Page 70 of An Inheritance of Monsters

The Void calls now. Let these words serve as a reminder to those who come after me: the Void will find you, too.

You will find happiness, and come find me in the Beyond once you have served your time as the…

Her writing faded once more,and I swore until I got to the end.

Goodbye…for now.

I closedthe diary with a shaky exhale, and then practically tore the cover open again. There, on the first page I missed, was the bookplate.

The same script I’d just read was engraved there in denser ink, cutting into the paper. I ran my fingertips over the name Ruby Marsh.

She had vanished… into the Void, not thin air.

Rumors, supposition, and lies. Ruby had never died, merely found her own monsters.

I had to keep this diary as proof, and to piece together the rest of the puzzle.

But as I lifted my pillow for my normal hiding spot, I ran my hand beneath it where my Black Book normally was.

No sharp corners met my fingers.

I practically ripped the pillow away as Rask shifted behind me. “What is it, my Juno?”

He helped me shift the bedding and tear back blankets.

My fists clenched, gut roiling as I realized what had happened. I’d been in the Void for hours—my bedroom empty and the door unlocked.

“Someone stole my Black Book.”

Chapter20

Juno

Fury reared its ugly head as I shoved my hand in the crack between the bed and the wall.

Nothing.

Claws wrapped around me, and Rask picked me up and put me on the floor by the bathroom door.

“Stand back, little one,” he grumbled.

He crouched down, all four arms stretching around the bed, and he picked the entire thing up like it weighed nothing.

The door to the Void was closed; there was nothing but a stretch of empty floor, no notebook in sight.

Rask let out a grunt, and carefully lowered the bed. It creaked wildly as it settled.

“Maybe I misplaced it.” I got down on my hands and knees, searching under the dresser and nightstand, tearing drawers open, but I found nothing.

With an angry sigh, I finally flopped back on the bed, massaging my temples with trembling fingers. “Someone definitely stole it.”

Rask climbed up on the mattress, and the bed squealed in protest again. He curled around me, purring deeply in his chest, and I couldn’t help but relax against him as it rumbled through me.

One enormous hand stroked me from shoulder to hip as I cuddled up next to him, his body heat soaking through my back.

“We will find the thief, my Juno.” Claws flexed lightly over my thigh. “I will eat them for you.”

My eyes popped open. “Rask, you can’t eat humans.”

---