Page 5 of Ruthless Monsters

“None of us know how he removes them,” she replies. “We only see the cuff falling to the ground. This is the only way. You have a better chance than the rest of us. Even if we had our power, none of us can match him. There’s a reason he’s the king now.” Her eyes darken, making me wonder just what she’s seen over the years.

“You don’t even know me. How can you think I have a better chance?” I say. “And what’s to stop me from telling him about you?” I mean, of course I wouldn’t, but I’m interested to see howshe reacts. She went from hardly speaking to me at all, to spilling all of this.

She stands a little straighter. “It’s unusual for the king to bring someone down from the surface. If you’re here, he must think you’re special. He must think you’re powerful.”

“It’s still a big risk,” I point out.

The servant doesn’t look the least bit cowed by my comments, and I can’t help but respect her a little for that.

“I have nothing to lose,” she replies.

I examine her carefully and pass back her knife that I’ve been holding onto until now. She doesn’t hesitate to take it from me and slide it back into her boot.

“Then it looks like I’m going to have to hope those seconds are enough,” I comment with a tight smile. Because right now, I don’t have a better plan.

“What? Blake that’s crazy,”Shade protests in my mind.“What if this is all a lie, and she’s setting you up?”

“She could be, but if she’s being truthful, I’ll have the element of surprise when the king takes the cuff off.”

“We’ll all hope,” the servant replies. “Please know that if you do this, there are many who would follow you.”

I don’t know what’s more unsettling, the idea that by killing the king I could make myself queen of a realm I want nothing to do with, or the fact that this servant makes it sound like the subjects here are so desperate they’d worship a stranger for killing their king.

She takes a pair of pearly white heels out of the case and hands them to me, then she snaps the lid closed. Realizing she’s about to leave, I blurt, “There were four males with me when I arrived here. Do you know where they are?”

Her expression is sympathetic. “If they’re not already dead, I’d guess they’ve been taken to the mines.”

“The mines? I don’t like the sound of that, either,”Shade comments.

The servant lifts her case.

“And these mines,” I ask, lifting to my feet and blocking her way, “how do we get there?”

Her expression is grim, and she purses her lips. “You don’t. If these individuals are important to you, the king isn’t going to let you near them. Even if you could break out of this palace, you’ll never get past the guards that patrol the prison. Like I said earlier, many have tried before you and failed.”

This time I don’t stop her when she steps around me and heads for the door. “I can’t linger,” she says when she’s still halfway across the room. “The king will be here soon to take you to the announcement party. Smile and agree to anything he says.”

“Agree to anything he says? Wow, she really doesn’t know you,”Shade snarks.

I keep my eyes trained on the servant. “Thank you, uh…”

“Sassia,” she replies. “Good luck. We will all be watching you.” Before I can say anything more, she wraps her knuckles on the door. The door swings open barely a second later, like the guard was waiting with his hand on the doorknob, and Sassia leaves the room before the door clicks shut again.

“And here I thought Seral had problems,”Shade says.“I still think this plan is a horrible one, and we should just escape from here and go find Dante and the others. You guys are stronger together, remember?”

“We’re stronger if we’re bonded,”I reply as I walk over to her cage.“And the last time when I saw them, not all of my mates wanted to bond. Besides, they’re imprisoned, and I can only assume they’ve been cuffed as well. We need our powers.”

Shade looks me up and down, observing the white velvet dress clinging to my form.“Some of your mates might not wantto bond, but I’m pretty sure they’d be pissed if they knew you were intending to marry someone else.”

I stroke her feathers through the bars.“By the time they find out, the king will be long dead. Something tells me they won’t mind.”But even as I say it, I have a feeling that I’m wrong.

Chapter

Three

~ Princess Blake ~

King Celzar arrives not long after Sassia leaves. Two guards escort me from my room, and I tense when I see the king standing in the hallway. He’s in his non-centaur form, standing on two legs and dressed in a pressed silver suit with a blue silk tie. His dark hair has been slicked away from his angular face, and his sharp gaze shines with approval as he takes in my appearance.

---