Page 118 of Land of Monsters

My eyes widened seeing Viorica and her cousin, Brându?a, in beds next to Celeste.

Why was he mating with them? They couldn’t produce unless somehow they could get around the protective birth control potion almost all faes took around puberty, which was impossible unless you were a Druid…

My thought tapered off, my gaze darting back to my brother, an awareness slithering over me like slime.

Oh. Fuck.

Druid magic could screw with the potion messing with its performance, as my mother found out. Some might think this a weakness, while others might use this to their advantage.

My eyes squeezed for a moment, and I fought to regain my breath. “They’re using my brother’s magic to undo the spell.”

“Undo what spell?” Ash swallowed, though he already knew.

“Reversing any birth protection the fae women have. Making it far easier for them to get pregnant.”

“Szar,” Ash muttered, his head dropping in understanding. These offspring would be even more powerful, shedding the part that might have come out human.

“I will bet you she is carrying my kin now. She took me so deep.” Z’s voice hissed against the walls, and he nodded to Celeste with a leer. “I’ll make sure again later.”

“After you’ve helped Sonya with her little problem upstairs?” The snake-man had finished, moving over to the others.

“Fuck her,” Z snarled.

“Yeah, we heard. You did. Several times.” The rhino guy who stood at the wall chuckled. “And sounded like you really enjoyed it.”

“She may be the first fae impregnated with my child.” A sneer moved over his lips. “But she will soon learn her place. I am the king.”

What. The. Fuck.

Sonya might be pregnant? She had sex with Z? I might actually throw up.

Now every time she touched her belly earlier, a smugness riding her lips, I understood.

This was her way of striving for even more power and control. With her necklace, she was safe from Z’s retaliationif he dared, at the same time making her bloodline the most feared in the world. She wasn’t keeping the monsters in the basement; she was adding them to the throne. To become her heirs, her legacy. Making herself the queen of thePrimulas well. Who would go against her if she could unleash these things into the world? She would encroach on every land, declaring herself and her family the rulers.

This woman really played the long game.

“Why not keep her happy while putting more seed in her belly?” Beetle added. “Only makesusstronger. Until she learns she birthed her own worst nightmares.”

Z nodded his head, motioning for his men to follow. “Won’t hurt to blow off a little steam. Kill a few people for her.”

All of them grunted with agreement at his comment, following him up the passage towards the castle level.

My pulse beat like a drum in my ears, my legs itching to move. Ash kept a tight hold on my arm until silence surrounded us for several minutes, their footsteps long gone.

“Let’s go,” he whispered in my ear. Keeping low, we moved silently down the steps, my eyes sharp, straining to hear anyone coming. Ash couldn’t, but I could hear the guns firing and screaming from far above, the castle property alight with battle.

I just hoped everyone we loved was all right.

When our boots hit the ground, my brother’s spine went straight, his nose flaring. He smelled me. Sensed me nearby.

The goblin metal blocked us from communicating between our link, but we didn’t need one. Our bond was tight, my twin knowing me as well as he knew himself.

“Raven,” he muffled out my name. I squatted down next to him, ripping his blindfold off. His crystal green eyes flinched at the dim light, blinking as I yanked down his gag, exposing his badly bruised face. “What the hell are you doing here?” Worryand fear jerked his head around, like he expected thePrimulto jump out.

“What do you think I’m doing here, little brother?” I replied as Ash came down on his other side. “I’m here to rescue your ass.”

“But th-those things.” He searched the room for them. “She is with them… Sonya… she forced me to unspell the women here.”

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