The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 537: Relax. You are acting crazy
Isabella shoved aside the last curtain of pale, silky materials with the kind of force that promised violence. Her jaw was tight, her brow was twitching, and her soul was vibrating with fury.
She did not care that the place behind the materials looked darker than before.
She did not care that the air felt heavier.
She did not care that the dark hour was creeping closer and she needed to get back to the lagoon before everything on this mountain woke up hungry.
All she cared about was one thing.
Finding that idiot wingless bird and beating him with her fan.
And she cursed him with every slow step she took.
In her mind.
Because being pregnant made everything ten times more dramatic.
"Stupid bastard. Leaving without telling me. What if he died. What if something ate him. Actually, better. Maybe a monster should eat him so I can rest. Next time I will leave him to rot. In fact, next time I will bury him myself. He thinks he is a phoenix, but he is just a tall frying pan with legs."
Glimora, perched on her shoulder, nodded along like a supportive therapist.
The darkness was not real darkness. There was no sun and no night on this mountain. Only shifts in temperature. Only a difference in the way the air breathed. The dimness around her warned that the dark hour was close.
She needed to find Osiris before something else did.
Her hand moved to her space.
She snapped open her fan with a sharp flick that echoed across the trees.
The sound was a promise.
Anything that tried her today would die.
She continued forward.
Her stomach had a small bump now. Her babies were there. Growing. Eating her energy. Making her ankles heavy and her mood unpredictable. She could not risk anything with them inside her. Not monsters. Not strangers. Not Osiris’ stupidity.
Especially not Osiris’ stupidity.
She moved through branches and low vines until she heard it.
Voices.
Not beast screeches.
Not monster clicking.
Not the wind pretending to be a ghost.
Actual voices.
People.
She froze.
Then she crouched.
Then she peeked from behind a cluster of giant leaves.
Her brain nearly exploded.
There was a village.
Right here.
Inside the mountain.
And not just any village.
A village filled with beings she had never seen in her life.
A tall man with a horse’s body from the waist down was carrying a basket full of glowing fruits.
A woman with shimmering fins and legs bent like flowing water was washing something in a stone bowl.
Two creatures with moth wings were giggling near a fire.
A half-fish half-man leaned against a tree sharpening coral spearheads.
It was like she had stumbled into a myth.
She blinked.
She blinked again.
She rubbed her eyes with her palm.
"Glimora," she whispered, "do you see what I am seeing."
Glimora nodded.
Isabella believed she had seen everything strange this mountain could offer.
Apparently not.
She was still staring in awe, trying to convince herself these people were real and not hallucinations caused by her stress, when another shock smacked her right in the face.
Osiris.
He strolled right into their center like he was saying good morning to his neighbors.
He walked tall.
He walked casually.
He walked like he was on a morning stroll and not walking into a village of magical half creatures who could kill him for existing.
The moment he stepped in, everyone stopped moving.
All eyes turned.
Even the water bending woman froze mid splash.
Isabella’s heart slammed into her ribs.
Because of course Osiris would walk into a mysterious magical community without fear.
Of course Osiris would announce his presence like a lost cow.
Of course Osiris would be the reason she was now in danger.
She buried her face in her hands.
"That stupid man. That stupid huge tall man. Why did I follow him. Why is he like this. Why did I not let him die two hours ago."
She peeked again.
He stood in the center, looking around with the curiosity of a child.
One of the horse men stepped forward slowly. He looked at Osiris the way a villager looked at a god they prayed to a long time ago.
Then the horse man bowed slightly.
"Prince of the Phoenix Clan," he said.
Osiris blinked.
Isabella blinked harder.
The world blinked with them.
"What," Osiris said.
"You are Osiris," the man continued. "The Prince of the Phoenix Clan. You are still alive."
Osiris just stared.
Isabella’s soul flew out of her body.
She could not let this continue.
If Osiris learned something important about himself, he would become even more arrogant. She could not survive that.
So she ran out of the bushes.
She grabbed Osiris’ arm with both hands.
She laughed nervously. The kind of laugh a hostage might make when pretending everything was alright.
"Hi," she said to the entire magical community. "Hello. Good evening. Or whatever time it is on this stupid mountain. Yes. We are leaving. Right now. Like this second. No need to call him a prince. He is not a prince. He is not anything. He is just a tall chicken. We will be leaving."
Her fake laugh cracked.
Osiris looked down at her with annoyance. "Do not touch me."
She squeezed his arm harder. "Shut up."
The horse man looked at her.
Then at Osiris.
Then at her belly.
Then back at Osiris.
Then at her hand gripping his arm.
The silence was heavier than the air before a storm.
Then the horse man gasped lightly, eyes widening.
"You are his mate," he said.
Isabella froze.
Her soul left her body for the second time today.
She grabbed it.
It left again.
"No," Isabella said quickly. "I am not his mate. I am no one’s mate. I am single. I am alone. I am a strong independent woman. I am not his mate. Absolutely not. Never. Never in my life."
The vines shook from how violently she denied it.
Osiris turned to her, eyebrows raised. "Relax. You are acting crazy."
Isabella snapped her head toward him so fast he almost stepped back.
"Crazy," she repeated. "I am crazy. You think I am crazy. You left me alone, wandered into a village full of magical creatures without telling me, you almost got yourself killed, you are stupid, you have no brain, and now someone just called me your mate. Yes. I am crazy."
