Page 82 of Enticing Monsters

Nope. Not today, Satan. Find someone else for the job. I’ll even help Cadmus set up an Indeed account. I’m sure there are plenty of capable fae. The queen, for starters, and even V, who has been trained for this. Hell, Cadmus could easily be Faerie’s ruler. He effortlessly commanded the respect of every fae back at his camp—even that damn succubus who cried and begged for him not to go with us.

Is it selfish that I don’t give a shit about this world? About saving it? All I can think about is V and Gage and what fresh hell they’re going through.

Is V in pain?

Is Gage still imprisoned?

What about the lords and ladies? Are they okay?

I need to focus on saving myownworld before I can even think about anyone else’s.

And my world revolves around seven completely different men.

Tristan. Gage. Kian. Foster. V. Devyn. Xander.

I look away from Cadmus and swallow heavily. Out of my periphery, I notice disbelief flicker across his face, chased by a deep hurt.

No, he won’t want me as a ruler once he knows the true me. He’ll run in the opposite direction screaming for mercy. But for now…

For now, I’ll greedily accept his help, knowing it may be the only way to save the men I love.

“Come on.” Tristan wiggles his fingers in front of my face, encouraging me to take them. “Let’s change our clothes and get dry. It seems as if this is going to be a long night.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

SERAFINA

After quickly distributing clothes—or at least, what little clothes we could find in this shack of a house, since my backpack was lost in the battle at the library—Foster heads out into the living room to speak with Cadmus while Tristan and Kian remain with me in the bedroom.

“You should get some sleep, angel.” Kian perches himself on the edge of the bed and brushes the tips of his fingers across my cheek.

Flutters start low in my belly, even as the sharp blade of panic slashes at my skin.

“I don’t know if I can,” I confess. “I can’t stop thinking about V and Gage and the others.”

Worry for my mates is an ever-present companion. Right now, we’re putting all of our hope in Cadmus being able to save V using his abilities. But what if he isn’t able to? What would I do if I lost?—

I shut that thought down before it can fester.

If Cadmus can’t save V, I’ll find someone who can. I won’t give up. Not now, not ever.

Tristan moves to sit on my other side. “He’ll be okay, Sera. V is a lot of things, most of them completely psychotic, but he’s loyal to you first and foremost. He will never,everleave you.”

But he may not have a choice.

A part of me wants to demand we continue to the portal, but I know that would be idiotic. I’m not willing to risk the lives of the men with me, even if it means getting to V faster. But fuck, it’s hard to just sit here and do nothing.

Outside, rain continues to shoot upwards from the ground, and the entire foundation of the house trembles as thunder booms.

“It feels strange to sleep in a house like this,” I murmur, running my hands over the bedspread.

In one of the closets, we found what appeared to be semi-clean sheets. And I mean semi-clean because they were all coated in a fine layer of dust that we had to shake off.

“What do you mean?” Kian cants his head to the side.

“Someone once lived here.” I shrug. “Who knows what happened to them? Did they die in this house? Were they able to survive the virus and start a life elsewhere?”

Kian gently tugs at one of my pink curls. “I think…that there’s a lot we don’t know.” He seems to be trying to choose his words carefully. “And I also think that we got lucky running into Cadmus.”

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