Page 6 of Their Pretty Little Monster

Suddenly, I’m up on my feet, buckets in hand, a coil of unease tightening in my gut. Most in the village see my mom and me as burdens.

What if the new Viscount rids the village of us? The thought of being made to vanish sends a shiver down my spine.

Chapter

Two

KILLIAN

Two Days Later

Muscles tense, I scan the recorded footage of the girl on my wrist-piece screen. Her hair catches the sunlight, shimmering with an almost violet hue—a rare color on Earth, but back on my home world of Blight, it’s more commonplace.

Yet here I am, observing a human girl from Earth at the most recent Day of the Choosing Ceremony in Nightingale Village. Even with her back turned to the camera, her face hidden, there’s a tenderness in her posture—her head slightly bowed, shoulders curled as if bearing the weight of the world.

As the newly appointed Nightingale Viscount, I’m here to fix the village while secretly discovering if she’s the one we’ve been searching for all these damn years.

It’s pure fate that I even happened to notice her in the first place. But a recent incident involving Gods from another dimension drew my attention to this village and the inhabitants within it.

Because if one of those humans could be the fated mate of a God, maybe the key I’ve been searching for is here as well.

So I reviewed the tapes from the Day of the Choosing, studying the mate in question—Alina.

Which is when I noticed her focusing on another woman in the crowd. A violet-hued pixie.

When Cain, the Elite City King, mentioned needing a replacement Viscount, I offered to take the position. Primarily so I could have a chance to learn more about this woman, but also to help this village leave the dark ages.

As King, Cain rules the Elite City of Chicago. Despite his monster origins, he controls the Elite families in his region. Each family rules over one village. And in each of those, a Viscount takes charge over the villagers. He’s the only one in each village aware of the Elite families and the structure controlling this world.

I do find it most fascinating to have learned that Elite families are the humans who didn’t run when monsters first invaded Earth. Instead, they offered a collaboration, one of governing and controlling humanity for all our benefit.

To avoid the extinction of the human race while appeasing the countless monster worlds, they had proposed that humans be placed in remote villages, monitored by the Elite families while ensuring the collection of human Offerings for the monsters annually.

In exchange, these Elite families were offered boons for providing ideal monster mates for the Monsters Night. After all, powers and gifts, with the ultimate promise of immortality, are tempting rewards to pass up for any human.

So now, one night a year when monsters enter Earth through portals, they can take the chosen human Offerings back to their worlds for breeding, marriage, or whatever the fuck they desire.

And me…I’m here to set things right in Nightingale Village for the future of all involved in my new role as temporary Viscount.

But first, I must secure the girl I’ve been searching for and take her back to Blight to address our issues. My first priority remains my world back home.

Which is why I’m watching this tape yet again, needing to memorize every detail to track her down.

I reach over, sliding my finger over the video screen where she stands, hoping she’ll turn around to show her face, but she never does.

“Are you the one?” I whisper, my breath forming a mist in the cool air.

One touch and I’ll know it’s her, then there’s no time to waste.

Voices nearby pull me from my thoughts, and I lift my gaze, switching off the footage to find a curious group of half a dozen children watching me. With a forced grin, I push back into a walk, surveying the village for her.

Farmland stretches before me, with humans tending the fields and several women loudly chatting as they pick red globe fruit from trees. The longer I’ve spent on Earth, the more I detest it. This place, so starkly different from my realm, Blight, only increases my homesickness.

Nothing here feels right—the temperamental weather, the tasteless food, or the convoluted politics back in the Elite City.

Striding along the dirt path, I meander toward the small cottage homes.

“Your Grace,” greets Village Protector Edwards, that sycophantic fool, stepping out in front of me from behind a small cottage, interrupting my thoughts.

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