Page 111 of Their Pretty Little Monster

He stares at me, tears in his eyes, and it’s the first time I’ve witnessed fear in Nyko. My own fright intensifies at seeing such a strong Shadowfen crumble… the home he’s known for most of his life is alight, and maybe everyone he’s ever known!

“This was meant to be our moment to show we’re true mates, but this… What the fuck! Why is the Howler on fire?” His voice breaks, the sound raw and filled with dread.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, clinging to him, fear skittering across my skin. “My other visions with Wolfe and Killian were of the past kingdom, others of the present…”

“Fuck me!” he mutters, the word laced with hopelessness. “Is this our future?”

He draws me closer into his embrace as we watch the flames devour Howler. Despite the huge flames and heavy smoke, I don’t smell anything. It’s just a vision, us observing a moment. Dark smoke floats from the vessel, smudging the world. The sight of his home—our home—being consumed by flames is a nightmare I can’t look away from.

“If this is our future, we can’t let this happen,” I sob into his chest.

Nyko’s grip tightens. “A vision is just that, but this is like throwing a wrench into the wheel of events.”

I nod, looking up at the fear twisting his expression. Dread sticks to me, a suffocating weight because deep down I worried I’m being shown this for a reason.

My arrival has changed the course these three monsters had planned. They’ve held back from giving me to my father, so is the result? I quiver down to my bones to think my arrival would result in such devastation.

Nyko’s skin glows almost orange, the fire’s reflection creating a haunting effect against him.

I look up at the jagged stone wall behind us and the long stretch of sea in front of us, and I feel utterly lost. I have no idea where we are.

Nyko cups my face, his touch grounding me. His gaze glistens more.

“This is a warning, a mission for us to prevent.”

“I think so, too.”

“You are mine now, Sage, and I’m yours,” he murmurs his vow, and I nod in agreement. “You mean everything to me. I knew meeting my true mate would change my world, but this is so much deeper than I expected.”

The flames crackle in the distance, the smoke thick in the air.

“I can’t lose you,” he admits, the words almost a whisper. “I won’t lose you.”

“It won’t happen.” My heart races at his touching words, the ones that coil around my insides, reminding me that I’m not alone anymore.

He leans down, kissing me, whispering, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Tears well up in my eyes from the depth of his emotions, from our horrific surroundings, from the sickening ache in my gut that the flames are a result of me.

He leans in for a fiercer kiss, and I soften against him, never thinking I’d ever have someone tell me they love me.

I cling to him, the dread of the dark prophecy looming over us, but for now, we have time, I tell myself. But for how long?

As the world darkens quickly, fading, Nyko holds me tighter, and I shut my eyes.

His kisses bring me back, soft ones all over my forehead.

I open my eyes to find us back in my bed, me on top of him, us still stuck together.

I’m crying. Tears won’t stop falling, and the fear, the darkness in his gaze—it’s all still there. With it comes a profound devotion I feel for Nyko.

Maybe it’s the vision that’s shaken me or that he’s confessed to loving me. Whatever it is, my insides are clenched, and I don’t want to let go of him.

“It’s going to be all right,” he says.

“Everything feels surreal.” My heart’s throbbing. “I think that Howler burning in my vision might be my fault. Maybe it’s a warning for me to make a change before it’s too late?”

He frowns, the shadows deepening beneath his eyes. “It’s not your fault,” he says firmly, holding me tighter. “Don’t ever say that.”

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