Page 76 of An Invocation of Monsters

After all, Kiraxis would be on the other side, ready to stand between me, and whatever wanted a piece of me.

24

Elle

I woke up at four in the morning, sitting up straight in bed with sweat pouring off me.

The nightmare of the creature’s screams still echoed in my head, but I was here. Safe, with Kiraxis to stand guard over me.

I slipped out of bed and knelt on the floor, shoving aside flowers and lifting up the cover to peer underneath. “Kiraxis?”

The sweat on me dried quickly, making me shiver in the cold air. There was no answer.

Fuck this. I was cold, freaked out in the dark, and I wanted the comfort of my Mlul’dra mate.

I shimmied under the bed on my stomach, reaching out for the sensation of a door—

And felt it against my fingertips. It was like the entire floor had vanished, leaving nothing but blackness beneath it.

I sank into it, clawing my way through the Void’s door, and went tumbling out of the air to land on heavy cushioning.

“What the fiddly fuck?” I peered around. There were at least two mattresses underneath me, piled with various neatly-folded blankets. The doorway back to my world was well above me, set in the ceiling.

And all around this cozy bed were flowers and glittery things. The walls were in-set with thousands of gems. A full-size chandelier hung off to the side, swaying slightly from my wild, flailing entrance.

I reached out and tapped one of the crystals with a fingernail, making it chime. So this was Kiraxis’s den, the nest he was so proud of.

I had to admit, he had maximalism down to an art.

But where the hell was he?

I had to fight my way free of the nest, getting to my feet when I found solid ground. I followed the winding corridors of Kiraxis’s den out to the open air of the Void, and as soon as I stepped foot outside the cave…

All of my muscles froze in place. My body wanted to move, to find out where my Mlul’dra had disappeared to, but my brain remembered the feeling of being hunted.

What if it’s still out there? my brain screamed, conjuring images of the many-limbed creature swinging down over the cave entrance.

I cringed a little, but didn’t allow myself to go back into the cave.

If I were missing, Kiraxis would look for me. He wouldn’t cower like a complete pansy about it.

But when something really did swoop down out of the darkness, I almost lost my mind, until I saw the shimmering spread of colors across wings.

“Elle,” Toth breathed. “You’re here. Come with me.”

I wasn’t too proud to admit that I basically threw myself into his arms.

When he scooped me up, I felt the tension in his muscles. “What happened? Is it Kiraxis?”

I had a bad feeling about the emptiness in the cave. He’d promised to stand watch over me, and I didn’t think Kiraxis was one to break a promise.

“Yes. The Hunter has struck.”

My heart froze over in my chest. “Is he… please God, don’t tell me he’s hurt.” My brain refused to think of the alternative. The other word. I couldn’t accept that.

“He’s badly wounded,” Toth said grimly. “But with you here, there is a chance.”

We didn’t go far. Just enough for the breeze to ruffle my air, to clear the hill where Kiraxis’s cave lurked beneath, and into the shadow of the trees.

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