Page 119 of Monsters in Love

The affection between the two warmed Isabelle’s heart.

More than an echo of the bond she’d witnessed in the fields, their time in the tunnels beneath Windhaven and their understanding of each other in their new forms had made them family in truth.

Gods, she needed them both to survive what was to come.

“You will find us before anything happens,” she ordered Talos, gripping his ruff with both hands and tugging his face down to hers. “I won’t take any action before I know you and Tarn are—”

“Belle.” He cupped her face. “There won’t be time.”

“Then…” Her lip trembled. “Then you must escape before the others. Use the tower, break the glass if you must. Find us in the forest after the sun sets, when it’s safe and dark…” Her words trailed and she turned to the window, still glowing bright with the afternoon sun.

Darkness.

It wasn’t dark in this room at all.

“Good gods,” she exclaimed. “How did I miss this?” She jabbed a finger at the window, then stared intently at each of the creatures. “This room has been full of sunlight all day, and neither of you are hiding from it. And you had a fire! How is that possible?”

“Yeah! You weren’t afraid of the torch, either.” Emmi sounded affronted. “What is this?”

The two creatures glanced at each other.

They shrugged in unison.

“You know…” Talos lifted a shoulder. “I’ve never properly thought about it. We don’t know. We were both in this room when we changed. Light can be tiring, but it never bothered us as much as the others.”

“Then… then this could change things,” she stuttered. “Maybe we’ve been too hasty. Maybe the demons won’t escape tonight. We can survey the tunnels and find a way to leave together when—”

“Belle.” He kissed her forehead, then brushed his lips across hers. “We’re not mistaken.”

“We have to be,” she whispered. “You need to come with us.”

“There’s no time.” He rested his forehead against hers, brown eyes holding hers. “We have to go.”

“But… but we don’t know—”

“We do, my love.” He gently gripped her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “The other demons already stir, the sun is fading. Tarn is convinced the way to the exit is marked by symbols of some sort. We need time to follow those. We cannot risk waiting.”

Breath shuddered in her chest.

Fear and grief sinking their claws into her heart.

She wanted to hold onto Talos forever. To bury her face in his chest and deny any danger existed. But he was right. The entire town was in danger, and she had no right to put her happiness ahead of all those lives.

No matter how much she wanted to.

“Very well.” Forcing her back straight, she reached out and gripped her sister’s hand. Their pockets were full of all the makings of small torches, and the map was fresh in her mind. They were as prepared as they could be. “Let us locate this exit.”

Deep in the tunnels, a tiny torch sputtering in one hand, Isabelle blinked back tears and traced the shape of a tiny compass that had been carved into one of the beams supporting the tunnels. A cross, with a heart-shaped arrowhead marking north, and a small notch directing them to what she assumed was east.

“These are the marks I mentioned,” Tarn said. “I’ve never followed them back to the exit, since we couldn’t fit. But I think it’s right.”

“It is,” Belle said softly. “They’re leading to a way out.”

The symbol aligned with the map in her head. But that’s not why she was fighting tears. Or why she laid her palm to the carving and caught her breath.

“Belle?” Emmi nudged her. “What is it?”

“Papa made these marks,” Belle whispered.

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