Page 26 of Monsters in Love

We hadn’t left these walls in a long time. I hadn’t seen the sky, hadn’t seen the world in what felt like an eternity. Our only link to the outside world was our fairy friend, Catherine. She kept us updated on the state of the world and also helped us stay up to date on language changes.

The Cambridge Creature Library had been a legend to us. We had done everything we could to seek it out, not knowing what would happen the moment we came in.

We were bound to this place until our soulmate found us. I had resigned to that being forever.

But now…

The warmth in my chest felt foreign. A flicker of hope that I didn’t want.

The woman had quieted again, her body still stiff.

Adam finally spoke. “Little dove,” he crooned, stepping closer to her. “We won’t hurt you. I know we’re creatures, but we won’t cause you any pain,” he promised gently.

He had always been a lot nicer than me.

“Unless you want us to,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

She shot me a dark glare over her shoulder, and I couldn’t help it— I smirked. I reached up and stroked my beard for a moment, thinking about all of the possibilities that should not have been in my mind.

“What is this place?” she whispered. “Why did Catherine tell me to come here??”

“Catherine,” Adam and I said together, equally surprised.

“Yes,” she breathed, reaching into her pocket.

She drew out a little rectangle, and I gasped as it lit by itself.

Was this one of those devices the fairy had told us about?

“Well, now I have no signal. I’m stuck between two monsters. There’s an invisible wall. I really fucked up this time, didn’t I?”

She was talking to herself, furiously tapping at the device. She finally blew out an irritated sigh and then chucked it.

Adam and I watched it fly through the barrier, clacking as it landed on the floor.

She immediately tried to lunge for it again, smacking into the barrier. She rubbed her forehead, stumbling back again.

I’d forgotten how ridiculously stubborn humans could be.

I groaned, annoyed. “Don’t be a fool, woman.”

Adam was still on the other side of the barrier. He picked up the device and then brought it with him, stepping into the labyrinth entrance. He met my gaze for a moment, his expression haunted.

I hesitated for a moment and then refocused on the human. “There’s a way out of this,” I said quickly.

Her gaze reminded me of lightning now, an expression of determination. “How?” she asked, tilting her chin up.

“We have to go through the labyrinth. If we survive, then we will all be able to leave. Adam and I have been here for fifty years,” I said.

“FIFTY?”

“Yes,” Adam murmured. “What’s your name, little dove?”

“Daphne,” she mumbled, still rubbing her forehead. There was a red circle from where she had smacked it twice in a row.

Her cheeks turned pink again as she looked up at him.

I frowned. She was confusing. One moment she was furious, and the next, she was determined, and now…

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