Page 2 of Ruthless Monsters

“Don’t,” Alaric warns, but it’s too late. As the steel pick connects with the metal cuff, an intense wave of pain crackles through me. I hiss through the agony, only managing to keep my pained howl contained as my muscles contract and then release again. My breathing becomes labored, and I sag against the rocky wall to keep myself standing.

The three assholes stare at me in amusement.

“Could have warned me earlier,” I grumble to Alaric.

The assassin doesn’t look the least bit remorseful. “You wouldn’t have listened,” he replies bluntly, and the matter-of-fact way he says it has me flashing him a grin.

Prince Callan works at prying a crystal from the rock in front of him, and he holds up a green crystal that sparkles in the dim light. Had we been in a different situation, I would haveattempted to rescue some of these crystals for myself, but even I’m not a big enough fool to try anything right now.

“So, Blake’s not here, and we’ve been imprisoned and neutralized by an unknown magic,” Dante comments, his expression hard as he continues to mine. “Could this be the work of the witches?”

“These beings ain’t witches,” I point out, my gaze flicking to our guard who still hasn’t returned.

“They could be working with them,” Prince Callan says. “Like the giants we fought in the ruins of Perstalia.”

Alaric’s brows lower, and we’re all silent for a moment as we contemplate this.

“Whoever’s behind it, we have to find her,” Dante says, his dark eyes fixed on the rock in front of him.

None of us argue with that, and it’s obvious we’re all thinking the same thing. That we aren’t going to be able to rest until we know the demon princess is safe.

I tell myself that her disappearance shouldn’t bother me. After all, my goal when I attended the ball in Seral had been to hunt down the treasure in the demon castle and head back to Kanzepes. But the princess has gotten under my skin, and now my every instinct is telling me to find my mate. If I don’t find her soon, I’m going to lose my absolute fuckin’ mind.

“The guards have been paying extra attention to that prisoner,” Prince Callan says, his head cocked as he listens to the guards still shouting insults.

The archangel’s comment jolts me from my thoughts, and I turn my attention to the guards and the prisoner not far from us. Torn strips of clothing barely cover the prisoner’s scarred back, and thick layers of dirt and crystal dust coat his tattooed brown skin. His hair is a tangled mess of black knots, and his face is sunken and pale, but even as the guards hurl obscenities at him, he doesn’t cower. I’ve been in enough prisons to know how hardit is not to break when you’ve been there for long enough and every day is designed to test your will to live, so a trickle of respect goes through me at his defiance.

“You’re a bloody disgrace,” our guard spits out as the prisoner continues to work like this is an ordinary day for him. “Defender of the realm? You couldn’t save any of us when they came.”

I frown, my curiosity piqued by the guard’s comments. Nearby prisoners continue to mine, but a few of them cringe, their backs curling over more when the second guard detaches the whip from his belt.

“You think the newcomers are going to change things, don’t you?” our guard mocks. “No, when they’re gone, you’ll still be here. Even when I’m the one in the king’s crystal palace, enjoying the life he’s promised us. Oh yes, you’ll still be toiling in your own filth where you belong.”

The prisoner’s face remains passive as he uses his fingers to clear away the crumbling rock, and he leans down, blowing the dust from a cluster of crystals. It’s not until the other guard unfurls his whip that the prisoner speaks. “You’ve been here as long as I have, Javier. Tell me, who’s the bigger fool? The prince who knows exactly why he was betrayed, or the guard who, even after all these years, still doesn’t realize he’s been forgotten?” The prisoner glances our way then, and there’s a spark in his glowing blue eyes that doesn’t fade, even when the other guard snarls and brings the whip down on his back. The crack is loud enough that it makes me wince, but the prisoner doesn’t cry out. Not even when the force of the strike makes him fall against the stone. He clutches at the mound of rock, his gaze never straying from the four of us.

“He’s a fuckin’ prince,” I comment to the others.

“And he could be our way out of here,” Alaric growls. “We need to find a way to speak with him.”

I keep watching, unable to take my gaze from the prince as another crack of the whip rings in my ears.

Chapter

Two

~ Princess Blake ~

Crack!I slam my shoulder against the bedpost for what feels like the hundredth time, and I’m rewarded with a resounding crack as the wood splinters. I’m making enough noise that the guards stationed outside my room must hear, but no one comes to check on me. When the Perstalian ruler, King Celzar, dropped the news of who he is and how he’d kidnapped me, I’d been disorientated, but after he left the room, I wasted little time in setting about my escape. It helps that I heard his command to the guards before he left. No one is allowed to enter my room without having direct orders to do so. Which is perfect.Because now they won’t enter, not even when I’m destroying things.

If it weren’t for the cuff around my ankle blocking my magic, I could have easily done this with one blow, but now, sweat beads on my forehead and my limbs shake from exertion as I try to free myself from the bed. “Finally,” I huff, feeling accomplished that the wood of the thick post has cracked,though I’m sure Dad would be appalled by my efforts if he could see me now.Then again, it’s his fault I’m even here.It was Dad’s stupid competition to find my fated mates that led to this. At the thought of the four males I’m destined to bond with, my stomach twists, everything inside me rebelling at the idea that we’re apart. Anger heats my blood, and I force myself to take a deep breath and remind myself that they’re alive. At least, they are for now. If they were dead, I would feel the hollowing pain that comes when a demon loses her fated. But despite knowing they’re alive, fear slides down my spine. I have no idea how much time they have left. Days? Hours? King Celzar’s words from not too long ago float into my head:You won’t have to worry about them any longer. From what I’ve seen, you should be thanking me.

Gritting my teeth, I slam into the post again. My mates might be complete assholes, but they’remyassholes, and I’m not about to let them die at the hands of an unhinged king. “I mean, sure, not all of them want to bond yet, and truthfully, considering I accidentally killed my last lover, Kai, I’m a little afraid to even try, but we’ll get there. Right?” I say that last bit out loud and look over to where my best friend, a crow named Shade, is perched in her cage. She squawks, staring back at me, but she doesn’t reply in my head. Without my magic, my mind is as quiet as it was before I met her. And I hate it.

Grunting, I drive my shoulder into the bedpost again, and this time the wooden support snaps into two. Shade squawks a warning, and I twist out of the way as the top half of the wooden beam falls onto the mattress along with the bed canopy. Balancing on one leg, I lift my cuffed ankle, sliding the chain free of the post, and I grin as I plant both feet onto the floor.

“Well, I can’t do much about the cuff, but at least I’m no longer chained to the bed,” I say triumphantly.

Shade flutters her feathers to show her happiness at this tiny bit of progress, but there’s no disguising the anxiety that shines in her beady black eyes. I move toward her gilded cage, ignoring the way the chain connected to my ankle drags on the floor as I walk.

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