Page 14 of Fate & Monsters
With a careless flick, the scrap of lace fell to the ground. The shadows and light from the fire danced like a tide over the silky white material. Their presence sat as a reminder of my predicament. Left in the silence, I contemplated where to go from here. I drifted around the room, exploring the fading elegance—how the light slanted on the faded tapestry, the intricate patterns in the hardwood.
Unrestrained by distractions and left tender by grief, my mind raced faster and faster, twirling and swirling, a cataclysmic storm zipping through my thoughts. One fleeting thought to the next and threatening to make me spiral into oblivion.
Though this land, this body, was new and strange, I had to push through and survive. I bore the legacy of my kind and refused to allow their memory to die. But what of the Crimson Mage? Aradia said he wielded great power, and I’d felt it for myself. He shouldn’t be able to chase me down to another realm entirely, yet I didn’t know that for a fact. I couldn’t be sure. He was a hunter, a magical man of means, determined to his bitter end.
Aradia thought she was saving me by cursing me in this body. I wouldn’t agree with her, wouldn’t ever think what she had done was right.Part of me intrinsically knew, though I couldn’t face it yet, that her sacrifice had only bought me time. Despite the centuries I’d lived, I couldn’t guess how much time I had left.
My circumstances were unprecedented.
And this beast—Prince Mavros. A ruler of demons in a wretched wasteland. What did he want?
I pushed open the drapes and a clattering sound startled me. The shadowy cat, Domovoy, appeared on a side table near the hearth. The candles on his heat flickered low and golden. A grin crept over his expression as we assessed one another.
“Glad to see you awake,” he purred, tone dripping with an unvoiced taunt. His games weren’t worth my time. He snickered as I remained silent, weaving through the ancient relics and décor on the side table. His fluffy tail bounced behind him even as he moved gracefully. “I have come to escort you to dinner with the master.”
Ignoring him for as long as I could, I gazed out at the land draped across the horizon. Far below the castle, I spotted the garden where they found me—where the tide of my fate shifted anew.
When I looked at the sky, there was still no moon.
Chapter 6
The castle walls seemed like the throat of a monster, swallowing me deeper into a chasm where I’d face digestion and my ultimate demise. This castle, this sentinel of declining splendor, hunkered down in a realm of decadent shadow. Icy wind whistled through the meandering corridors; a bleak sky stretched beyond the frosted pane glass windows. A monster of stone and gloom intent on gobbling bones and flesh—a crypt.
“You know,” Domovoy began, weaving back and forth as we ambled along, “the master is most delighted you’ll be joining him.”
My face scrunched up. “I doubt your sincerity.”
The beast had seemed unnerved by my arrival and more than slightly displeased. Though he had offered lodgings instead of a dungeon, that had to stand for something. A guest compared to a prisoner, despite taking the fruit. If he’d been so insulted, he might have passed judgement for the worse. Something had swayed him, though I couldn’t say what.
“No, no, really.” The cat’s glowing eyes mimicked the flickers of candles. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper guest. And his highness could use the company.” He turned his head forward, leading me down a set of spiraling stairs. “So much to do, so little time, and never any worthy visitors.”
“You don’t say,” I deadpanned. “I can hardly believe an old, dusty, musty castle holds little appeal. Especially when you suggest dungeons upon arrival.”
Domovoy snickered. “That is not for each guest. Only interesting little thieves.”
“Such as myself, I suppose.”
“See, you do understand.” His impish chuckle made me pinch my lips. “Besides, I think the entertainment will be good for us.”
I doubted I was included in theus.
“Ah, here we are.” Domovoy stood on his hind legs and shoved at a set of double doors with his front paws. The doors groaned open, screaming on rusted hinges. Amber light from within spilled into the hall. “In you go.” After dipping his head, the cat melted into the shadows and vanished.
A tightness in my chest held me back. Already so weary and the spectacle hadn’t even begun. Still, I followed the cat’s instructions and shuffled within. The doors slammed shut behind me and my breath caught in my chest.
“Please, come inside.” That growling baritone voice hooked on the erratic beat in my chestand tugged. My head snapped across the spacious, cavernous room to the prince sitting at the head of an egregiously long table that could fit dozens upon dozens of guests. The way he saidpleasedidn’t feel like a courtesy. It felt like a trap.
Scanning the room, I found glittering lights hanging from the ceiling, long faded tapestries clung to the walls, and bunches of flowers spanning the table’s length. And at the end, with the beast, a veritable feast boasting more food than two could dare to consume. I focused on the warmth of the golden light, the intriguing smells of the food, and finally the creature rising from his seat.
He rose slowly, claws curling over the edge of the table. Flickering light reflected in the glowing embers of his eyes and highlighted the ridged texture of his horns. His eyes burned my skin as they roamed over my figure and took in the dress. My heart skipped, fluttering against the cage of my ribs. The way he looked at me… like a wild animal drooling over raw flesh on the bone. Like he would chew me down to the marrow and lick my blood from his lips. Like a wolf panting over a fresh kill, hungering in some primal, feral way.
A shiver juddered through me.
The beast cleared his throat, and it sounded like a brief growl. “You look… divine.”
I didn’t bow or simper like a mortal girl flattered by a beast’s approval. I stood in silence, spine straight, heart hammering against my ribslike a trapped bird. His eyes narrowed. I swallowed the lump in my throat before nodding.
Prince Mavros said nothing for a while, content to observe my reactions to the display. Lingering exhaustion and uncertainty held me in place alongside the prickle of anxiety at my nape. Already feeling drained from my rush of emotions earlier and the questions plaguing my mind, I didn’t know how to proceed. And the longer I stood there, the more his features narrowed and tensed into frustration.
