Page 14 of Veil of Monsters

I remove my teeth and cock, taking a step away from the bed. Breathless, I wrap my body in clothes from my shadows, and she frowns, sitting up, pulling the surrounding blanket across her body. She looks vulnerable and fully fucked. I want to stay here with her, I realize with a shock. “Emerson, don’t leave. I love you… I know you don’t remember me, but I know you love me.”

The fucked-up part is that I do feel something intense for her, and for her own good, I should leave. I need to make my feet move away from her. I know if I climb into bed with her, I won’t leave until she is on my throne, my queen, but I don’t trust her yet. “I have a war to plan, and you are a distraction.”

The last thing I see are her soft eyes before I walk out of the room, and I tell myself not to look back. Lorenzo and Posy are gone, thankfully, and I get to the rooftop for some air. It doesn’t help. I can smell her on me, and I’m obsessed all over again. Fae… I shouldn’t have a fae mate. I shouldn’t only want a fae female. She claims to be Aurora, but that can’t be true. I’d know if it was her soul returned. But the curse is broken, and nothing makes sense. I must focus on the war, or we will all be dead.

ChapterNine

PRINCESS NERELYTH MIST

Strong choppy blue waves push the red ship through the stormy seas as tornadoes whip around the edges, never touching the ship but just threatening to. As far as I can see, in every direction, there are nothing but intense storms the seas are well known for. It might be a dream, but the sea feels angry. It feels furious and I have to wonder why. It’s bitterly cold as soggy rain pelts against my skin, and I watch the sea like it might reveal an answer to me. I don’t want to look back because I know he is here, and he called me into this dream to taunt me. In some ways, he is still a child like that.

A cry makes me spin around, and I spot Nerelyth hiding in the corner of a room on top of the ship, made of glass. She is naked, hidden mostly in a thin blue blanket, and she’s shaking from head to toe, clutching the blanket to herself. Her beautiful face is covered with bruises, and bites line her neck. Her long hair has tangled knots falling around her shoulders. Goddess above. “Nerry?”

My feet finally move, and I rush to go to her, only for an icy hand to slam out in front of me and shove me back onto the deck. I land on my ass, looking up as Louie tuts down at me. “You should always say hello to the host before the other guests.”

I keep my emotions hidden; I can’t let him see how much I hate him in this moment. How much I wish this weren’t real. “Let me go to her, Louie.”

Louie leans on the rails. “She can’t see you. She wouldn’t be crying so much if she could. Nerelyth cries a lot. It’s rather annoying, and if seeing you would help fix her, I’d allow it. But then she might get some silly idea of hope that she can escape me.” Louie walks around me, but I can’t stop looking over at Nerelyth, a horrible, sickening feeling of what has happened crawling up my throat. I can feel the ship moving underneath me, drifting through the sea, but it’s like the world has paused as I stare at my best friend. I wonder if this is real or whether it’s more of his illusion. I can’t believe he has her. I just can’t. Because that would be admitting that there’s absolutely nothing I can do to save my friend right at this moment and Louie is eviller than I ever could have thought he would be.

Climbing to my feet, I hold my head high. I refuse to cower to him like he wants. He watchs the sea, looking so relaxed. “When I was a boy, I always wanted to go traveling. You promised me that I’d see the entire world. All the cities you told me about, how much you wanted to see them too.” He smiles over his shoulder at me. I don’t smile back. “Little did the boy know I’d take myself, with more power than anyone in this world, and destroy those cities. I’ve seen more than you could ever have shown me, and I will make sure this world never forgets my name.”

“There won’t be anyone left to remember it if you kill them all. Where are you going?” I demand. If I can find out which city he is heading to, perhaps I can tell Emerson and we could save the people living there. It would be worth a chance. Emerson might not be able to help, but any warning could save a few thousand who manage to get out of the cities.

I wonder if the cities are ready for an attack after what happened to Ethereal City. They don’t have any royals left to lead them, but they have leaders in the cities. For the first time, I remember that Emerson might have made a deal to never take the throne, but he is still the last fae royal in this world. The throne belongs to him, but I’m not sure he will take it, not with how much he hates the fae at the moment. If he could remember the truth about his mother, not just my stories he isn’t sure he believes, he might take the title of their king for her. It’s what she would have wanted for him, to be the king both the fae and Wyern need. He was born to unite them all. And uniting them now, against Louie’s army, would be our best chance of surviving. It’s clear the sea has sided with the Rift.

Louie doesn’t answer me, and I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. I cross my arms. “Let Nerelyth go. I’ll come to you, but only if you let her go.”

“You lie.” He has a point. “Why would I do that? She’s my new pet, and I need an heir to claim this world. She can be rather useful in that aspect, even as unwilling as she is.” Sickness rises up my throat at what he’s implying. “I tried with her sister, but she was irritating. Far less obedient than I’d wanted a wife to be, and she annoyed me enough that I lost my temper.” He killed her, he means. “I would choose another one of the siren king’s daughters, but I killed them all. It doesn’t matter. Nerelyth is the only one able to conceive children.”

Not for the first time, I can only ask one thing. “Why?”

The wind moves Louie’s blond hair. “I want to claim the land and sea, and I need a princess of the sea to make sure no one can fight my reign. Nerelyth is useful in that aspect, and she’ll be mine until her belly swells and a male child is born. Then I’ll kill her.” He’s so cold, so callous in how he speaks. Like none of it means anything to him, and I wonder how many mortal emotions he even has left. I can only watch him with horror. “Nerelyth looked after you as much as I did. She cared for you. You can’t hurt her like this.”

“Why would that matter? I’ve already hurt her multiple times.” He widens his mouth into a smile, showing off his shiny teeth, which are rotting underneath, black veins crawling up each of them. “You brought me up, got my father killed. You failed to save my mother, who is dead now, and I want you dead. I will kill you, Calliophe. When are you going to learn there is nothing you can do to save me anymore? You are too late.”

My mind stutters; my foster mom is gone? Shaking my head and wiping my tears away, I look back at Nerelyth, who is staring at the sea with an empty look in her eyes. There’s no hope in her eyes any longer. I wish she could see me. “I’ll save you.”

I promise her with everything I have in this horrid place. This will not be her end. Even though I know she cannot hear me, I need the words to be spoken into the world. I hope that some part of her soul can hear them. Louie laughs and before I’ve thought about it, I spin around and punch him hard in the face. He doesn’t defend himself, out of pure shock I’d bet, and he doesn’t move even with the hit. He is a wall of iron. Louie touches his cheek, black blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth, and he grins at me, a face full of murderous contempt. “Ah, finally you realize that you need to fight me. Fight me and die, Calliophe. It’s our destiny to die together.”

I look at Nerelyth one more time before turning back to Louie. “My destiny lies with another king, one far stronger and better than you.” The ship rocks as I turn, throwing myself over the edge and letting the angry sea swallow me into its depths.

I wake up with Posy leaning over me, her eyes worried. When she sees I’m awake, she sighs and sits back on the bed, blowing out a deep breath. “Louie again? Is the boy ever going to leave you alone?”

“No. He’s not a boy anymore. He is a monster.” I barely get to the edge of the bed before I throw up. Thoughts of what he’s doing to Nerelyth run over and over again in my mind. I can’t push the thoughts out, as she holds my hair back, stroking my back until I’ve heaved up all of my dinner and I can finally breathe. The feeling of sickness will not leave, and I don’t expect it to.

Posy throws a blanket over the sick and carefully helps me out of the bed, into the living room where Lorenzo is waiting. “Were you throwing up? Are you not well?”

“Bad dreams,” I answer, looking at Posy, who is frowning, and she is pale. I don’t need to tell her what I’ve seen, what I know is happening to my best friend, for her to know it must be bad if I’ve been throwing up over the memories.

Lorenzo clears his throat. “That’s a shame because Emerson sent me. He wants me to take you to see the fae who have come into the city. You can help them like you wished.” He looks at Posy. “You are welcome to help too.”

She barely even looks at him. “No.”

Posy strokes my back softly, trying to comfort me as I realize I’m slightly shaking. But nothing will help, because my friend is going through hell right now and I can’t save her. I don’t have a way to save her. Lorenzo can’t do anything. Not even Emerson can. He’s too busy trying to save the rest of us. I can’t help my friend. Not unless I leave here and go straight for Louie, and he’ll kill me before I get any chance of saving Nerelyth. He wants an heir, and he will hurt her until she is pregnant with one. Goddess above, Nerry. No, I need to figure something out. There must be a way to save her, but first I have to tell Lorenzo some of what I learnt.

Lorenzo hands me a glass of water. “Thank you.” I drink it before clearing my throat. “Don’t ask me how I know, but Louie and the army of the Rift are on the sea and going to one of the fae cities. You should warn them both to evacuate before he gets to them. They will be destroyed.”

Posy sharply looks at me. “Junepit City?”

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