Page 58 of Ruthless Monsters

He sighs, and I can’t be certain, but I’m pretty sure his gaze finds Nate before settling back on my face. “Let’s get you home, Blake. And then I will explain.”

A part of me wants to demand that he tells me now, but we’ve been through so much, and despite the surge of desire that sizzles inside me, I yawn, exhaustion pulling at my limbs. Mason scoops me into his arms, pressing me against his hard chest.

“I can walk, you know,” I remind him. And fly, but I didn’t point that out.

He only grips me tighter, his callused hands not letting me go. “You will need to learn to let us treasure you, my mate,” he replies.

I roll my eyes, admittedly probably because I’m not used to this kind of attention, but I don’t fight him. Partly, becauseit feels too damn good to be pressed against him, and partly, because I get the feeling he needs this. Prince Callan, Nate, and Dante follow behind, and before we exit the room, I scan the dining hall. “Alaric?” I ask, but the assassin isn’t there.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

~ Princess Blake ~

Mason holds his scarred hand out to me. “Ready, my mate?”

The portal burns with green fire that flickers and crackles, and Queen Nerelia stands with a handful of guards, watching as my mates and I wait before the gateway. I place my hand in Mason’s. “Are you?”

The Perstalian prince peers at his sister, then his gaze travels around the room like he’s thinking about the land beyond these walls. But there’s no hesitation in his eyes. Only warmth and acceptance. He nods. “Show me your world, Blake.”

I smile, and my gaze flicks over to my four other mates.

Nate’s lips twist into a grin. “Let’s go see dear old Dad, shall we?”

“Please, please promise me you’ll call him that when you meet him,” Dante drawls with a wry smile.

I shake my head at both of them. “Let’s just get to the ruins of Perstalia in case he’s searching for us there,” I say. “Then we cango on to Seral. We’ll move on before Mason is affected by the air on the surface.”

Alaric marches forward. “I’m going first. In case there are more surprises,” he growls, and without waiting, he strides straight into the portal.

“He has a point,” Prince Callan says with a shrug, and the archangel follows after him.

“Ready?”I send to Shade.

She adjusts her perch on my shoulder.“Let’s get out of here.”

Taking a deep breath, I tug on Mason’s hand, pulling him with us into the portal, and Nate and Dante follow.

Magic crackles and swirls around us, twisting and winding, and then my feet are on solid ground again. It takes me a moment to reorient myself, but I let go of Mason’s hand and straighten as the scent of ash fills my nose.

“Whoa, what the fuck?”Shade squawks in my head.

I draw my blade in an instant, and Prince Callan and Alaric stand a few paces ahead, weapons already in their hands as they take up defensive stances.

“I didn’t expect it to look like this,” Mason murmurs, his expression grim as he studies the charred landscape.

Nate and Dante exit the portal behind us, and they’re quick to grab their own weapons. “Where did you take us, Mason?” Nate growls, his slitted gaze searching for threats though it remains silent around us.

Dropping into a squat, Mason digs his fingers into the ash beneath our boots, then he lifts his hand, rubbing the powder between his fingers. “To the surface,” he confirms. “Specifically, the center of the city as requested.”

Dante curses, and I gape at the smouldering rubble around me. Where there had been rows of ancient Perstalian houses made of crumbling stone and cobbled streets, now there’s simply…nothing. Nothing but blackened earth and piles ofrubble on the ground. I walk forward, my brow creased as I stare at the wreckage.

“This can’t be good,” Nate mutters, then he cocks his head abruptly as if he’s listening to something in the distance. I’m about to ask him what he’s detected, when Prince Callan shoots into the air, his powerful wings sending a gust of wind over us and stirring the ash on the ground. The archangel returns a short while later, his boots slamming onto the ground as he lands with a demon soldier in his grasp.

Prince Callan releases the soldier, and Nate growls as my mates start to form up around me. I wiggle through their hastily made perimeter. “Relax, it’s Sebastian,” I say quickly in the hopes they’ll stop acting like a pack of territorial wolf shifters. “He’s one of Dad’s trusted soldiers.”

Relief floods Sebastian’s filthy face when he spots me. His hair is a mess, and his armor is covered in ash and blood, and I wonder just how long he’s been out here.

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