Page 9 of Ruthless Monsters

“Not uncommon in prisons,” Nate comments, striding past me.

“What is?” I ask.

“Testin’ prisoners like this. They’ll give less portions of food, beddin’, water, you name it. The idea is to get us fightin’ with each other, so we have no energy to fight our captors,” the shifter explains.

“And here I thought the guards were unable to count,” I drawl with a smile.

Alaric settles on the floor, resting his back against the wall, and Prince Callan paces the room, his wings folded behind his back as he tests for weak spots in the bars, looking even more annoyed than I am. Nate pounces onto the cot, and he stretches out in an entirely feline gesture, folding his hands behind his head.

“I thought the bed was some kind of test?” I point out, not entirely pleased that he beat me to the cot.

“Oh, it is,” Nate agrees with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “But I deserve this.”

“And how do you figure that?” Prince Callan asks coldly, looking like he’s contemplating pulling Nate’s ass from the bed just to piss the shifter off.

“Well, because for once I’m not in prison because of somethin’ I did, so I figure I at least deserve a cat nap,” Nate replies, yawning and closing his eyes like he intends to do just that. “Actually, this would be the second time,” he corrects. “But who’s counting?”

I find a spot on the floor, not in the mood to argue with the shifter. Had the cot been wider, I would have suggested that we share.

“None of us signed up for this,” Prince Callan retorts, and Alaric grunts in agreement.

“And neither did Blake,” I drawl, my body tightening and my tail flicking as I say her name out loud. The name ofmy princess.The others all tense as well, and Prince Callan scowls, clenching his fists like just saying her name has physically hurt him.

“So, we’d better find a way to get out of this shithole so we can rescue her,” I go on. “Before we all have to live the rest of our miserable lives without our mate.”

No one replies for a long moment, and I exhale loudly, running a hand over my horns. “You all might be intent on pretending she’s not ours, but I’ve tasted my princess, and I don’t intend to let her be imprisoned by whoever rules this place.”

“From what I saw, the princess can look after herself,” Alaric growls, though from the giant’s rigid body I know he’s as affected by our mate’s kidnapping as I am. As weallare.

The thought of the four of us bonding with Blake makes my cock harden, and I push away the delicious images working into my mind. Even if those delectable images are the only thing currently keeping my desire for violence at bay.

“And what do you suggest?” Prince Callan asks, his keen gaze on me. “We’re disadvantaged with these cuffs and without our power.”

I turn to Nate who’s lounging on the cot like he’s content to sleep for the next few hours. When I’d visited the beast realm in the past, I’d heard talk of a renowned thief nicknamed, Nine Lives. I hadn’t realized that’s who Nate was when I’d first met him in Perstalia. “From what I’ve heard, you’re supposed to be an expert at getting out of places like this,” I say to him, genuinely curious at his relaxed demeanor.

He cracks his eyes open, and his slitted gaze slides to a scowling Prince Callan before he focuses on me. “It takes time,” he replies cryptically.

“That’s his way of saying he doesn’t know a fucking thing,” Alaric snarls.

Nate fixes the assassin with a stare. “Now, I didn’t say that.”

“Then tell us, shifter,” I drawl. “Whatareyou saying, exactly?”

A playful gleam shines in Nate’s eyes as he props himself up on his elbows. “For starters, I know the guards here each have an assigned cluster of prisoners they watch over, and if I’m right, replacement guards will be here soon for the night watch.”

As if on cue, there’s chatter in the tunnel beyond the cell, and I peer out, watching as the day guards swap with fresh guards. The new guards take their places standing sentry against the wall opposite the cells.

“We could all deduce that,” Prince Callan says coldly.

“And while they’re intent on makin’ us suffer,” Nate goes on, ignoring the prince, “it’s obvious they genuinely need the crystals we mine. This means two things. First, there must be some system in place to ferry the stones out of here. Second, it means that while they’ll weaken us, they’ll want to keep us strong enough to lift our pickaxes.”

I frown. “Tell that to some of the prisoners we saw today. Some of them are no more than walking bones.”

“My point is,” Nate says, “they’re goin’ to want to feed us, and unless they have a kitchen here in the mines, that food is goin’ to come from outside.”

“Hmmm,” I muse, contemplating this. It’s an interesting point, because back in Seral if you were sent to the dungeons beneath the castle, according to the rumors, food was the last thing you could expect to receive during your likely brief stay.Demons could live without food, but if enough time passed, the lack of sustenance would take its toll.

As if Lady Fate herself is keen to prove Nate’s point, it’s at that moment that a trolley appears outside our cell. A male servant crouches, sliding up the bars at the bottom of our door to reveal a small opening. Carefully, he pushes four trays of food inside our cell, then he closes the opening and moves on, wheeling his trolley away.

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