Page 109 of A Kingdom of Monsters

I grabbed the sapphire and examined it. It was the exact size and shape of the jewel of Inbetwixt, like they were meant to mirror each other. I hadn’t pursued the book as carefully as Ambrose, but I was sure the overcast jewel was a sapphire.

Taking a deep breath, I stuck the gem in my pocket.

Immediately, and as I’d half expected, a deafening boom erupted behind me . It was followed by another and another, like the pounding of giant footsteps.

The ground trembled beneath my feet as a monstrous roar echoed through the air, causing my hair to stand on end. And then, with one final resounding thud, the dragon emerged from its hiding place, its massive form casting a shadow over everything around it. Its scales glistened even without much light to reflect off them.

“Thief!” It rumbled.

I closed my eyes. “Shit.”

35

LONNIE

THE ROAD TO OVERCAST

With the diamond in hand, we fled Nevermore.

The moment dawn broke and the horn sounded for the final time, Ambrose and I were already prepared to leave. We’d met Scion on the road, where he was already searching for us, and the three of us shadow walked off the island without returning to the keep.

After all, we’d gotten what we came for–albeit in a more violent and traumatic fashion than any of us would have liked. Cassinda was in possession of the jewel when she died, and we were able to collect it from her severed neck with very little fanfare.

In fact, there was no celebration at all.

We might have collected the second jewel, but it had cost all of us far too much.

Even the brand new bond between Ambrose and I was not enough to cheer me. I could feel it pulsing in my chest, somehow identical to the bond I shared with Scion and yet…not.

Now was not the time to consider it, however. Not when my brain was sluggish and every movement and thought felt like a chore.

It did not help that we hadn’t slept. Hadn’t eaten anything, and hadn’t had a chance to bathe and wash the blood from our hands—both literally and metaphorically. We’d had to abandon our food and extra clothing in the keep, and worst of all, we lost Queen Celia’s book.

“Don’t worry, love,” Ambrose said, with a forced confidence I was sure he didn’t feel. “I’ve practically memorized that book. We’ll be fine without it.”

I didn’t look at him when he said this. I didn’t really want to know if he flinched at the pain of a lie.

To avoid being separated again,Ambrose guided both Scion and I through the shadows. Though he hadn’t commented on it, it was obvious to me that Ambrose had some unusual measure of control over his shadow walking. Maybe that explained how he’d managed to be no where and somehow everywhere at once for the last ten years that Scion had searched for him. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore as long as we were all on the same side.

Ambrose brought us to a small woodland inn along the northbound road between Overcast and Inbetwixt. We ate andbathed and slept a few unbroken hours before we had to leave again, pushing on toward Overcast.

In order to give Ambrose a break, we had bought horses from the innkeeper and set off at a leisurely pace towards the north. Despite the fact that it would still take us a full day and night to reach Overcast, we were in no particular hurry. We hadn't yet determined where the final jewel was located, and even though no one said it aloud, I could tell that both Scion and Ambrose were reluctant to face their family.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the other night,” I said that afternoon as we rode.

As he rode ahead, Ambrose turned his head to look back at me with a smirk. "Is that so, love?”

I felt my cheeks heat. “I meant about Cassinda.”

Both my mates growled in displeasure. Scion had felt the moment that I was clawed by the bear, but hadn’t been able to reach me in time for it to matter. I could tell the incident haunted him, and I only hoped his scowl would lessen with time.

“What about her?” Ambrose barked.

“When she mauled me. You said you thought I died. I’m starting to think maybe I did—at least for a moment.”

I’d posed the statement as casually as I could, but still, both males yanked back on their reins, and turned around in their saddles to face me.

“Do you remember it?” Ambrose said, his voice brittle like broken glass.

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