buzzard perch on the man’s body, then plunge its beak into his chest. It pulled out his heart and devoured it in one greedy
gulp.
She clamped her hand over her mouth, sickened, fearing she would vomit.
‘The man died swiftly, not like some of them,’ Ruric said quietly.
Ohmigod. Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?
Briar swallowed hard and then turned away from the carnage. ‘These executions. Do they happen a lot?’
‘Yes, usually whenever some fool tries to wake the princess. They believe if the spell is broken the regent will step aside.’
‘Is that likely?’
He shook his head. ‘Some are allowed inside the castle – like this fellow, probably because he was of noble birth. Others steal their way in. The result is the same.’
Why don’t they overthrow this tyrant?
The villagers outnumbered her warriors. All they had to do was gang up her on her.
Ruric must have divined her thoughts. ‘No further questions,’ he said uneasily. ‘Too many ears are listening.’
The next sharp blast of a trumpet made Briar jump in panic.
‘Justice has been done!’ the footman cried out, then handed his ruler into the coach. After he leaped up on to the seat at the back, it rolled away, sandwiched between the two lines
of heavily armed horsemen.
The bird executed a few hops and took wing. All eyes followed it, wondering who would be its next victim. To Briar’s astonishment, it shrank in size until it was tiny again. It flew along
the side of the coach and then popped into the window, no doubt to become a tiny metal ball once again.
Monster recycling. That’s not good news.
It was only as the villagers began the trek back home that Briar wondered what would become of the dead man’s body. When she posed the question, Ruric looked towards the remains.
‘He’ll be buried in an unmarked grave.’
‘But his family? How will they ever know what happened to him?’
He looked at her curiously. ‘Why do you worry about him, a man you did not know?’
‘Because if it was me . . . I’d want my family to know how I died.’
Ruric’s face softened. ‘As would I, Briar, as would I.’
CHAPTER NINE
Dawn found Joshua awake. He hadn’t been able to sleep, not after all that had happened at the party. Some of it had been because of Briar, at how upset she’d been
at Mike’s lies. He’d wanted nothing more than to tear the bastard apart after he’d seen how much that loser had hurt her.
I still might.
Which was at war with everything he’d been told over the years. The Roses are bad people, they’ll hurt you; and yet now he found himself caring for one far more than was
sensible.
As the night wore on and sleep continued to elude him, he’d thought about the moment he’d given Briar the charm bracelet. How he’d wished it had gone differently . . . better
somehow.
If Daniels hadn’t been there . . .
If he hadn’t been born a Quinn.
After Briar had left the party, her cousin had started talking about some curse and, at first, he hadn’t paid much attention.
‘We’ll know in the morning if it’s real or not,’ Saralyn had said to one of her friends. ‘I think it’s total crap. Who would put a curse on Briar, anyway?
She’s nothing special.’
Even now he couldn’t believe it. A curse was just crazy talk. Yet he had this gnawing anxiety that something was very wrong, and it had begun at the stroke of midnight. The pressure in his
chest still hadn’t let up, even though it was past seven.
With considerable effort, he forced himself out of bed and chose a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt from a drawer, though he wasn’t expected at the stables until noon. Out of habit, he
gave a tap to the dream catcher suspended from the ceiling, causing it to turn in lazy circles.
He was stalling, knowing there’d be another inquisition from his mom. It happened nearly every morning when he’d been out the night before. Who had he talked to? What had he done?
Had he been
gulp.
She clamped her hand over her mouth, sickened, fearing she would vomit.
‘The man died swiftly, not like some of them,’ Ruric said quietly.
Ohmigod. Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?
Briar swallowed hard and then turned away from the carnage. ‘These executions. Do they happen a lot?’
‘Yes, usually whenever some fool tries to wake the princess. They believe if the spell is broken the regent will step aside.’
‘Is that likely?’
He shook his head. ‘Some are allowed inside the castle – like this fellow, probably because he was of noble birth. Others steal their way in. The result is the same.’
Why don’t they overthrow this tyrant?
The villagers outnumbered her warriors. All they had to do was gang up her on her.
Ruric must have divined her thoughts. ‘No further questions,’ he said uneasily. ‘Too many ears are listening.’
The next sharp blast of a trumpet made Briar jump in panic.
‘Justice has been done!’ the footman cried out, then handed his ruler into the coach. After he leaped up on to the seat at the back, it rolled away, sandwiched between the two lines
of heavily armed horsemen.
The bird executed a few hops and took wing. All eyes followed it, wondering who would be its next victim. To Briar’s astonishment, it shrank in size until it was tiny again. It flew along
the side of the coach and then popped into the window, no doubt to become a tiny metal ball once again.
Monster recycling. That’s not good news.
It was only as the villagers began the trek back home that Briar wondered what would become of the dead man’s body. When she posed the question, Ruric looked towards the remains.
‘He’ll be buried in an unmarked grave.’
‘But his family? How will they ever know what happened to him?’
He looked at her curiously. ‘Why do you worry about him, a man you did not know?’
‘Because if it was me . . . I’d want my family to know how I died.’
Ruric’s face softened. ‘As would I, Briar, as would I.’
CHAPTER NINE
Dawn found Joshua awake. He hadn’t been able to sleep, not after all that had happened at the party. Some of it had been because of Briar, at how upset she’d been
at Mike’s lies. He’d wanted nothing more than to tear the bastard apart after he’d seen how much that loser had hurt her.
I still might.
Which was at war with everything he’d been told over the years. The Roses are bad people, they’ll hurt you; and yet now he found himself caring for one far more than was
sensible.
As the night wore on and sleep continued to elude him, he’d thought about the moment he’d given Briar the charm bracelet. How he’d wished it had gone differently . . . better
somehow.
If Daniels hadn’t been there . . .
If he hadn’t been born a Quinn.
After Briar had left the party, her cousin had started talking about some curse and, at first, he hadn’t paid much attention.
‘We’ll know in the morning if it’s real or not,’ Saralyn had said to one of her friends. ‘I think it’s total crap. Who would put a curse on Briar, anyway?
She’s nothing special.’
Even now he couldn’t believe it. A curse was just crazy talk. Yet he had this gnawing anxiety that something was very wrong, and it had begun at the stroke of midnight. The pressure in his
chest still hadn’t let up, even though it was past seven.
With considerable effort, he forced himself out of bed and chose a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt from a drawer, though he wasn’t expected at the stables until noon. Out of habit, he
gave a tap to the dream catcher suspended from the ceiling, causing it to turn in lazy circles.
He was stalling, knowing there’d be another inquisition from his mom. It happened nearly every morning when he’d been out the night before. Who had he talked to? What had he done?
Had he been
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