Free Foretell by Belle Malory Page A

after my father died, and especially after the beast inside me revealed itself.
    “So what about the girl in the picture?” I asked. “What happened with her?”
    “I think her name was Tatiana, if I remember correctly. She was a royal too-a princess. She and Stefan were betrothed from birth. Betrothals are common amongst gypsy tribes, although, the practice doesn’t usually work out as well as it did for Tatiana and Stefan. They ended up falling head over heels in love with one another. It’s not a normal sort of thing you see within the Royal folds. They were extremely lucky.
    “So anyway, they got married. The princess bore a son and supposedly they lived happily ever after. Until about a year after their son’s birth.”
    I held my breath, enraptured by Lola’s words. “What happened?”
    “The Royal Courts were already showing signs of corruption during that life. The Constantin family held a meeting to discuss the possibility of breaking away from the courts. Though they didn’t choose abandonment at that time, Tatiana and the boy mysteriously disappeared on the same night they discussed it.”
    I sighed loudly, with a newfound compassion for the past version of Rex.
    “It tore him apart,” Lola said. “He searched for them everywhere. He even enlisted the help of psychics, but none of them could see where she was.”
    “What about later on?” I probed. “Did he find them in another life?”
    “He wouldn’t have been able to look for the baby even if he’d tried. In order for a gypsy to be remembered, they must reach an age where they come into their personality a bit more. I’d say around seven or eight years old at the very least.”
    I swallowed. I couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been for Rex, starting a family with the person he loved and adored, and then having it ripped away. The not knowing must have been the hardest part. It must have driven him crazy. If it were me , I would have gone mad just from the not knowing.
    “In his entire existence, he’s only changed his name twice,” Lola told me. “Once when he lost his family, and the second time after he lost his people. His name was Ralph in that life.”
    “It’s a little easier to understand him now,” I admitted to her.
    She smiled. “Deep down, he has a good heart. I know he’s not the most pleasant person to be around. Especially if you’re female, in particular. To be honest, Rex and I didn’t get along at all when I first met him. Matter of fact, I punched him square in the jaw before speaking a word to him.”
    I laughed, trying to imagine that happening. “Did you hurt your fist?”
    Lola snorted. “Actually, I bloodied his nose, if you can believe it.”
    I raised my brows in surprise. “That is hard to believe. Was he furious?”
    “I’ve never seen him so angry in all my lives. I think I wounded his pride more than anything though.”
    I laughed some more, but my laughter died down, cut off by the sound of an overjoyed squeal of delight coming from up ahead.
    “That must be Lina,” Lola explained.
    The silhouette of a young woman ran through the inky darkness at full-speed, crashing into Lola, wrapping her arms around in a tight hug. Giggles resounded throughout the forest.
    Long, auburn hair swished around the woman as she bounced. A glimmer of bangles illuminated her wrists and ankles, clinking together noisily.
    “You’ve made it,” Lina cried happily. “I knew you would!”
    “Yeah, well we had our roadblocks, believe me. Salazar’s men managed to follow us to the train.”
    Lina scowled. “Of course it would be Salazar. But you made it anyway. I’m ridiculously happy about that. So where is it? I want to see it.”
    Lola chuckled, as if she were in on a secret her friend didn’t know about. She gestured to me. “In the flesh.”
    Lina turned to me, giving me a once over. I shifted my stance awkwardly. I felt as if I were a novelty item, being appraised at an auction. Then Lina put her