Page 62 of Monster's Pretty Bride

“Lord Naranus!”

Relief barrels through me like a battering ram.

I lower my stance as the figure lands a few feet away, his large frame bowing slightly, his wings tucking in. A familiar face. A trusted warrior.

Thryx. He’s back from his mission.

The tension in my spine unknots slightly, but I don’t lower my guard completely.

The warrior steps forward, his sharp eyes flicking between me and Eryss, taking in our soaked clothes, our ragged forms. Then his lips twitch. “You look like shit.”

I grunt, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “Feel worse.”

Thryx snorts, shaking his head before turning his attention fully to Eryss. His gaze sharpens. Curious. Heknowswhat she is, what she was meant to do, and yet he says nothing about it. Smart male.

“You were reported dead,” he tells me.

I arch a brow. “And you thought you’d find my corpse here?”

He smirks, crossing his arms. “Figured you were too damn stubborn to die.”

I roll my shoulders, exhaustion creeping in. “How bad is it back home?”

His expression darkens, amusement bleeding away. “Bad.”

I hadhopedthe mess we left behind would still be contained, that my warriors could hold the stronghold. But if Thryx came looking for me, it means things are unraveling faster than I thought.

Thryx gestures toward the trees. “We need to go. There are still rogue factions moving through the area, searching for you. If they find you with her—” He cuts himself off, his gaze flicking to Eryss again.

I stiffen.

“If they find her,” I say, my voice steel, “they won’t leavealive.”

Thryx nods once. “Then we move.”

I glance back at Eryss. She’s watching us, shoulders squared, expression unreadable. But something flickers in her eyes, something almost hesitant.

I don’t like it.

Idislike thatshe still doesn’t fully understand that the only people she can trust are the ones standing beside her right now.

I don’t like that Catalina’s magic was the last thing she felt before she fell.

I hate that the thought of her betraying me, killing me, no longer makes me angry.

It makes medesperate.

We need to get back. Because I need answers.

I need her alive long enough to get them.

I motion for Thryx to take the lead, stepping in beside Eryss, close enough that when I speak, only she can hear me.

“This conversation isn’t over.”

She exhales slowly, her voice quiet but firm. “I didn’t think it would be.”

Good.

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