Page 145 of Their Pretty Little Monster

Killian just smiles, even though he’s pale and bleeding blue everywhere. He looks up at her, his smile widening. “I finally feel like I can breathe easy,” he admits. “It hurts like a son of a bitch, but I haven’t known this kind of peace since I was a kid.”

“Peace?” my sister asks, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“We’re off the vessel, on land we’ll make our home. I have my true mate, and the two assholes in my life are dead. It sounds like a perfect day to me.”

I giggle, unsure how I’m even laughing, seeing so many others who lost their lives. Death is all around us. The sight of the fallen, the blood-soaked ground, infuriates me.

More guards and other locals start to emerge from their homes, chattering, eyes wide with shock. Some ask Wolfe and Nyko questions.

Killian’s whining, and I can’t even tell if he’s bleeding more or is covered in blood from the battle.

“All right, let’s go get you healed.” I get up, and my sister and I help him up.

As we start to move, the crowd parts for us. I glance back at Wolfe, his gaze meeting mine with a determination that has me grinning to see him take back what was always rightfully his.

Finally, we reach the medic room in a nearby building, and Killian heaves himself up on the bed, groaning in the process before he flops onto his back.

Elara’s liaising with the doctor, who’s already studying Killian’s wounds, before quickly getting to work.

I’m at his side, clasping his hand, staring into those deep blue irises. “You better heal,” I tell him. “We have so much to do in this kingdom.” I watch as Elara tends to Killian, my heart aching with gratitude and love for my true mates, who’ve fought so hard for us.

“I’m proud of you,” I whisper to Killian as he winces under the doctor’s care. “You’ve been so strong when I know you’re hurting.”

He chuckles weakly. “Takes more than a few scratches to take me down.”

“The injuries will need stitching up,” the doctor states. “They’re deep, and you’ve lost lots of blood.”

“See? Told you,” Killian gloats. “I’m perfectly fine.” But the moment the doctor starts to clean up the wounds with a liquid he sprays across his stomach and chest, Killian flinches, shouting, “Fuck, that stings!”

“It’ll stop you from getting an infection,” the doctor says, continuing to work. Killian’s hissing. “I am going to have to put you to sleep as there are plenty of scratches, and you might pass out from the pain once I glue you back together.”

“Pain doesn’t scare me.” Killian’s sweating and tries to shrug but cringes from pain instead. “But… I could do with some sleep.”

I chuckle, as does Elara. The doctor gives Killian a light sprinkling of blue dust over his face. Within seconds, Killian’s eyes flutter closed, and he passes out, his body finally relaxing.

I move to the corner of the room, giving the doctor space, Elara at my side.

“I never thanked you for saving me in the mountains.”

“I should have done it earlier,” she replies, shrugging. “But I didn’t know you needed my help. I assumed you knew your power.”

I pull her into a quick hug.

“I should thank you,” she says. “You saved me, so we’re equal. Actually, you saved me twice… from our father and death just then.” She’s grinning as we pull back, and she looks exhausted, her face smudged with soot from the fires, her breaths ragged.

I can’t believe how everything turned out. It’s all surreal, like a dream that hasn’t fully settled into reality, yet I know it’s real. Reaching this point of success was brutal, but I’m not sure I’d change a whole lot. I’ve learned a great deal and discovered that I have a bigger family now. It hits me that this might mean I’ll get to see my mother soon. I’m desperate to see her, having so much to tell her.

Two days later, my true mates, my sister, and I hurry through Silvercrest Kingdom, heading toward the open front gates. So much has passed since the day we arrived.

Cleanup of the city and castle has commenced.

We welcomed the Shadowfen from our vessel to their new home. Finding them accommodations has become a chore in itself, but the locals have been so embracing, offering to share their homes until repairs to the city begin and more homes are developed.

Now, we’re emerging onto the shores outside the kingdom, where we stand on the rocky shore of the ocean. The beach is packed with Shadowfen all the way down the edge of the sea in the curved bay where we’d first arrived.

The dual moons hang high in the sky, casting a pinkish hue over the landscape.

We follow Wolfe to the steps in front of the crowd, where the soft water laps close to my feet, and my gaze lifts out at sea, like everyone else.

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