Page 101 of A Kingdom of Monsters

He looked revolted, but bowed. “Yes lord.”

Though I’d only suggestedthe idea to avoid Draven, I still returned to my chambers and took an extraordinarily long bath. Partly because I hadn’t had the chance to bathe in far too long, and partly because I’d finally located Lonnie and wanted to watch her.

I soaked in the hot water as I watched her arriving in Nevermore. She climbed into some sleigh with Ambrose and I practically vibrated with anger at how cold and miserable she looked. Why wasn’t Ambrose doing anything to help her? Who the fuck was that woman driving them?

My bath water churned, and I struggled to get my leaking magic back under control.

Then, thankfully, Scion appeared and took her back into the castle. At least someone gave a fuck if she froze to death.

I watched Lonnie for nearly an hour longer than I should have. First to make sure she was alright and that her injuries were healed. Then, because things turned more interesting.

Whatever conversation Lonnie and Scion were having had quickly gone from serious to heated. I raised my eyebrows, my pulse beginning to race as I watched Scion slap her bare cunt with the palm of his hand.

Was it fucked up to watch them? Absolutely. But I was so far beyond caring. Anyway, I reasoned with myself, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t seen it before.

I gripped my cock beneath the water, squeezing tightly as I watched her climb on top of him and begin to move. She rolled her hips, tits bouncing, her mouth parting in ecstasy. I wished I could be there. I wanted to suck on her pretty nipples and play with her clit while she got herself off on Scion's cock.

I lingered long enough to watch Lonnie come, then yanked myself back to the present. Unsure if I felt more or less relaxed than before, I got out of the bath and went to track down my advisor.

The hallsof the palace of Underneath were just as long and winding as those in the obsidian palace. I wasn't yet familiar enough with the castle to quickly shadow walk from room to room, so I had to walk at a normal pace. It was a slow process, and it took me at least ten minutes to get anywhere.

Lost in thought, I wandered down the dimly lit hallway, unaware of my surroundings. Suddenly, a loud caw and the sound of flapping wings jolted me out of my reverie. I stumbled backwards as a large raven landed on my shoulder, its beady eyes staring directly into mine.

“Agh!” I yelled, flailing my arms to shake it off. “What the fuck! Get off me!”

Quill squawked in outrage, but his talons just dug deeper into my flesh, gripping my shoulder as if his life depended on it.

Which, it motherfucking did, because I was finally going to make good on my longstanding promise to kill the evil thing.

I’d never liked Scion’s horrible bird even when I was a child. I was a cat, and therefore the bird and I were natural enemies. But that wasn’t the problem. I was positive that it wasn’t merely a bird as Scion claimed. It had some sort of malevolent presence. A dark soul trapped inside it that brought destruction wherever it went.

I grabbed for the birds neck, trying to choke it until it let go of me, but it pecked violently at my hand.

“Agh!” I yelled again, drawing my hand back quickly to escape the razor sharp beak.

I spun down the hallway, slamming into walls attempting to shake the thing loose—or better yet smash its head against the stone.

When that failed, I tried magic, but I couldn’t get the aim right. I destroyed several paintings, a vase, and an entire damn wall before giving up.

Eventually I collapsed on the floor, entirely spent. The bird sat on my shoulder, cooing softly.

“What are you?” I panted, not sure if I was asking the bird personally or the gods themselves. “Do you realize I’ve killed several dozen monsters in just the last day alone? Trolls, goblins, brexa are no problem, but then there’s you.”

The bird chattered, and I could fucking swear it was laughing at me.

“What do you want from me?” I demanded. “I wrote your letter. What else is there?”

The bird cocked its head at me, its huge fathomless eyes peering into mine. I could swear it was saying. “Take me with you, you stupid prick.”

I threw my hands up in indignation. “Fine. Fine! You can come to the meeting. It’s not as if I can be rid of you anyway. Demonic fucking bird…”

I was still muttering when I stepped into Dravens’s office, Quill still on my shoulder.

The advisor glanced at the bird, then looked away, evidently deciding not to ask. I had kept him waiting a long time, and I supposed he was hoping to get this over quickly.

“Well, what is it?” I asked flatly.

Draven’s eyebrows angled in annoyance. “I thought you’d like to know that you’ve rallied the support of two thirds of the country in only a matter of days. It’s impressive, certainly. Some credit must be given to your father, of course. Gancanagh was an unusually stable ruler, and the continuity of father to son makes many feel confident in your leadership. The majority of the support, however, is coming from news of your many duels, so that credit is yours alone.”

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