Darling Beast (Maiden Lane) (26 page)
Read Darling Beast (Maiden Lane) Online
Authors: Elizabeth Hoyt
Tags: #Fiction / Romance / Historical / General, #Fiction / Romance / Erotica, #Fiction / Historical, #Fiction / Erotica, #Fiction / Fairy Tales, #Folk Tales, #Legends &, #Mythology, #Fiction / Gothic, #Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
“Masses?” she muttered a bit doubtfully, but fortunately he ignored her.
Apollo sank onto one knee there before her, with her only in her chemise and him in… nothing at all.
“Lily Stump,” he said, his voice rasping a little as it always would, “will you take me as husband and be my wife? Will you be my sun and light all the days of my life and never make me regret bathing in a muddy pond?”
And she laughed as she drew him up to kiss.
“Yes,” she said against his lips. “Yes.”
A cry broke from Ariadne’s lips at the gruesome sight. The monster shook his head and Theseus’s body fell to the ground, bloodied. She ran to kneel by the man, but saw at once that the wound was too deep and too terrible. Theseus looked up at her, his eyes wide in surprise, and gasped with his last breath, “I am the hero. It is the monster who should die, not me.”
And then his spirit left his body.
Ariadne bowed her head and said a prayer. When she raised it she saw the monster wading in the pool, washing the gore from his chest and head. She stood, but he did not look at her. In fact, he turned his back.
“Monster!” she called, but the moment the word left her lips, she knew it was wrong. “I’m sorry,” she said, softer. “You aren’t a monster, no matter what others say.”
At that he raised his bull head and finally turned to look at her.
There were tears in his beautiful brown eyes.
“I do not know your name,” she said. “Perhaps you’ve never had one—not a proper one, at least. So I’ll call you Asterion—ruler of the stars—if that meets with your approval?”
Gravely, Asterion bowed his head.
Ariadne held out her hand. “Will you come with me out of the labyrinth? It is beautiful here in your garden, but no birds sing and I think it rather lonely.”
So Asterion took Ariadne’s hand and she, following the red thread from the spindle the queen had given her, retraced her steps out of the labyrinth. Of course it took many days, for even with the thread to follow, the labyrinth’s corridors were long and winding. But Ariadne passed the time telling Asterion about the island outside the labyrinth, and the people who lived there.
When at last they reached the entrance of the labyrinth and Ariadne heard birds singing in the trees, she turned to Asterion with a joyful smile upon her face.
But what a surprise met her when she gazed upon her companion! For while Asterion still retained his coal-black hue, his massive shoulders, the horns of a bull, and the tail as well, his visage had changed to that of a man.
And with a man’s lips and tongue came the power of speech. Asterion fell to his knees before Ariadne. “Gentle maiden, I owe you my life,” he said, his voice hoarse and halting. “For years others have entered into my labyrinth bent on killing me. Only you saw me as a thinking being. A man with a soul. In this way you have broken my curse.”
“And I am glad of it,” she said.
Ariadne and Asterion went to the golden castle. But how it had changed since she’d last seen it! The great halls were empty, the courtiers and soldiers disappeared. Together Ariadne and Asterion wandered for many hours before they at last found the mad queen.
What tears the queen wept when she saw her son! For the first time in years she put down her spinning, and she opened wide her arms to receive him. As for the king? Why, he was quite dead. One morning he’d grown irritated at the singing of sparrows on his balcony, and when in a fit of ire he’d chased them, the balcony wall had given way, and the king had fallen to his death.
But the island was in chaos with no one to rule. The people crowded the streets, confused and fearful. So Asterion went to the king’s balcony and raised his hands.
“My people,” he shouted, and immediately all turned their heads to stare in wonder. “My people, I was born a beast, but by the kindness of Ariadne, I have become a man. I know violence, but I prefer peace. If you will accept me as your leader, I will try to rule more justly than my father and I will keep Ariadne by my side as my wife so that I never forget the importance of kindness.”
And as the people cheered, Asterion turned to Ariadne and smiled with his new-formed human lips. “Will you, my sweet maid? Will you be my wife and queen and tutor me in gentleness? Will you be my love forevermore?”
Ariadne placed her palms on his dark cheeks and smiled up at him. “I think you have no need of my tutoring, my lord, but if you will have me as wife, I will gladly wed you and be your love forevermore.”
And so she did.
—From
The Minotaur
T
HREE
M
ONTHS
L
ATER
…
Apollo stood with his adopted son and looked with pride at the newly planted oak. The tree stood beside the pond, gently waving dark-green leaves reflected in the clear water’s surface. A sublime sight indeed.
Indio had slightly more down-to-earth thoughts about the new planting. “Can I climb it?”
“No,” Apollo said firmly, for he’d found that simple, blunt statements were least likely to be wriggled out of by a crafty seven-year-old boy. “And Daff can’t, either.”
The little dog barked and spun in a circle at her name, nearly landing in the pond.
“Awww!” Indio moaned in disappointment and then almost immediately perked up at another thought. “Can I start our picnic now?
“Yes.”
“And eat the leftover wedding cake first?”
“If you can get Maude’s permission,” Apollo replied, because he was certainly no fool.
“Huzzah!” Indio whooped. “Come on, Daff!”
And he and the dog raced off in the direction of the ruined theater. Apollo followed more slowly, inspecting the progress of his garden as he went. He and his gardeners had successfully planted more than a score of trees as well as flowering shrubs. Many of the trees and shrubs would take years to mature, so to fill in he’d planted faster-growing vegetation such as evergreens, both to provide background and to give shelter to the tender hardwoods. Along the paths he’d also planted annual flowers, which made bright pools of color.
“There you are.”
He turned at the sound of his wife’s voice. Lily was wearing scarlet, his favorite color on her, and she stood out like a bright poppy in his garden.
He smiled into her green eyes and held out his hand. “I’m afraid Indio has rushed off to ravage the rest of the wedding cake.”
“Well, someone has to eat it,” she replied, taking his hand. “Maude baked far too much. There’s plenty more at home.”
They’d married only three days ago, in a small private ceremony marked mostly by the abundance of Maude’s
seed cake. They’d been eating it ever since, often on the picnics Lily, Indio, and Maude brought for his luncheon at the garden.
“And how have you spent your morning?” he teased Lily, for he knew very well what she’d been doing.
Artemis had given them a small town house not far from the garden. She had insisted it was a wedding present, but Apollo expected to repay her the cost of the house when he came into his inheritance. From the reports, it wouldn’t be too long.
“Have you any idea how hard it is to paint a room?” Lily asked. “I thought peach for my writing room, but then it turned the most ghastly shade of orange on the wall. The painters are going over it now in yellow, although with my luck it’ll turn some terrible shade of brown.”
“Mmm,” he murmured, listening more to the sound of her voice than to her words.
“Next I’m considering painting your study lavender,” she continued, “perhaps with pink stripes.”
He looked at her. “I
am
paying attention.”
“Good.” She took a deep breath, suddenly serious. “I’ve something for you.”
He stopped, turning to face her. “What is it?”
She fumbled in the pocket of her dress. “I found it this morning while I was unpacking the chest I had at the theater, and I thought…”
She held out his notebook.
He took it wonderingly as she continued to talk, her words coming more and more rapidly.
“I found it after the soldiers came and I kept it. I don’t know why because at that point I wasn’t sure I’d ever see
you again. But then when I uncovered it this morning, I knew… that is…”
She reached out and flipped the pages of the notebook until the last page lay open in his hands. She’d written something there. He bent and read.
I love you, Beast.
I love you, Caliban.
I love you, Apollo.
I love you, Romeo.
I love you, Smith.
I love you, Gardener.
I love you, Aristocrat.
I love you, Lover.
I love you, Husband.
I love you, Friend.
I love you, You.
He inhaled and looked up.
She was twisting her hands together. “For a writer, I’m awfully ineloquent. I don’t know—”
He dropped the notebook and pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately. He held her sweet face between his palms and caressed her temples with his thumbs as he opened his mouth over hers, inhaling her gasp.
When at last he drew back, he whispered against her lips, “Do you know where we are?”
“Yes,” she murmured, her eyes closed. “At the heart of the maze.” And when she opened her lichen-green eyes he saw all the love he’d ever hoped for shining in her eyes just for him. “At your heart—and mine.”
THER
T
ITLES BY
E
LIZABETH
H
OYT
The Raven Prince
The Leopard Prince
The Serpent Prince
The Ice Princess
To Taste Temptation
To Beguile a Beast
To Seduce a Sinner
To Desire a Devil
Wicked Intentions
Notorious Pleasures
Scandalous Desires
Thief of Shadows
Lord of Darkness
Duke of Midnight
ELIZABETH HOYT’S
MAIDEN LANE SERIES
Duke of Midnight
“Top Pick! A sensual tale of forbidden love… Plenty of action and intriguing mystery make this a page-turner.”
—
BookPage
“Richly drawn characters fill the pages of this emotionally charged mix of mystery and romance.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“4½ stars! Top Pick! There is enchantment in the Maiden Lane series, not just the fairy tales Hoyt infuses into the memorable romances, but the wonder of love combined with passion, unique plotlines, and unforgettable characters.”
—
RT Book Reviews
“I
loved
it. I loved Artemis. I loved Max, and I loved their story. I have enjoyed every Elizabeth Hoyt book I have read (and I have read most of them).”
—All About Romance (LikesBooks.com)
“
Lord of Darkness
illuminates Hoyt’s boundless imagination… Readers will adore this story.”
—
RT Book Reviews
“Hoyt’s writing is imbued with great depth of emotion… heartbreaking… an edgy tension-filled plot.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“
Lord of Darkness
is classic Elizabeth Hoyt, meaning it’s unique, engaging, and leaves readers on the edge of their seats… an incredible addition to the fantastic Maiden Lane series. I Joyfully Recommend Godric and Megs’s tale, for it’s an amazing, well-crafted story with an intriguing plot and a lovely, touching romance… simply enchanting!”
—JoyfullyReviewed.com
“I adore the Maiden Lane series, and this fifth book is a very welcome addition to the series… [It’s] sexy and sweet all at the same time… This can be read as a stand-alone, but I adore each book in this series and encourage you to start from the beginning.”
—
USA Today
’s Happy Ever After blog
“Beautifully written… a truly fine piece of storytelling and a novel that deserves to be read and enjoyed.”
—TheBookBinge.com
“An expert blend of scintillating romance and mystery… The romance between the beautiful and quick-witted Isabel and the masked champion of the downtrodden propels this novel to the top of its genre.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Amazing sex scenes… a very intriguing hero… This one did not disappoint.”
—
USA Today
“Innovative, emotional, sensual… Hoyt’s beautiful blending of the essential elements of a fairy tale into a stunning love story enhances this delicious ‘keeper.’ ”
—
RT Book Reviews
“All of Hoyt’s signature literary ingredients—wickedly clever dialogue, superbly nuanced characters, danger, and scorching sexual chemistry—click neatly into place to create a breathtakingly romantic love story.”
—
Booklist
“When [they] finally come together, desire and long-denied sensuality explode upon the page.”
—
Library Journal
“With heart and heat rolled into one,
Thief of Shadows
is a definite must-read for historical romance fans! Hoyt really has outdone herself… yet again.”
—UndertheCoversBookblog.blogspot.com
“A balanced mixture of action, adventure, and mystery and a beautifully crafted romance… The perfect historical romance.”
—HeroesandHeartbreakers.com