Page 53 of Ruthless Monsters

I focus on where King Celzar’s hand is on me, his fingers digging into my shoulder. His magic is still reaching into me and stealing what’s mine like some kind of parasite. I focus on that transfer of energy, and for the first time since he started taking from me, I feel a little tug. Before I can investigate further, the scent of chocolate and mint fills my senses, and I gasp as King Celzar is thrown backward. With the loss of contact, the connection is severed, his magic no longer inside me.

“You’re stronger than this,” Alaric growls as he scoops me into his arms, blood trailing down the side of his head from a shallow gash on his temple. My chest heaves as I struggle to regulate my breathing, and I try to pull away from him. He’s too hot, his body like an inferno against my ice-cold skin, but he doesn’t let me go. “Where’s the feisty demon who fought me in the ruins?” he demands, sounding appalled, though worry shines in his eyes.

“She’s out of action right now,” I reply, and the hint of a smile lifts my lips. “Knew you didn’t want to kill me anymore,” I mutter, somehow still able to tease him despite our messed-up situation.

“I mean it, demon,” Alaric growls angrily, lightly shaking me. “Fight this.”

I try to swallow but my throat is so dry I end up coughing instead. “I can’t,” I admit, my limbs still completely useless and refusing to work. King Celzar might no longer be stealing from me, but he’s already taken almost everything I had.Fuck, I miss my crows.

Alaric’s furious gray gaze bores into me like he’s not willing to accept my bullshit response. “I saidfight, Blake!” the assassin snaps.

A spark of annoyance flares inside me, because he’s clearly not hearing a word I’m saying, but before I can hurl abuse back at him, a trickle of energy starts flowing into me from… somewhere. I try to reach out and connect mentally with Shade, but I can’t feel her, and panic makes my chest tighten.

I’m jerked back as a guard lunges for me. Alaric holds me tightly with one hand while fighting with the other. His sword blocks the blow of the guard, and when they break apart, he twists, driving his blade into the centaur’s throat.

“Princess.” Dante appears beside me, and his voice is soothing as Alaric passes me into the demon’s arms. “I’ve got you.” If I had my power and, you know, working limbs, I probably would complain at being manhandled so much, but his words are tender, and it makes my heart hurt. I try to lift my arms, but they still won’t budge, even with the small flow of energy that’s slowly warming me. My physical body is mostly healed now, but it’s the lack of energy that’s keeping me immobile. Dante presses me against his hard chest, and even though he’s even hotter than Alaric, I relish the heat now. Glad that it’s helping to chase away the remaining ice in my veins.

“Thank fuck,” I hear Nate mutter from somewhere close, and even Prince Callan looks furious as he peers at me, twin swords in his hands, the blades coated in blood.

My mates circle where Dante holds me, forming a barrier between me and the surrounding guards. They’re disheveled and covered in blood, but my mates arealive,and they continue to fight. The power slowly building in me is fragile at best, but a spark of hope shoots through me when I realize I can move my fingers.Yes, come on.I grit my teeth.

Before I can get too excited, laughter booms in my ears, and as if the sound is a command, the fighting ceases. The guards stop their assault, standing at attention, and we all turn our gazes to where King Celzar stands near Princess Nerelia.

Angry tears spill down the princess’s cheeks. “Don’t do this, Celzar!” she pleads, struggling against the guards restraining her.

Mason stands at the head of our group, covered in sweat and blood as he faces his brother.

King Celzar ignores the princess, his laughter turning maniacal as he lifts his hands into the air, staring at them like he can see the power radiating from his fingertips. “Oh, I knew our new winged friend was powerful, but this—” He sucks in a breath through his nose, letting his chest expand before breathing out. “Now this will sustain me for some time. I feel…incredible.”

I peer at the king. At my mates. At where I spot Shade unconscious on the ground, her beak bloody, but her chest moving as she breathes. Rage tears through me, and the warmth inside me continues to build, that trickle of power flowing a tiny bit faster.

King Celzar grins, completely self-absorbed. “I’ll admit this isn’t how I planned my latest wedding to go, but I guess the end result will be the same.” He cracks his neck as a menacing smile stretches across his face, and then he’s in front of Mason, moving so fast I hardly register the motion. He lifts my mate into the air by his throat, clearly using my strength power. “I kept you as a warning to the others in the prison.” King Celzar sneers. “But oh, how I’ve wanted to do this. Defender of the realm?” He scoffs. “I don’t know how they still believe it after all these years. Even after youfailed.”

Mason struggles against King Celzar’s grasp, slamming his fist into the male’s arm, but he can’t break free. The centaur king might have diminished his own power, but now he has mine. The cuff shines bright around Mason’s ankle, and from the expression of agony on my mate’s reddening face, it’s clear he’s trying to access his own magic.

“Mason,” I croak, struggling to get out of Dante’s arms, but my demon mate holds me tight. Nate and the others go to help Mason, but the guards block them, layering up and countering their attacks.

“They still believe in me because I’ve never lied to them,” Mason squeezes out. “I’ve only tried to protect our kingdom.”

“Noble as always,” King Celzar replies with disgust, and my heart races as Mason struggles to breathe.

“Please, brother,” Prince Nerelia begs, fighting even harder against her guards. Her face scrunches in agony like she’s trying to access her own power as well.

“That’sKing Celzarto you,” he snaps back, but he doesn’t turn his attention from Mason.

“Oh, if only you’d chosen differently,” King Celzar says as Mason’s movements weaken. “Mother, Father, and the rest of the forsaken royal family deserved to die for how they treated me, but you brother. You could have chosen to stand by my side.” His expression hardens, a mixture of hatred and pain. “But instead, you ignored my offer, my warning, and you went onto that battlefield like a fool, trying to save those who were already lost. If it weren’t for me, you would have been dead that day.”

“You kept me alive because you thought you could sway me,” Mason rasps, his voice weak as he clings to the edge of consciousness. “But how could I side with a brother who is the one responsible for destroying our kingdom, killing our family, and imprisoning anyone who’s left. No one’s been living under your rule since we came to The Haven. Everyone’s been merely surviving.”

I fight to move my body. My limbs are still heavy, but I have feeling all the way up to my wrists now, and I clench my jaw, fighting harder to regain movement.

“You never understood me,” King Celzar replies bitterly. “No one did. But I’ll give you this last courtesy, brother. I’ll let you die by the sword. A warrior’s death. It’s more than you deserve.” He releases Mason’s neck, and my mate falls to the floor, coughing as he lands in a crouch.

A nearby guard hands King Celzar his sword, and my heart thrashes wildly.No. Fuck no!Crying out, I clench my teeth, hissing through the pain of my battered soul as I draw upon the small pool of energy that’s welled inside me, and struggle from Dante’s arms. My demon reluctantly lets me go, but he walks with me as King Celzar watches in amusement. “Now this is precious,” he laughs. “Tell you what, I’ll even let your new…allydie at your side.”

“Blake, no,” Dante snarls as the guards step forward, separating us and depositing me next to Mason. I tumble to the stone floor, my bones feeling brittle, and Mason grabs hold of me, his strong arms wrapping around my body. His voice is filled with hatred when he says to his brother, “She’s not simply my ally, brother. She’s mymate.”

“Mate?” King Celzar’s gaze ignites with interest, and he laughs again. “Now that is the rarest of connections, and a cruel twist seeing as she’s my bride.”

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