Page 55 of Enticing Monsters

I’m fucking angry.

And when I’m angry, someone gets stabbed.

After my outburst, Devyn dragged me out into the hall, and now he stands in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest, the leather of his jacket squeaking with each move he makes. I continue to spin my blade around and around in my hand as I wait for him to explain himself.

Though I’m not sure anything he says will justify his actions.

How could he allow Gage to be arrested for a crime we both know he didn’t commit? This could scar my sweet baku irrevocably.

Fuck. A baku. Gage is a baku. I’ve heard about them before—urban legends that young, oblivious me didn’t think to be true. Apparently, they’re capable of infiltrating people’s dreams. And heal—though I wonder if they’re connected somehow.

Can Gage heal so well because he can somehow alter a person’s mind? Make them believe they’re not hurt? Trick the body into mending itself? Hmm. Something to look at later—once he’s safe and sound and V has been healed.

Why was Gage so afraid to tell me the truth?

Is it because of what the queen said about Gage’s father?

Questions dance through my mind, but I can’t focus on them right now. There’s a list of things a mile long I need to do, starting with getting Gage the fuck out of here and bringing him to V.

“You know he’s innocent,” I tell Devyn at last, when the silence becomes too heavy—too damn potent and suffocating—for me to handle.

It’s just the two of us at the moment. Xander and Foster chose to remain back with Gage and the queen, and I have no idea where my family disappeared to. Which is good, considering the fact I may stab them if I were to see them.

How could they have betrayed me like this?

How couldDevynbetray me like this?

No, that’s the wrong question to ask. I’m not the one being betrayed. Gage is.

My heart cracks and fissures when I think about the resignation on Gage’s face just before I left him. He thinks he’s going to take the fall for this crime.

I can’t allow that to happen.

“If Gage is innocent, then he’ll be fine,” Devyn tells me gruffly. His arms remain crossed over his chest. “You need to trust me, Sera.”

“Fine?” I give him an incredulous look and then bark out a dry, humorless laugh. “You seriously believe that? The queen already believes he’s guilty. I don’t know a lot about the fae justice system, but if it’s anything like the human one, there’s no way he’ll make it out of this.”

Innocent until proven guilty.

What a fucking joke.

The queen and her minions already think they have the perpetrator, and they’re not going to let him go without a fight.

Devyn’s lips purse. “I’m going to find the true killer, Sera. You have my word. Gage will be okay.”

“He better be.” I absently trail a hand down my blade, relishing the sting of cold metal beneath my fingertips, the prick of pain providing me a modicum of comfort. “Because if he isn’t, I’ll never forgive you for taking the queen’s side.”

Something flickers in Devyn’s eyes—there and gone too quickly for me to process. Abruptly, he lunges for me, grips my wrist, and begins to drag me down the hall, towards an empty room.

Shock renders me immobile for only a second, but then I come to my senses. I use my free hand to loosen one of the blades from my hair and hold it at my mate’s neck. I won’t actually draw blood—and not just because V will become jealous—but the threat is evident.

Amusement dances in Devyn’s eyes as he volleys his gaze between my face and the blade against his skin.

“Really, Bunny? You going to stab me?” He arches an eyebrow.

Arrogant asshole.

“If you keep dragging me along, then yes.” I apply a little bit more pressure for emphasis, still making sure to not accidentally break any skin.

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