Page 91 of Monster's Pretty Bride

A roar of pure rage.

I turn, just in time to see Naranus.

He’s covered in blood, his body fractured, but his eyes burn with murderous fury.

The assassins descend on him, their weapons flashing, but he doesn’t stop moving. He rips through them, claws slashing, wings snapping open despite the pain it must cause.

They try to pin him down. They fail.

One moment, they’re attacking.

The next, they’re burning alive.

A pulse of raw, cursed magic explodes from Naranus’ body, a shockwave of unrestrained darkness and stone energy obliterating everything in its path.

The ground splits. The trees shatter.

The assassins scream.

There goes silence.

Naranus collapses.

I lurch forward, catching him before he fully hits the ground. His body is shaking, cracks spreading over his stone-like flesh, his breathing too shallow.

“No, no, no,” I whisper, pressing my hands against his chest. “Naranus—don’t you dare?—”

His lips curl, but it’s not a smirk. It’s pain. “Guess I... went a little overboard.”

I want to shake him. “You—stupid?—”

A wet cough cuts off whatever insult I was about to scream at him.

Catalina groans somewhere behind me. She’s still alive, but she’s badly wounded.

The assassins? Gone. For now.

But the damage is done.

I grip his shoulders, shaking him gently. “Stay with me. We’ll fix this.”

His fingers brush my arm, his grip weak. “Not much time,” he mutters. “You... have to?—”

“Shut up.” I refuse to hear the end of that sentence.

Catalina’s voice is hoarse as she forces herself up. “Eryss.”

I look at her, and immediately regret it.

Because there’s something in her eyes.

Something haunted.

Something terrible.

“There’s a way to break the curse,” she says weakly. “But it requires a sacrifice.”

I freeze.

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