his arms and back looked softer in the firelight than it had any right to.

I still couldn't believe I'd been terrified of touching him only hours ago.

Now... now I was standing beside his bed, making sure he was alright.

I sighed quietly.

"This is all my fault," I whispered.

If I had just listened, if I hadn't wandered through the castle...

If I hadn't ignored his warning, he wouldn't have been lying here covered in wounds.

Without thinking, I slowly reached out.

My fingertips gently brushed the skin just beside one of the bandages, tracing the outer edge where the wound disappeared beneath the cloth.

His skin was still warm.

Not burning like before.

Just warm.

I frowned slightly.

Maybe the herbs really were helping.

Suddenly...The beast shifted.

A quiet breath escaped him as one shoulder moved.

My eyes widened.

I snatched my hand back so quickly I nearly stumbled over my own feet.

Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up.

He let out another slow breath before settling again, his breathing returning to the same calm rhythm as before.

I waited another few seconds just to be sure.

Still asleep.

I quietly rubbed a hand over my face.

"What are you even doing, Vera?" I whispered to myself.

"I've completely lost my mind."

A small smile tugged at my lips despite everything.

Shaking my head, I stepped away from the bed before I did something even more embarrassing.

My eyes wandered around the room.

It wasn't nearly as grand as I expected for someone who ruled an entire kingdom.

Everything was simple.

Neat, almost... lonely.

There were no expensive decorations.

No golden statues.

No shelves filled with treasures.

Just books, and lots of them.

One in particular caught my attention.

It rested on the small wooden table beside a chair near the fireplace, lying open as though someone had been reading it not long ago.

Curiosity got the better of me.

I walked over quietly and picked it up.

The leather cover was old and worn from years of use, the edges softened by countless hands turning its pages.

I carefully opened it.

The writing inside wasn't like the books in the library.

This one I could actually read.