Page 80 of Enticing Monsters

“When Sera returns, we’re all sitting down for a conversation,” he declares.

Lord of the manor, like always. It wouldn’t matter if he doesn’t have a title. Xander is just that arrogant.

“We’re done with secrets. We’re done with lies and half-truths. If we’re all going to survive whatever is coming, everything needs to be laid on the table. Past, present, or future.”

Gage makes a small noise of discontent but doesn’t argue.

“Well, we may have one less story to get.” Gage’s brow is furrowed, and sweat beads on his forehead. “I can’t figure out what the fuck is wrong. It’s… It’s like what happened to Devyn when he was stabbed, but not quite the same thing. It’s…wrongon a level I can’t explain.” Frustration coats his words as he shakes his head. “I’m keeping his body going as well as I can, but I’m not actually beating back whatever is here.”

“Then we better pray our mate works quickly,” Xander says, angling his head to take in the small travel clock on my dresser, watching the second hand as it ticks by.

“And that it’s not contagious,” Gage mutters.

Well, that’s a cheery fucking thought. Is it better to have my secrets torn out of me and laid at my mate’s feet to stomp on or to die of a clearly agonizing disease that’s making the only known supe who doesn’t feel pain scream in agony?

At the moment, I’m not sure I know the answer, and from the look on his face, it seems that Gage agrees.

CHAPTER THIRTY

SERAFINA

The cold air whips at my skin as I push aside a low-hanging branch that sparkles like emeralds.

Cadmus pauses and then crouches, one hand raised in the air.

We all stop walking immediately, recognizing the universal signal for “stop.” Apparently, it doesn’t change whether you’re on Earth or Faerie.

His brows furrow as he stares down at the ground. One of his hands tentatively runs through the dirt there. After a long moment of silence, he sighs and stands, wiping mud off his pants.

“We need to stop for the night. Find shelter. A storm is coming.”

The five of us—me, Kian, Tristan, Foster, and Cadmus—have been walking for hours now. We stopped only once to grab a stack of books from the library that Cadmus deemed important before resuming our trek to the portal.

For the first time since we began this journey, there’s a skip to my step. Hope fizzes and bubbles in my chest like a can of soda that spent the day rolling around in the back of a pickup truck.

Cadmus can heal V.

All we need to do is get to him.

“We can’t stop!” I protest immediately, peering up at the clear blue sky. Not a single rain cloud is visible. “We’re only a few hours away from the portal.”

“And the sky is clear,” Foster adds. “I don’t even see storm clouds on the horizon.”

Cadmus’s expression remains impassive as he shifts his pack from one shoulder to the other. “It’s notthattype of storm,” he tells us cryptically. Then he jerks his chin towards a pathway weaving between the trees—almost like a road of red, compacted dirt—and says, “Come on. There’s an abandoned town a short walk that way.”

Kian scratches at the nape of his neck. “I thought you said it wasn’t safe to stay in any of the towns. Because of the…err…monsters.”

Cadmus walks quickly, but very purposely, in the direction he indicated, not bothering to slow his pace. We have to practically jog to catch up. Well, the guys have to jog. I have to run like I’m a sprinter about to cross the finish line. Curse my short legs.

“Monsters won’t be out during the storm,” Cadmus tells us over his shoulder. “Even they aren’t that stupid.”

Nerves eat at my stomach like termites, and a cold, seeping chill winds its way down my spine.

A storm bad enough to scare monsters away? Fun times.

Before any of us can comment, the ground beneath us shakes and trembles. Foster and Kian both fall onto their asses. Only Tristan and I manage to remain upright—a product of our quick reflexes.

“Is that an earthquake?” Foster asks in alarm.

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