Page 79 of Monster's Pretty Bride

Eryss pushes me off with more strength than necessary, her chest heaving, her lips swollen from my kiss, her eyes burning with something unreadable. She doesn’t look at me as she storms past, but her body is still shaking.

From rage. From want. From something neither of us dares name.

I wipe my mouth with my palm, exhaling roughly before following her into the sanctuary’s inner chamber.

Catalina sits propped against a bundle of furs, her skin ghostly pale, her expression pinched with pain. Her hands tremble in her lap, and when she looks up and sees Eryss, her lips part in a sharp breath. “Eryss,” she whispers, her voice raw.

Eryss moves toward her, but I block her path, my arm snapping out to halt her advance. “Stay back.”

She glares at me. “Move.”

“No.”

Catalina’s magic nearly got Eryss killed. I don’t trust her, not after what happened on the cliff, and certainly not after Amelia’s betrayal.

Catalina’s gaze flicks between us. Then, slowly, she exhales. “I understand why you’re wary, Naranus. But I swear on my blood, I was not in control. Amelia… she—” Her voice breaks, and her fingers clench around the blankets draped over her lap. “She did something to me. To my mind. And I let her.” She closes her eyes, agony flickering across her face. “I should have known. I should have fought harder.”

Eryss hesitates, and I watch her, see the way her face twists in conflicting emotions. She wants to believe Catalina.

I don’t.

She shifts on her feet, looking between us. “How did you find out?”

“When I saw you fall,” Catalina murmurs. “Something… snapped in my head.” Her voice is quiet, haunted. “I realized he has been trying to control me subtly in my head, guiding my thoughts. I knew then and there, she’s a traitor. She and I fought after that, but she was stronger. She’s been practicing forbidden magic, magic no Purna should ever wield.”

“She’s always been ambitious,” Eryss mutters, shaking her head. “I should have seen it.”

Catalina’s jaw tightens. “She’s beyond ambition now. She wants to be the next matriarch. And she wanted you out of the way.”

Eryss sways as if struck.

I step closer to her, ready to steady her if she falters, but she squares her shoulders, refusing to show weakness.

My little bride. My stubborn, reckless warrior.

Catalina shifts, looking straight at me, her dark eyes unreadable. “I owe you a debt,” she says. “For saving her.”

I narrow my gaze. “I didn’t do it for you.”

“No,” she agrees, bowing her head slightly. “But you did it. And for that, I thank you.”

Eryss’ lips part slightly, as if she wasn’t expecting Catalina to submit, even in gratitude.

I say nothing.

I don't trust her. But I’ll let Eryss believe what she wants for now.

“There’s something else,” Catalina says after a moment, exhaling slowly. “I may be able to unbind some of your magic.”

Eryss straightens. “What?”

“It won’t be permanent,” Catalina clarifies. “It’ll be unstable and fleeting, but it’ll help for now.”

Eryss lets out a shaky breath. “Then do it.”

Catalina hesitates, and then—she meets my gaze. “But you must understand something, Eryss. The only way to completely unbind your magic—” she swallows “—is to finish your mission.”

Silence blankets the room, thick and suffocating.

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