Page 54 of Ruthless Monsters

I fight against the nausea that’s gripped me. I used most of my energy to stumble toward Mason, and now all I can do is pray to Lady Fate that this will work. “Mason couldn’t join you because you’re right, he didn’t understand you,” I say, surprising everyone with the clarity of my words. “He only blamed you. He didn’t understand that you loved Yenna, and that taking her power was an accident.”

Regret and the reemergence of old emotional wounds twists King Celzar’s expression.

“He never understood your pain,” I say even louder, and I steel myself, hoping the king connects the rest of the pieces himself.

King Celzar’s expression grows contemplative, his mind working. “You’re right, he never did,” he finally says slowly, and he peers back at Mason. “But, perhaps, if you watch your mate die before you, you might just understand something before you join her.”

I don’t see the king move, and then his hand is on me again. Mason bellows, his face filled with fury as he moves to attack him, but King Celzar slams his free hand onto Mason’s chest, throwing my mate backward. I hiss as the talons of King Celzar’s magic sinks into me again, and the connection snaps back into place. “Now, I’ll finish what I started,” he says, his top lip curled, and I gasp as the energy that had started to replenish inside me starts to drain away. My mates’ cries sound in my ears, the sounds of battle starting up again, but I focus on the king.

I struggle to breathe, my chest feeling like it’s capsizing as that cold seizes me again, but this time I’m ready for him. I focus on the flow of power, and I grab hold of the thread tying us together. I grab hold, and I pull, sinking my own claws into the magic. Because like fuck if he’s taking everything from me.

I strain, mentally fighting against him, and I’m rewarded when the flow of magic slowly changes, the power no longer draining into King Celzar but back intome.Like a damn has burst, power races through my body, filling my veins, sparks of energy exploding inside me like tiny fireworks. Magic twirls and dances as it fills every part of me, and the golden tattoos light up on my skin, the color so bright it’s like my entire body is lit up from the inside. I feel the moment all of my power has returned to me, and a comfortable warmth spreads through my body, but I don’t stop there.

King Celzar lets out a garbled sound as he struggles against my hold, but I don’t release him. Reaching forward, my nails dig into his arm, the scent of his blood in my nose as I keep him there. Different types of magic I’ve never felt before flow into me, and I know it must be remnants of the power he’s stolen from his other brides, and the witch, Yenna. And then, through our connection, I feel them. King Celzar’s connection to the thousands of cuffs he has created and used to magically bind the power of the Perstalian citizens. I realize now that the reason Sassia could alter the cuff slightly and let me access a slither of my power, wasn’t because she’d found a way around the king’s magic. It was because as the king’s magic depleted, so did the magic of the cuffs. They were all connected. And now I was, too.

Crying out, I send out a burst of power across The Haven. The magic pulses and ripples in the air, and I’m rewarded with the steady ‘click’ as simultaneously, every magical cuff unlocks, dropping to the ground. King Celzar lets out a stream of abuse, still struggling against me, and I finally let him break free, knowing his power is almost depleted. He staggers back, glaring at me, and a roar shatters the air followed by screams. Moments later, Nate lands on the dais beside me, no longer on two legs but in his powerful jaguar form. The cat’s massive claws scratch deep grooves into the floor, and his maw drips with blood, a trail of fallen guards behind him. He bares his fangs at the king, his slitted eyes not moving from the male.

Mason’s body changes, growing in size as he turns into a majestic, winged centaur with a glistening brown coat and large brown wings, and Alaric, Dante, and Prince Callan step up as well, their bodies pulsing with power. Prince Callan sends out a burst of wind that sends all of the remaining guards flying backward. They slam against the walls of the ballroom, their bones cracking before they fall to the floor.

“She did it,” a feminine voice cries, and I turn to see Sassia and a handful of the servants watching from the doorway. Instead of standing on two legs, they stand as winged centaurs with glittering, glistening coats. I smile, and she grins at me as if to say she never doubted me.

“This can’t happen,” King Celzar spits, shaking his head furiously as the windows at the back of the dais shatter, glass raining down. I watch as Pask, and three other Pecos birds fly through the windows, their rainbow scales glittering in the light.

“No!” King Celzar shouts, staggering back.

I step forward, smiling grimly as they swoop down. “Oh, did I not mention? I passed on a message to some of your friends. I don’t think they’re too happy with how you’ve been treating them.”

Pask screeches as he lands, his large taloned feet pushing King Celzar to the ground and pinning him there while the other birds circle their prey.

“Brother!” the king calls out fearfully, his frantic gaze going to Mason who stands beside me. “You know The Haven will not survive without me.”

My centaur mate stays by my side, his gaze devoid of emotion. “This is your doing, Celzar. The Pecos have suffered just as the rest of us have.”

Realizing Mason won’t help, King Celzar turns his gaze to Princess Nerelia, his throat bobbing as he speaks. “Sister, have I not kept you alive and well all these years?”

The princess strides forward, no longer restrained, and when she lifts her arms, white crystals form on the ground, surrounding the groaning guards around the room, and half encasing them, so they’re frozen in place. I think of all the white crystal around Perstalia, including the palace itself.It was all her power. The king hadn’t just been feeding on the energy of his brides. He’d been stealing the power of his sister.

“You have kept me,” Prince Nerelia says softly, and there’s a sad but resigned look in her eyes. “And that is your mistake. I never wanted to take the throne, but you have shown why our parents selected me. Without you, we have a chance to heal.”

“N-no!” King Celzar splutters, and when Pask and the other birds cock their heads, asking for my permission, I give it to them. The king’s screams carry throughout the palace, but then it’s silent as his blood seeps onto the floor.

Pask’s talons release the king, and he picks up the king’s crown in his bloodied beak, and he walks over, offering it to me. I take it from him and turn, holding it out to Mason.

“I was never meant to rule,” Mason says with a shake of his head, peering over at his sister.

I walk to Princess Nerelia instead, noting the way her body shines, tiny crystals now glistening over her whole body.

“You’re the rightful queen by marriage,” she tells me with a soft smile. “And you freed us. You’ve earned this.”

I smile. “Would you believe me if I told you I have enough to deal with at home? I have the demon throne to worry about.”

“If the other demons are as powerful and strong-willed as you, I do believe you,” she replies with a grin.

I hold the crown out to her, and she takes it gingerly. “Be the ruler your kind need,” I say. “After what they’ve been through, they deserve it.”

Nodding, she takes a deep breath, standing a little taller as she places the crown on her head. It’s not until the applause starts that I realize citizens of The Haven have poured into the ballroom again, streaming through the doorway. Except instead of cuffed subordinates, hundreds of winged centaurs walk in, their heads held high, and their faces glowing with relief and awe as they stare at their new queen. And as they stare at me.

My mates crowd around me, and Alaric opens his hands, revealing Shade’s battered body. I realize he must have scoopedher off the floor.…Because he knows how much she means to me.

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