Page 115 of The Princesses of Ruin
“Shall we go see what our dear eldest monster did on her journey?” Lily asks.
Alyse bobs her head a few times. She likely already knows, but the women being together will be good. Alyse puts her hand on Kazimir’s chest and whispers to him before kissing the chin of his mask. He grips her hand, holding it tightly as the women leave, releasing it only when both their arms are fully extended.
His hand flops back down to his side and his head drops to his chest.
“Things didn’t go well?” I ask.
“Perfectly fine,” he mumbles. “We have a dragon scale, and a dragon in tow who believes my child is his property.”
I grunt another curse. Fucking demon just lets everything fly now.
Kazimir looks up at me and his eyes narrow. “You’re the very picture of comfort.”
I look down at the loose cotton pants slung low on my hips. “Apologies. It was all that was nearby.”
“I meant the arm,” he says. “Permanent?”
I nod. “Yours?”
He tugs on his mask and winces before dropping his hand back to his side. “I hope not.”
“Let’s see if we can do something about it,” I say, desperate to accomplish anything of worth.
“Adrik?” he asks, his voice pitched with worry.
“I heard him speaking. I believe he’s well, though I’m not sure where—”
“The lab,” we both say at the same time.
He scoffs. “We’ve been spending too much time around one another.”
I shrug. “Just enough time, I think, to become family.”
Emotion glitters in his eyes, but he swallows hard and banishes it.
“Let’s go get this fucking thing off.”
Chapter forty-one
Kazimir
I’ve never liked the moniker for the Nest, or the name of its soldiers, or Zane’s power display. Something about it all feels unsettling. Now that I see the giant spider crouched in the corner of the lab, stuffing an entire deer leg into its mouth, I understand.
Spiders are disgusting.
Giant spiders are disturbing.
I have a very rational desire to murder it.
Zane must see the look in my eyes despite them being mostly covered by the mask because he steps into my path.
“He’s our ally,” he says, holding one arm and six spindles out to block me.
His right arm is in a spider-silk sling bound tightly to his bare chest and there’s a visible divot in his shoulder.
“The fuck happened to you?” I ask.
“Probably similar to whatever the fuck happened to you,” he replies. His gaze shifts to Alastair and he frowns slightly. “Is Adrik the only one who didn’t get horrifically mauled?”
