Page 1 of Their Pretty Little Monster

Prologue

MONSTER

Our city melts under the lick of flames.

Eyes locked on the window, I can’t move, can’t breathe. Fear locks me in place, and my knees are close to giving out.

Silvercrest Kingdom is sprawled in chaos. I rub my eyes, unsure what I’m looking at, the shock still startling me.

The ground is cracking open, vast craters marring the once-green land.

All the while, other Shadowfen are scrambling out from their homes, darting in every direction, panicking as houses are swallowed whole by the soil. Entire sections of the land are gone, consumed in an instant. Flames leap from building to building so fast, engulfing everything in orange and black…

Panic thumps against my breastbone as I watch smoke taint the air, swallowing the sun, burning with intensity.

Everything’s happening so fast. One moment, I’m cleaning my father’s daggers, stuck at home because, at thirteen, I’m evidently too young for the hunt.

My only son will not risk his life. He has a throne to take.

I grind my teeth, furious he left me behind in the castle.

Then, in a heartbeat, the world breaks apart.

Screams pierce the air, high-pitched and desperate. Shuddering, I jerk away from the window and glance at the open door in the parlor. It’s coming from deep in the castle, and my thoughts fly to my parents.

“Mother,” I call out, bursting from the room into the empty hallway. The floor shakes under my feet, and I stumble, hitting a wall with my shoulder.

“Have mercy on us,” I mutter a prayer, the same one I’ve heard my mother speak so frequently.

Feet pounding against the stone floor, I sprint down the corridors that seem endless. I arrive at her chamber, and my hand trembles as I grasp the handle.

“I’m coming.” I shove it open, the door slamming against the wall with a deafening crash. What I see steals the breath from my lungs.

Half the room has disappeared, the stone of the walls crumbling into the abyss below.

Air buffets into me from the world outside, now visible across two walls no longer there. Shattered glass is all over the place, the floor slopes dangerously, and pieces of the wooden panels are missing, others sliding into the gaping void.

My parents’ carved wood bed hangs over the edge, one leg dangling over the broken floor. Tapestries hang in tatters, and the grand chandelier is smashed and swaying wildly overhead from a single cord.

Another scream from down there…

“Mother!” The word tears from my throat, and I’m inching toward the edge of the jagged floor. A cold, hard knot snaps around my heart.

Then I find her.

She’s down there, barely hanging onto a loose plank of wood with two hands, far below the broken room. Beyond her is nothing but smoke and a deadly plummet of three stories.

Fear strangles me, the smoke suffocating while ice slips through my veins.

“I’m here,” I call out, dropping to my knees, realizing there’s no way I can reach her.

She glances up at me—her violet eyes expanding, lips parting for another scream. Silver curls cling to her damp forehead, with the blood from the cut on her temple smearing her face.

My chest constricts, but I’m not going to panic. Father taught me to be brave in the face of danger, of death, of anything. Show no fear, he’d say, and you’ve already won half the battle.

“Get your father,” she shouts at me frantically, but she knows he’s not home and too far for me to fetch. The glassy look in her eyes, the lost expression on her face… she’s given up.

“I’m going to help. Hold on!” My arms shake at my sides as I remain bent over, peering at her, gasping for air.

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