Page 2 of Monsters in My Bed
Maybe my baby is alive, too.
With this, I surrender everything, and all the acrimony I felt melts away to a feeling of profound peace. I let myself sink deeper and deeper into the glowing pool until eventually, I hit the bottom. To my surprise, there’s a large ball sitting next to me. It's dark in color, black almost, but has a faint glow. When I pick it up, it's heavy in my hands and the surface is both rough yet smooth. The uneven texture reminds me of the bumps that formed on my arms from my pregnancy.
Around me, the sinqol gathers to encapsulate the ball. The vibrant liquid seems to push me toward the dark sphere, and I draw it to me. Hugging it close, I’m unsure of what it could be, but feel a deep connection to the object. It starts as contentment, grows into wonder, and finally evolves into love.
A bubble of laughter fills me—I love this ball.I giggle at the absurdity of my thought and wonder if I’m drunk on sinqol. It’s been a long time since I’ve had enough to drink to be drunk, but the familiar feeling of floating mixed with my spinning head suggests that I might be.
My vision darkens in my peripheral vision, and I know I'm going to pass out again, but there's no fear this time. I trust the sinqol as I do my twin monsters who tossed me in here. Curling my body around the ball, I embrace it tightly and let unconsciousness seep in. Who knows how long I'm out for when a strange tug jars me awake.
No one is touching me, but it reminds me of when Seriq stole me into Vasuriad through some kind of portal. My eyes don't want to open, but I force them wide and find myself staring into a black expanse. There's a strange allure to it, as if it's calling me. I shift toward it, wondering where it came from and if this is what’s pulling me down.
Still holding the ball tightly, I dip a foot into the darkness. The black swallows it whole, and the centrifugal force of whatever gravitational pull is created by the hole pulls me in. A silent scream catches in my throat. Just as I'm about to disappear into the obsidian abyss, something grabs my arm. It wars with the pit trying to swallow me, and I realize it's a hand.
I strain my neck back until my gaze collides with the bright pink one of Vizruk. I narrow my eyes in admonishment.It's about freaking time.My monstrous mate just smirks as if I didn't have a near death crisis and hauls me upward. At one point, my fingers slip, and I let go of the sphere I'm holding.
I thrash wildly, trying to get out of Viz’ grasp and back down to the ball that's floating quickly towards the blackness. There's an irrational fear of it being sucked away and never seeing it again, even though I have no clue what it is. It’s probably just some rock.
When Vizruk spots what I'm trying to do, he pushes through the sinqol faster than me and reaches the ball just in time. He kicks off the grotto wall, propelling him upward like a jet. He shoots past me, grabbing under my arm at the last second and taking me with him. As we near the surface. I try to communicate that we won't be able to get out, but another hand pierces through the bright liquid.
Osz.
He yanks Vizruk and me out of the pool, and I collapse in a wet, trembling heap, sucking in giant gulps of glorious air. Even though I was fine in the sinqol, it's human nature to breathe air, and I'm thankful to be back in my comfort zone. At the thought, my fingers streak to my neck, but the gills are already receding. I then touch my cheek where the False King's mark has—thankfully—been eradicated.
Vizruk and Osz remain silent, letting me reacclimate to my surroundings. Once my breathing normalizes, I inspect the ball more closely. Baffled, I finally give up.
“What is this thing?”
My mates crouch down, and Osz traces a finger across the uneven surface before answering. “It's your egg.”
My mind doesn't know what to do with this—how to even begin to wrap my brain around it—but when it does, something sweet pierces my heart. “Is this… my baby?” My twin monsters nod, and the tears that weren't seen underwater come rushing back.
I didn't lose my baby after all.
two
ALEXIS
“DoesthatmeanMarkwas born from anegg?”
My question pops out of my mouth, causing Osz and Viz to chuckle. Osz nods before pulling me into a strong hug. Viz waits for a moment before tugging me from his twin into his own arms. The two of them do this three times before I push away in exasperation. I have too many things I want answered, but Vizruk chases all the thoughts from my head when he caresses my cheek.
“It’s good to seehismark is gone.”
Osz nods once more. “Yes, but ours are also gone.”
Vizruk shrugs, a smirk curling his lips. “We’ll re-mark her. It’ll be our pleasure—as well as hers.”
My toes curl a bit at this, and I shake my head. For a hot minute, I was convinced that I was dying and lost my baby, but my body doesn’t seem to care. That’s all in the past, and my mates are offering me pleasure.
“Stupid body,” I grumble under my breath.
Osz tips a claw under my chin, forcing me to stare into his vivid violet eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I huff in chagrin. “Nothing.”
His brother growls. “That’s not an answer.”
“Ugh! You two were much sweeter when you didn’t talk!” I instantly regret my words when a wounded expression skitters over both their faces. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I love that you can speak now—it makes more sense than the mental pictures you sent me—I just am a little embarrassed that my body is already on board to be re-marked when not too long ago, I was pretty pissed at you two.”
