Page 53 of Monster's Secret Baby

She doesn't.

Her silence is a blade between my ribs, twisting deeper with each heartbeat. I've seen that look on others' faces before—the day I realized she was gone, when I tore through Lord Arkan's estate searching for her, terrorizing servants and guards alike until I realized she was well and truly gone.

I can't bear it. Not again.

Without another word, I haul Sior's lifeless body over my shoulder. His weight feels inconsequential compared to the heaviness settling in my chest. I stride toward the tree line at the edge of town, my wings tight against my back, the tips occasionally brushing the ground in my haste. The brush of feathers against dirt makes my skin crawl, but I can't slow down.

Harmony's gaze burns into my back. I feel it like a physical touch but I don't turn around. Can't. If I see rejection in her eyes, I'll shatter right here in the middle of this godsforsaken village square.

The woods grow denser as I follow the narrow path that leads to the river. Fallen leaves crunch under my boots, branches catch on my clothing as if the forest itself tries to hold me back. The sun sinks low, casting long fingers of light through the trees, turning everything gold and shadow. Any other time, I would find it beautiful—the kind of scene I'd want to paint with Harmony watching over my shoulder, her chin resting on the crown of my head.

"What have I done?" I mutter to myself, the words escaping before I can trap them behind my teeth.

Killed the man who was like a father to me. The man who made me what I am today. The man who tried to touch what's mine.

No, I don't regret killing him. I'd do it again. But the timing—gods, the timing. Just when I thought I was making progress with her.

The sound of rushing water grows louder. I approach the riverbank, my steps slowing as I consider what to do with Sior's body. The river is deep here, the current swift. It would carry him far from Saufort, perhaps all the way to the sea.

I kneel, gently laying Sior's body on the mossy ground. His face looks peaceful in death, more serene than I ever saw it in life. Always calculating, always scheming, always pushing me toward what he thought I should be.

"You should have left her alone," I tell him, my voice hollow in the empty forest. "I would have forgiven anything else."

I reach into his jacket pocket, retrieving the papers I know he always carries. Contracts, probably. Agreements for my next commission, my next performance. All the ways he planned to profit from me while keeping me trapped in my gilded cage.

I drop them next to his body before lifting him again. The water is cold when I wade in, soaking through my clothes. Sior's wings drag behind us, water-logged and heavy. When I'm chest-deep, I release him, watching as the current takes him. His body floats for a moment before being pulled under, disappearing into the murky depths.

"Goodbye, Sior." The words taste like ash.

I stand in the river, letting the cold water numb me from the feet up. What now? How do I go back to her? How do I make her understand that everything I've done—everything I am—is for her and Brooke?

The blue crystal digs into my palm where I've unconsciously squeezed it again. I pull it out, studying its rough edges in the fading light. It was meant to be a gift for Harmony, set in silver for her birthday. Now I wonder if she'll even let me near her again.

Five years I searched for her. Five years of becoming something harder, darker, more desperate. And in the span of moments, I've shown her exactly what those years made me.

I wade back to shore, my clothes clinging to me like a second skin. Night is falling fast now, the forest growing darker around me. I should head back to the village, face whatever comes next. But my feet won't move.

What if she tries to run again?

The thought freezes my blood despite my soaked, freezing clothing. I can't lose her. Not again. Not ever again. I'll chase her to the ends of every realm if I have to.

But gods, I don't want to chase. I want her to choose me. To love me. To see that everything—every monstrous, terrible thing I've become—I becameforher…

And still want every part of the blackened soul that has only belonged to her.

26

HARMONY

The night sky bleeds dusky purple as I make my way along the riverbank. My steps are heavy with exhaustion, yet my mind races like the swirling currents below. Two hours ago, I watched Adellum kill a man—not just any man, but Sior, his mentor. The memory sits like a stone in my chest, both terrible and somehow liberating, because it had been for me.

I knew that I needed to talk to Adellum so I asked Tamsin and Holt to keep Brooke for the night. The look they gave me was painfully understanding. And then I went in the direction he disappeared when he left me with too many revelations and an aching heart.

I spot him before he sees me—a dark silhouette against the silver-blue water, broad shoulders hunched forward, wings folded tight against his back. Moonlight catches on the curves of his feathers, turning them ghostly. He sits motionless, staring into the river's depths as if searching for answers there.

My footsteps falter. What am I doing here? What can I possibly say after everything? Five years of bitter hatred dissolved in less than a month. Five years of convincing myself he was the villain in my story, only to discover I'd been wrong all along.

He doesn't move when I approach, though I know he hears me. The fine edge of his jaw tightens—the only indication he's aware of my presence. Up close, I can see his knuckles, still raw and crusted with dried blood. Sior's blood. My stomach lurches, but I force the feeling down.

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