Page 52 of Ruthless Monsters

“Release Blake,” Mason commands. “We both know I’m the reason you demanded her return.”

“To the contrary,” King Celzar replies. “I have plans for my new bride, and I was bereft when she was taken from me. You’re simply a nice bonus. I knew you would do the honorable thing and try to save her and our darling sister. It’s your predictability that always was your weakness.”

There’s the clack of hooves on stone, and the clanging of steel as more guards march into the ballroom. My heart skips a beat.Fuck.It’s bad enough that the king has me. I can’t let him have my mates as well. A tiny shred of energy has returnedto me, likely due to my dulled demon healing ability, and I try to struggle against the guards restraining me, but I’m still so damn weak. They merely grip me tighter, their fingers digging painfully into my arms.

“She’s a fighter, this one,” King Celzar says, turning to me again, and lifting my chin with a single manicured finger. I grit my teeth, seething at him because it’s all I can do. “She has such fire,” the king goes on. “It’s such a shame that for her power to become mine, I’ll have to snuff out that bold spirit of hers.”

He moves so fast that I don’t realize what’s happened at first. Not until the searing hot pain spreads from my chest, and my gaze drops to where he’s buried my own dagger into the flesh close to my heart.

There are roars, and screeching, and the clang of steel, and barked orders, but the noise fades as I stare at that blade. Ordinarily, if I had my power, such a wound wouldn’t bother me much. I’d heal from it quickly. But now, I know it’s the final straw that will lead to my true death. Blood leaks down my chest, and with it, my remaining energy pours from me.

King Celzar’s distinct floral scent is overpowering as he leans in close once again. “Say hello to Yenna for me,” he whispers by my ear, and I feel the exact moment he removes the cuff.

Power floods my system, crashing through me in a rush so great it further cripples my already weakened body. I scream, feeling as though I’ve been set on fire, but my natural demon healing ability kicks in a second later, working hard to repair the damage that’s been done. Still, I know it won’t be fast enough for me to escape death.

King Celzar clamps his hand onto my arm, and he throws his head back and laughs. It’s an abrasive, harsh sound that fills my ears, and my power starts funneling into him instead.

Chapter

Twenty-One

~ Prince Callan ~

Iwant to flay the Perstalian king for daring to put his hands on my mate. I want to sever his head and gift it to my demon princess as a trophy, while pissing on the remainder of his ashes.

It had been agony watching from the crowd. An agony watching, and waiting, and letting Blake have the time she needed and a chance to defeat the king. But this Celzar has proven himself to be even more wicked and cunning than we had anticipated, and rage and fear makes my body tremble as I watch in horror as he slides his hand between my mate’s legs and steals her dagger, burying it into her chest.

Before I can fight my way to her, more guards filter in through the doors to one side of the dais, adding to the guards who are already assaulting us from behind. The rebels have all joined us now, striding from the crowd to take up arms, but with our powers limited, the fight is uneven, and it’s not long before the rebels start to fall.

Using one hand, I tear off my cloak, tossing it to one side before drawing another blade. I fight side by side with Mason, Dante, and even Nate, snarling as one of my blades sinks into a centaur guard’s eye. The guard cries out, swinging his sword wildly in my direction, but I easily avoid his attack, my own sword slicing along his neck deep enough that blood pours from the wound. The guard stumbles backward into the path of two rebels, and they take pleasure in finishing him off.

The crowd screams, some of the citizens trying to get away while others take up arms as well, fighting back with whatever they have on them. Soon, there are eight guards bleeding on the ground, which is a valiant effort, but I try not to think about the much larger number of rebels and innocent civilians who have fallen in the chaos.

Dante spins, his tail flicking as he slices at the guards near him, and Nate growls, jumping into the air before driving his sword into a centaur’s back, just above its wings. I peer over at Blake, my jaw set as I keep fighting to get to her, my blade always moving, always cutting a path to her. But just as a clear space opens up before me, more guards stream in, shouting as they charge at us, four guards abreast. I brace with Dante on one side and Mason on the other.Kill them all.

~ Princess Blake ~

I’m so cold that my fingers and toes ache as my body begins to shut down. I’ve died multiple times before, but it’s never been like this. Seemingly agonizingly slow. I can feel the depths of mypower being pulled from me, stolen, like my very soul is being torn from my body.

I know I won’t come back from this. This isn’t just my body dying. For an immortal demon, this is a true death. Eternal.

The air is as cold as ice as it passes between my lips, and there’s this strange sensation like I’m being carried away, the claws of shadow monsters already sinking deep into my essence. King Celzar’s hand remains on me, and I know it won’t be long now. He’s taking everything from me. I feel his magic syphoning away my power, consuming it.

Truthfully, at this point I’m not sure if I care. I struggle to remember what I’d even been fighting for as my body grows lighter, the pain starting to ease. My eyelids fall shut, and the cold spreads up my limbs, bringing with it a numbness, like I’m turning into…nothing.

“Fight!” The angry growl comes from somewhere close by, and the command vibrates through my body, familiarity tickling my senses.

My lips part a fraction more as I suck icy air into my lungs. I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped breathing.

“FightEnchantress.” This time the words aren’t simply a command. They’re a choked, guttural plea from one of my mates—Alaric.

My assassin mate cries out in pain, and I struggle to open my eyes, fighting against the edge of death. As some of the pain returns, so do my senses, and I fight harder as the sounds of the battle rush at me—the clang of steel, the cries of the fallen, and King Celzar’s manic laughter as my power fills his body.

No, not his power.

Mine.

Fury surges through me, obliterating the numbness that I’d embraced not long ago. The day would come when I’d happily sink into the abyss of death. But not today. Not like this. Notwhen Shade and my mates are battling for their lives, and an entire kingdom is in shackles. King Celzar doesn’t deserve my power.

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