Page 47 of Monster's Pretty Bride

To kill him?

My stomach twists violently.

The weight of their expectations, the purpose I was sent here for, the promise I made to our people, all of it is a chain wrapped around my throat.

He saved me.

Again and again, he saved me.

Naranus doesn’t speak.

But I feel his stare cutting through me, waiting for my answer, waiting for my betrayal.

Catalina’s fingers twitch near her side, where her dagger is hidden beneath the folds of her cloak.

She’s ready.

She’s waiting for my signal.

Amelia watches me carefully, waiting too. But her eyes are softer, her expression less certain. She sees something that Catalina does not.

I hate that she does.

“No.”

The word leaves me before I can stop it.

Catalina’s expression hardens instantly. “Eryss?—”

“I said no,” I repeat, this time louder.

Naranus shifts behind me. He’s tense, his body still braced for a fight, his molten gold gaze glued to the two women in front of him.

“You can’t kill him,” I say, turning to Catalina, my voice sharper now. “He saved my life. Time and time again. I won’t let you?—”

Catalina’s lip curls. “Then you will.”

Silence crashes through the room.

My heart stutters painfully.

I should.

I should say yes. I should take the dagger from her and finish what I was sent here to do.

But I don’t.

Her stare sharpens, realization flickering across her features. “You won’t.”

Something inside me twists. “I?—”

“No,” she cuts me off, stepping closer, voice dropping. “You had the chance. You’ve had the chance more than once. And you didn’t take it.” Her gaze flicks to Naranus, then back to me, disbelief hardening into something colder. “What has he done to you?”

Nothing. Everything.

I say nothing.

Her fingers tighten around her blade.

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