Page 106 of Fated to Monsters

Wes looks to Dash, the two of them making eye contact for an unbearably long moment.

“Someone tell me what’s going on or I’m going to go back there and find out for myself,” I say to them.

“She’s gone, Wren,” Wes finally spits out.

“Gone like, she got away?” My stomach turns at the idea of her possibly escaping and continuing to wreak havoc on demons wherever she is.

“No,” Dash confirms. “Gone like her body was ripped apart into so many pieces that when it was all said and done there was nothing left of her.”

My lips part but I find myself unable to speak words.

“It’s true,” Wes says. “Dash and I witnessed it.”

I tilt my head toward Bo, but he just shrugs.

“I was here with you, Birdie.” He rubs his hand over my back.

“You didn’t stay?” I ask him. “And continue to fight?”

He shakes his head. “My fight is where you are.”

Has hell frozen over and Bo been body swapped with someone else? How long until he runs out of the room to avoid his emotions?

I don’t push him, not yet. I don’t have the energy to chase after him if he decides to flee.

“So you’re saying Parla is dead. We all made it out alive. And Everest survived, too?” That’s when it hits me, we weren’t the only ones there. “Willow?”

“She’s fine,” Wes is the first to say. “Silas was waiting here for her, pissed that she went without him. But other than that, she’s okay. Everyone made it except…”

“Tremont,” Bo finishes where Wes left off. “Whatever magical bullshit you guys did, it killed him. He went down first, then you did shortly after. You had so much blood covering you I could barely tell what was yours.”

“Pippa? The wendigo?” I hold my breath because there’s no way we gotthislucky.

“They were alive when we left Prania. They were celebrating. The hunters and demons were celebrating together.” Wes folds his arms over his broad chest. “I wish you could have seen it, Wren. The sky, it was bright blue, the air, it was nothing like here in Arthlia, but it was fresher than it ever had been.”

“I don’t understand,” I admit.

“When Parla died, the barrier disappeared,” Dash says from his spot leaning against the bedpost.

“You did it, you really did it,” I choke on the words as more tears threaten to break free. I’ve never cried this much in my entire life. Well, except…

“No,” Bo places his large hand on top of mine. “You did it, Birdie. None of this would have been possible without you.”

“She killed my mom,” I blurt out. “And then she altered my memory to make me think demons did it.”

Bo removes his hand and wraps it around my shoulder, pulling me toward him. “It’s over now. She can’t hurt anyone else.”

“I’m so sorry,” I tell them. “I can’t believe how easily she manipulated me. I…” This is the part where I tell them the truth, where I admit that I was the reason Parla had as much power as she did. The part where they grow disgusted with what I had done and decide that they no longer want to be with me. I’d rather keep the truth concealed, never allowing anyone to know how terrible of a person I am, but how can I lie to the people I love and not give them the chance to make that decision for themselves?

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Dash lowers himself onto the bed next to me, sandwiching me between him and Bo.

Wes kneels at my feet and puts his hands on my thighs. “You did what anyone else would have. We don’t blame you for that.”

I sniffle and brace myself for the moment when I ruin everything. “That isn’t it,” I say. “There’s more. And I understand if you change your mind about me. But I can’t continue to keep this from you.”

Wes grips my legs tighter and forces my gaze on him. “We know, Wren. We know and we understand.”

I shake my head. “You can’t possibly.”

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