Page 8 of Ruthless Monsters

Fucker.

Shocked gasps fill the air around us, and I curse, realizing what I’ve done. Shade hops in her cage, her feathers ruffled, and panic shoots through my system. The guards along the walls start to draw their blades, but King Celzar gives a hand signal, and they relax their stances again.

Opening my mouth, I go to hastily squeeze out an apology, but King Celzar’s makes another hand signal, and the words die in my throat as the guard closest to Shade unlocks her cage door. He reaches in, grabbing my friend, and Shade squawks, trying to wiggle herself free. This only makes the guard squeeze his hand tighter, and her feathers spill between his fingers until she stops moving.“Blake,”Shade whimpers in my mind when I let her back in. I don’t care anymore that I’m using the shred of magic I have.

“Stop!” I shout at the king, my heart thrashing wildly in my chest, but King Celzar only cocks his head, glaring at me.

“Please,” I plead when the guard keeps holding onto Shade. “It was just a reflex. It won’t happen again.” It’s a blatant lie, because I will gouge out the king’s eyes before I let him touch me in that way, but I’ll say anything to save my friend.

King Celzar blinks at me, obviously not believing a word of my lie, and I hold my breath, waiting to see what will happen. IfI had my magic, he’d be halfway across the room by now, broken and bloody, but with the cuff, all I can do is wait.

I’m relieved when his lips twist, and he laughs. “A reflex, she says. She’s certainly more spritely than my Desmer.”

I smile awkwardly, staring around me as the guests start laughing along with him. It doesn’t escape my notice that the lady in red with the hawkish nose is the only one of the guests with her lips still pressed together, and a serious expression on her face.Yep, she’s definitely not on his side.

King Celzar moves into my space again, and this time I stay perfectly still, not reacting to his close proximity. “I told you if you misbehaved, darling, your pet would be the one to suffer,” he tells me, his voice so soft I only just hear him. “Maybe if I break every bone in the bird’s body, you’ll start taking me more seriously.”

I breathe heavily, struggling to control my anger. “Harm her and we’ll see who’s the one making mistakes,” I seethe. “The moment I have this cuff off, you’ll regret ever taking me. I’ve dealt with worse than you.”

His eye twitches at my threat, and I think this is it. This is the moment I accidentally get my friend killed. My heart is beating so hard my chest aches, but I don’t take my gaze from the king’s face.

Seconds pass, and I ready myself to attack. I might not have my magic, but I can still do damage. I’m ready to drive my palm into the king’s nose when his expression softens, and he gestures with his hand. The guard holding Shade releases her and steps away from the cage again, and my shoulders sag.Thank the lady.

“Embarrass me again, and you won’t get another warning,” King Celzar whispers, and I know he means it. He reaches down, his finger tracing along the side of my face, but unlike the other times when he’s touched me, this time his skin is ice cold. Athis touch, a burst of energy rushes into me, and I gasp. There’s a crawling sensation inside me, like ants are burrowing under my skin, and then my energy starts draining from me, my body weakening at his touch. It’s like his magic isstealinga part of me.Fuck.This must be what Sassia was talking about. She’d said the king could steal power, and I should have seen this coming…except I didn’t.

My heart thunders, and I try to move away, but my body is paralyzed, like his magic is holding me hostage. Shade squawks, clearly panicked, but I can’t hear her in my head anymore. Just when I think this might be it, King Celzar pulls back, releasing me. I fall to my knees, my breathing ragged as the king watches me in satisfaction. “Better,” he murmurs.

My vision swims, and I blink rapidly, but the faces of the guests around me remain blurry, a smear of color.

“What did you do?” I croak, though I already know. This was just a little taste of the king’s power.

King Celzar ignores me and addresses the guards who escorted us to the party. “Take her and the bird back to their room,” he orders.

There’s the rattling of armor, and rough hands grab under my arms, lifting me to my feet. I’m too weak to fight, and it’s clear I underestimated the king’s power. What had Sassia said? That once the king removes the cuff following our wedding ceremony, I’ll have seconds to kill him before his power has me?

Well, fuck. We’re in trouble.

Chapter

Four

~ Dante ~

We finish filling our cart with crystals just before a bell rings from somewhere in the cavern, and the prisoners start putting down their pickaxes. Sweat streams past my eyes, and I wipe it away angrily with my arm, focusing on the burn of my muscles. My princess, mymate, has been taken from me, and diverting my energy to collecting crystals is the only thing that’s gotten me through the last few hours without doing something I regret. There’s no point in getting myself killed before I can find her.

Fuck.When we’d entered the portal to Seral, I’d been looking forward to having Blake in my arms…finally warming my bed… and riding my…

“Get in line!” our guard shouts, snapping me back to reality.

I fight down my irritation and give him a devilish smile. His face blanches a little, but his scowl doesn’t fade. I’m going tokill him first when I get the cuff off me. I’m willing to wager he knows it, too. In fact, the moment I get the chance I intend to kill everyone who played a part in taking my delectable princess from me.

Starting forward, I follow Nate and the others as we form an orderly line with the prisoners, then as a group we move toward a tunnel on our left. The prisoner who had been whipped mercilessly, theprince, according to what we’d heard, staggers on his feet a few places in front of Alaric. His back is ruined, a display of torn flesh and blood, but even now defiance still shines in his eyes. He’s tough, that one, and I eye the male curiously wondering how long he’s been imprisoned here.

Wherever ‘here’ is. In any case, I’m guessing the guards expected their treatment of him to serve as a warning to the prisoners, but they failed miserably. Whenever the prince looks in the direction of the other prisoners, they try and straighten their curved backs and lift their chins a little higher. No, despite what the guards were attempting, it was becoming obvious that the prisoners respected this fallen prince, and respect could be a dangerous thing in a place like this. At that thought, my mind goes back to my formidable, winged princess, and her fiery tongue. I smirk, thinking of how she’s probably giving her captors a hard time, if she hasn’t escaped already, but then I remember the cuffs and my smile falls.If anyone has harmed her…I don’t let myself think about it. Instead, I focus my attention on theprince, because something tells me he’s going to be our way out of this.

It's not long before the guards stop us, and Alaric, Nate, Prince Callan, and I are forced into an empty cell. I pretend not to notice that our fallen prince sneaks into the cell next to ours.Crafty prince,I muse internally.

Turning, I assess our new surroundings. The cell is painfully small with a single narrow cot against the back wall, a bucket inthe corner, and the iron bars at the front which seal us in. I eye the single bed and raise a brow.

---