Page 37 of Love & Monsters
Thanks to my inner turmoil, I was barely aware of Vadric sweeping down until he turned and grabbed my waist the moment his boots squelched in the muddy yard. The edge of my vision was a blur as he set me on the ground at his side, and my ears felt stuffed with cotton as monsters that terrified me clambered around him, all vying for his attention.
He was shaking hands and smiling at them while guiding me toward the great doors of the fortress entrance with one hand on my shoulder. I’m not sure how my legs were moving as the monsters parted around us to let their Lord through.
Someone opened one of the massive doors, and the golden inner light of the fortress blinded me. My hand rose to shield my eyes, and Vadric turned to address those still in the outer yard.
“Thank you to all who aided in my safe return. When tonight we feast, it will not only be for me, but for all of you brave warriors without whom this would not have been possible. I owe a debt to you good people, and I will be forever grateful.” I glued my eyes to him with the power and elegance exuding from him. “So tonight, do not drink for me, but for the brave souls standing at your side! Soon we will fight, but tonight, we celebrate!”
They erupted into an animalistic chorus. Everywhere my eyes darted, I saw horns, fangs, too many eyes, scales, feathers, fur, wings, tails, and above all, an insatiable hunger for revenge and chaos.
When the door shut, cutting off the crowd outside, I remained unmoving. Not until Vadric turned to see me shaking in my boots did I thaw out. However, I quickly tensed again when I heard the fast pace clicks of shoes on the smooth stone stairway in the front foyer. The sound of someone urgently flying over the ground.
“Vadric!” a woman’s soft voice cried out. His head whipped from me to the demon on the stairs, and without a second glance, he rushed toward her with his arms out.
For a demon, she was beautiful. Her skin was dark blue with a purple hue. She had luscious black curls cascading around her shoulders and down her back. She had a tail resembling Vadric’s, but her horns were smaller and curved forward from her temple.
They caught each other at the base of the stairs. His hands gently cupped her face. Their eyes closed as they pressed their foreheads together, and I got the sense that I was watching something I shouldn’t be.
“Ilya,” he sighed her name, and I heard the sorrow and relief in his voice. She pulled her lovely face back to look up at him, sharing a smile with tears glistening her vibrant red eyes.
“I missed you, and I’m so glad you made it safely back to us.” That’s when I wanted to sink into the floor or vanish as ash in the wind. Because as she took a step back, Vadric looked down at her. And there was no mistaking the swell of her heavily pregnant belly.
Twenty-One
“I missed you too, Ilya. It relieved me when Knox told me you made it safely.” They broke apart as Vadric stepped back. She nodded her head, frowning as her eyes went to the floor.
“Yes, it wasn’t a simple journey,” Ilya stated, rubbing her hand over the swell of her stomach. “It was hard to leave. How is Knox?”
“He’s fine,” Vadric grabbed and squeezed her shoulder. “He should join us in a few days’ time after wrapping up some things in the city.”
I took a step back, unable to peel my eyes from her hand, lovingly caressing her baby bump. To my detriment, that step back was too loud on the stone floor in the silent foyer. Ilya’s red eyes turned on me and panic flooded through me.
“What is that?” Ilya hissed, eyes narrowing on me like a lion stalking a lamb.
Vadric blinked, looking between me and Ilya as if suddenly remembering I was there. He put his hand out for me, curling his finger for me to come closer. My leg felt like it was stuck to the floor when I tried lifting it the first time. “Come here, little one.”
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I trudged forward and kept my eyes on Vadric. I wanted to hide more than ever.
“Ilya, this is Mina.” He placed his hands on my shoulders, pulling me to stand in front of him. “She’s a human who fell through a portal in the Black Sea. Scavengers found her and tried selling her at the market, but Knox found her. She wound up in the dungeon with me.”
“Knox would find something like this with his luck,” Ilya scoffed, which made me notice the lines splitting her cheeks so she could open her mouth wider. I could only think about her biting my head off as she rolled her eyes. “Why did you bring the human here? With everything else going on, what’s the purpose of it?”
“Mina is under my protection, Ilya,” he stated, lifting his thumb from my shoulder to rub it along my cheek. Ilya noticed that, and her brow pinched together.
“Like a pet?” she crossed her arms over her chest, making the hem of her dark gown rustle over the floor.
Vadric exhaled before looking around the foyer. “No, not really. I’ll tell the others she is to keep her safe, but it’s—it’s more than that.”
Oh no. I wanted to shrink into the size of ant and disappear. When Ilya’s red eyes fell on me again, I knew she understood what Vadric meant bymore. And I looked at her stomach again, wishing that I could find something, anything, to say.
Ilya had to be three heads taller than me. It was all too easy to imagine her leaning forward and literally biting my head off if she wanted to. Right now, I might not blame her if she did.
“Oh, brother, what have you gotten yourself into?” Ilya swiped a hand over her forehead, shaking her head as I absorbed what she called Vadric.
“You were just talking about your mate being the one to find a human, and now you ask what I’ve gotten myself into for wanting to protect her? Pick someone to be exasperated with, please.” His tone was strained, but Vadric was attempting to be humorous.
“Trust me, I am still exasperated with Knox. The baby is due soon, and he’s not here yet. It was hard enough leaving this far along without Rykan finding out. But my child would have been a threat to his stolen title, and I know he would have killed them.” Both of her hands curled over her stomach protectively.
Standing frozen and in shock, I learned more than I’d known in the last few days. I felt like a statue stuck and forced to learn about matters that didn’t involve it.
