"When I act, I choose to act. When I burn someone, I decide it."
Her stomach dropped. "So you chose to hurt him."
"Yes." He answered with no hesitation.
That honesty unsettled her more than if he had blamed the beast.
"You are mine," he said.
There it was again. She shook her head.
"Zar, you're scaring me."
He stepped back immediately. He didn't like that she was afraid.
The heat in the air eased slightly.
He closed his eyes, exhaling, when he opened them, he looked better.
"You forget something, dove," he said, his voice no longer raised.
She stayed silent.
"I am the Cursed Beast King."
"If you think that because I am gentle with you… that this is how I am with everyone…then you need to correct that idea."
He took another step back.
"I have ruled alone for centuries. I have fought wars. I have crushed rebellions. I am not soft."
The mist from the waterfall drifted between them.
"What you see with you," he continued, "is restraint. It is not weakness."
