Page 22 of Ruthless Monsters

Striding forward, she places her silver case on the bed and gestures for me to sit on the mattress. I perch on one corner, and she gets to work, cleansing my face.

“You must have upset him,” Sassia says as she finishes cleaning my face, and then works on powdering my cheeks, only applying a thin amount of makeup this time. “He normally doesn’t treat his soon-to-be-brides like that. At least, not in front of the high lords and ladies. Not until the wedding ceremony is complete.”

“Why do I get the feeling this is your way of saying it’s my fault?” I reply dryly. “He’s the one with terrible taste in brides. If he wanted a demure sacrifice, he should have chosen better.”

Sassia’s lips quirk upward, and I narrow my eyes at her.

“And why do I feel like you’re happy about all this?” I ask.

She flicks her brush, finishing the touch of color on my cheeks. “Because his little temper tantrum shows that you’re exactly who we need you to be. He’s trying to scare you because he knows you’re powerful.”

I grimace. “Yeah, and it also means he’ll be even more powerful if I can’t stop him from draining me.”

Sassia doesn’t seem bothered by this comment, and she smiles as she moves on to brushing my hair. Her confidence that I’m going to free her and her kind has me feeling guilty, but I decide I don’t need to tell Sassia that it’s not my main priority. Truthfully, I’ll kill the king if I get the chance, so it might still work out, and she’s the only friend I have in the palace right now. I don’t want to risk upsetting her.

“So, do you think he’ll notice?” I ask, tipping my head toward the cage.

She looks over at the mangled bars and a small smile teases her lips. “Luckily for you, King Celzar has given me strict orders to get you ready for the day, and then the guards are to escort you to him.”

“And what is on the agenda today? Another party?”

She makes a face. “Not exactly…” she trails off as she finishes my hair and rifles in her case. A moment later, she holds up what looks like a white silk bra and some kind of skimpy underwear covered in crystals.

“Uh, what the fuck is that?” I ask, pointing to the clothes.

“This is your outfit for today.”

I furrow my brow in confusion. “Wait, so I’m going stripping?”

She snorts and rifles in her case again. “No. Look, the bright side is you’ll also get to wear this for most of the time.” She holds up an almost sheer white gown, and I peer at her incredulously.

“You can't be serious.”

She gives me a sympathetic look. “You'll be joining the king at the sacred waters. There, you’ll both be cleansed. It's a tradition meant to signify new beginnings.”

“Right,” I say, pointing at what I now realize is a tiny swimsuit. “But why do I have to do it wearing that?”

“Would you rather be naked?” she teases with a laugh. “Because the last bride went full commando.”

I press my lips together. Honestly, I don’t really care about others seeing me naked, but it’s the vulnerability of not being clothed that’s bothering me. You’re more likely to sustain an injury with such minimal protection. I want to protest and request that the royal tailor bring me a dress with inbuilt armor and pockets for weapons, but then I remind myself that I haveno weapons, and the king isn’t going to try to kill me. Or at least, he’s not going to do it by running a sword into me.

Begrudgingly, I dress in the bathing suit, and when I look at my reflection in the mirror, I can’t help but grin. I’m pretty sure my mates would be livid if they saw me dressing for the king like this, but then I remind myself that some of them probably wouldn’t even care, and I scowl.Stupid dud mates.

“Ready?” Sassia prompts, watching me.

“Do I have a choice?”

Her brows lower, and when she speaks her voice is quieter. “Choices for most of us are few and far between these days.”

I’m taken aback by her words. “Okay, so I’m going to take that as a ‘no.’”

Someone raps their knuckles hard on the door, and Sassia jerks at the sound. “You’d better go. The guards are waiting to take you to him.” She packs up her case and strides toward the door.

I follow after her, tightening the straps of my white gown as I walk.Looks like it’s time for a swim.

The guards look annoyed when I emerge from the room, so I’m guessing we’re late. I smile at them sweetly and let them lead me through the palace. Twice I catch the guards staring at my ass, but as soon as I question whether the king would appreciate having his guards staring at his betrothed like that, the males stiffen, and their expressions turn sour as they escort me the rest of the way.

The hallways of the palace seem never-ending, but eventually, I’m led down to some kind of large stable. The air smells of oil, grain, and straw, and massive wooden stalls linethe space. We stop, and one of the guards rests his hands on his hips.

---