Virtue - a Fairy Tale Read Free Page B

horse. He’d expected to feel some relief at that, but instead he felt pain at the separation. He was already looking for an excuse to touch her again.
    It occurred to him after he’d climbed on the horse with Lily’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist and he’d sped off down the road – this all had to be some kind of spell. Maybe Scelestus put one on him to make him more dutiful.
    But that didn’t make sense, since he had the urge to protect Lily from his master, and that was the opposite of what Scelestus wanted. Maybe Lily had done it.
    When her arms tightened around him, his stomach swirled with something warm.
    Yes, that had to be it. She dabbled in the same dark arts as her step-mother, and she concocted a plan to protect herself. She kissed Lux and put some kind of spell on him, so he’d want to save her instead of taking her to his master.
    That didn’t explain why Lux felt drawn to her the second he heard her speak, or how innocent and uncertain she looked. If she had put a spell on him, why bother with the pretense? She could drop the act and simply order him to help her, and he’d follow.
    “Where are we going?” Lily asked, her soft words in his ear.
    “You can drop the act,” Lux blurted out, hoping to startle her into admitting she cast a spell on him.
    “What?”
    “I know you put a spell on me.”
    “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lily stammered and her arms loosened around him. “I’m not sure what’s happened to you, but I’ve had nothing to do with it. My step-mother might know something about it. Maybe she will help you.”
     “Drop the innocent act.” He rolled his eyes, trying to hang on to some anger and irritation, but he didn’t have any. At least not for Lily. “You kissed me the second you met me and then ran off into the night with me. That’s not something a virtuous girl would do.”
    “You’re absolutely right.” Lily lowered her head. “I have no idea what came over me. I’ve never kissed anybody before.”
    “You mean you’ve never kissed anyone like that before.” Lux slowed the horse and felt a strange ache inside him because he was upsetting her.
    “No. I’ve never kissed anyone. Ever.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know how foolish I am. Please. Just take me home.”
    Lux swallowed painfully. He couldn’t take her back home. Scelestus would find a new way to get rid of her, and Valefor would send someone else after her and after Lux. He definitely couldn’t take her to Valefor. He would eat her alive, probably quite literally.
    But Lux had nowhere else to take her. What few consorts he had were nearly as bad as Valefor, and he couldn’t leave a girl like Lily with them. Nor could he go on the run with her. She stood a better chance without him. She was just one stupid girl, but Lux had vowed to serve Valefor. If he went astray, Valefor would send everything after Lux until he was destroyed.
    “Damn,” Lux cursed and pulled the horse to a sudden stop. It snorted with irritation, and Lily squeezed onto him tighter to keep from falling off.
    “I’m sorry!” Lily said, assuming his anger was with her. “I never meant to bother you!”
    “No, no, you’re not. You’re…” Lux trailed off. Once again, he felt the urge to comfort her, but he had no idea how, so he stopped. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Just let me think.”
    “Think?” Lily asked, trying not to let his outburst get to her. “About what?”
    “I don’t know.” He glanced around, looking at the blur of dark trees around them. “What is that?”
    “What?” Lily looked over at the forest next to the road. All the branches hung leafless and bare, the way they always had. “It’s the Necrosilvam.”
    “The cursed forest,” he murmured, and slid off the horse.
    “What are you doing?” Panic edged into her voice. “Why are you getting off the horse?”
    “Do you trust me?” Lux looked up at her seriously. Whenever his eyes met hers like