His Beauty - Jack Harbon Page 0,1

of the cottage. There, I open the door to Isabelle’s stable. She lifts her head up at the noise, shuffling in place. It’s as if she knows there’s something wrong. Like she can sense my urgency.

“Belle,” I say, running my hand along her neck. “It’s time to go, sweetheart.” Carefully, I lead her out of the stable and toward the road. Elyse stands by the front door, a shawl wrapped around her body and puffs of air escaping her lips in small clouds. I give her a short nod and mount Isabelle, taking hold of the reins and leading her onto the dirt path.

“Wait up for me,” I tell Elyse.

“Always.”

With a quick gesture, I lead Isabelle down the path, urging her to move faster. The possibilities of my father’s fate race through my mind, and I fight hard to block them out. He’s fine. Then I remember where he is. Highburn Hold.

It’s a cursed castle. I’ve heard stories of the monster that lives within its walls. They say he’s indescribable, a beast full of bloodlust, and a hunger for the souls of the innocent. A nightmare come to life, always on the verge of destroying Graybrook. He’s been whispered about for as long as I can remember, and if even half of what the townspeople say is true, Father is in more danger than ever before.

As we race through the woods, the bitter wind whips at my face and sends my brown hair flying in every direction. I snap my head and clear my vision, squinting as Isabelle darts around a bend and bounds over a fallen tree. She takes me through the harsh river with only a few issues, but when we return to solid ground once more, she’s lightning.

It takes nearly a half-hour to arrive outside of Highburn Hold, and when we do, I pull back on the reins and stare up at the towering building. It’s as beautiful as it is terrifying, with snowcapped spires shooting toward the sky and weathered stone walls surrounding it. Movement down below catches my attention, and I see Father’s horse, Gwen, sniffing around.

“Oh, no…”

I hop from Isabelle’s back and carefully ease my way down the shallow cliff toward Gwen. Leading around the wall is a set of footprints that I can only assume to be Father’s. “Hi, darling,” I whisper to the steed, running my fingers through her mane as I gather my courage. “He went this way, didn’t he?”

Gwen gives me a lazy blink and huffs out an answer I can’t understand. There’s no turning back. If Father is here, I have to save him. I adjust the cloak on my shoulders and begin following the footprints. They go on for ages until finally, they stop at a crack in the base of the building. It’s as if the weight of the building has shifted, causing the stones to crumble. It’s barely big enough for a person to fit through, and I slip through the hole, grateful to be shielded from the harsh wind.

At least I am in the beginning. When my eyes adjust, and I can see more, I gasp. It’s a dungeon. I’d heard tales of prisoners in Highburn, but I assumed they were just that. There was no way a man could be wicked enough to have something like that in his home. But as I step deeper into the cavernous room, I can clearly make out the three cages lining the far right wall. They’re all empty. All but the last one.

A figure hunches over in a pile of fabric, a small pool of blood snaking off along the stone. I approach tentatively, whispering. “Father?”

I recognize the groan the person lets out. I’ve heard it many times before; when my father’s stomach pains grew too much to bear. When we forced him to eat, even though he felt no need to. He rolls onto his side and looks up at me. His face is bloodied like he’s been beaten.

“Father!” I cry, tears springing to my eyes. “What—what happened to you? Who did this?” I tug on the bars, foolishly hoping that I have enough strength to pry him free. All it does is chill my hands painfully. “I have to get you out,” I say, searching for something, anything that I can use to free him. There has to be a way to break him out.

“Isla?” Father pushes himself from the cement slowly, crawling to the metal bars that imprison him. “What are you doing here?