Page 114 of A Kingdom of Monsters

I smiled. I could only hope it was a good idea; it certainly felt like the best one I had had in a while.

We landedin an enormous meadow of sunflowers, miraculously blooming despite the toxic scent in the air.

The very moment he helped me down from the dragon, Bael reached for me. He pulled me to him for a deep bruising kiss that left me gasping.

“Hello, again.” he said. “I missed you.”

I pressed my fingers against my throbbing lips “I missed you too. But wasn’t that dangerous?”

“One kiss won’t kill me.” He threw me a wink. “Probably.”

Before I could scold him for being so flippant about his own death, he’d darted away to say something to his dragon, leaving me to focus on where we’d landed.

We were standing on the edge of the field. To our right was the Waywoods, and to the left, the base of a gigantic purple mountain. Directly in the center of those was a tiny wooden house.

I was certainly shocked to find it standing, but even more shocked that it was unchanged. I walked up to the house and pushed the door open, only for another wave of shock to wash over me. Everything was exactly as it had been when we left, down to Rosey’s books on the shelves and the paint scribbles I had etched on the wall.

“How is this possible?” I breathed, looking around at the room in wonderment. “It’s all exactly the same as it always was.”

I looked up at the three hulking figures in the doorway. Ambrose looked around the house and frowned. “That is odd. I don’t suppose there’s anything unusual about this meadow?”

“I don’t think so,” I replied. “Aside from being so close to the Source.”

“It’s odd that only this land seems to be thriving while everything around it is swamp or barren wasteland.”

I nodded, but was admittedly distracted by the sight of them in my little house. They didn’t fit. The house was small enough as is and built for a single woman and her two small children. This kitchen wasn’t meant to accommodate three enormous Fae warriors. I thought about the beds and blanched. I had no idea what we were going to do.

“Come in,” I said quickly. “And shut the door.”

I led them into the adjoining living room. It wasn’t much larger than the kitchen, but it didn’t have a loft above it, so the ceilingswere higher. At least they weren't in danger of hitting their heads.

Bael flopped into an old moth-eaten armchair by the fire, and Ambrose leaned against the adjacent wall. Looking slightly lost for a moment, Scion finally elected to sit on the floor, leaving me unsure who to sit with.

Not that I’d expect them to be jealous, but there was definitely a certain amount of negotiating we’d have to work out. Maybe we should construct a calendar. My face split into a grin and I chuckled to myself.

“What is it, little monster?”

“I was merely thinking we might need some sort of formal schedule.”

Bael laughed, but to my surprise, Scion actually seemed to be thinking it over. “I doubt it, rebel,” he said finally. “Things will work themselves out.”

Making my decision for me, Bael gripped my hips and pulled me back onto his lap. I immediately sunk into him, enjoying his warmth just as much as his familiar scent.

Without even realizing I’d done it, I shoved my nose into Bael’s neck, breathing against the skin of his collarbone.

“Don’t,” Bael said, a little more sharply than I was used to. Then, as if he’d heard himself, his eyes softened. “Sorry, little monster. I couldn’t hold myself back from kissing you, but we shouldn’t push it further. I don’t want to ruin everything right before we might finally break this damn thing for good.”

I was a little disappointed, but he was right. Anyway, he’d reminded me how many questions I had about tonight.

“So now can you explain the dragon?” I asked Bael. “And you,” I rounded on Ambrose. “When did you know he was going to turn up?”

“I just met the dragon the other day in Underneath,” Bael said conversationally. “Bit of a funny story, really. He caught me stealing from him.”

There was a collective gasp around the room, and Scion blurted out: “You fucking idiot!”

“Listen,” said Bael defensively. “I wouldn’t have been there if your foul bird didn’t send me.”

Scion’s face twitched, the corners of his mouth fighting to turn upward. Like he really wanted to smile, but was insistent on looking disapproving anyway. Eventually, the smile won out and he grinned. “Quill’s with you?”

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