Page 15 of Veil of Monsters

I know what she is not saying. The earth heir is there, and we need to get to him, which we can’t do if the city is under attack. Louie might even kill the boy because he is no doubt powerful. We need to get to the boy, soon, and waste no more time. “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

Lorenzo rubs his face. “One day you might need to tell me your secrets and why I trust your word.” He pauses. “Go clean up. We are leaving in twenty minutes.”

“Tonight,” Posy whispers to me before I stand up.

“I’m going to go for a shower,” I tell them both before I leave. The shower room is just off the bedroom, and I grab the bag of things Lorenzo said was from Zurine. Posy got a bag too, and I’m glad to see there is a change of clothes in there. Before I head into the bathroom, I overhear Lorenzo and Posy arguing. “She is okay? She looks pale.”

“Do you actually care, bat?” Posy snaps.

He doesn’t answer for a moment, and I feel almost bad for Posy calling him out like that. “I care more than you know, Posy.” She only snorts in response, like she doesn’t believe he cares at all. I shake my head at them both as I slide into the shower room. I have a quick shower, the warm water reminding me of my best friend, before getting changed. In the bag are several outfits in my size, but I choose the simplest one, a black long-sleeved top, tight laced corset vest that goes around it, and leggings. I finish it off with heavy knee-high boots that are in my size, and I braid my hair to keep it out of the way. Posy is waiting for me when I come back out. “Don’t be long out there. I have no interest in helping the fae, and you shouldn’t for long.”

Lorenzo whistles. “That doesn’t surprise me. You don’t seem the type to help the needy and helpless.”

Posy rolls her eyes at him. “You know nothing about me.”

“I see plenty,” he coolly replies. Posy huffs at him and leaves for the bathroom. Lorenzo storms out to the staircase, and I’m left with no choice but to follow him out to the garden as I get a bad feeling we’re going to be riding on Celeria to the fae. I stop at Lorenzo’s side.

“Once you get close to her,” I quietly begin, “she’s probably one of the best people I know. Posy can be as loyal and fierce as any Wyern.” Lorenzo watches me like he can’t believe that I’m talking about the same person he knows. “When you get your memories back, you’ll remember that. You will remember she drives you insane, but she’s all bark and no—” I pause. “Well, she might actually bite you, so maybe that saying isn’t the best one to use here.”

He laughs before shaking his head and whistling for Celeria. “To me, she acts like she is just all bite.”

I straighten my shoulders. “She’s been through a lot at the hands of the witches. You’re half witch.” He is quiet. I watch the skies, dark clouds forming in them. It looks like it might rain on this peaceful city. “If you can prove yourself to her, prove that you’re loyal to her, that you’re on her side, there’s nothing she won’t do for you. Just give her some time. She was owned by witches for most of her life.”

“I don’t want to own her,” he defends.

I touch his shoulder. “She might see the mate bond as being another prison with another male witch.”

Lorenzo nods, his eyes swirling with thoughts as Celeria lands on the garden with a thump that shakes the ground. She still looks at me like she would eat me for a snack with one bite, and I very reluctantly climb on her back behind Lorenzo. This flight is shorter than the last, but I feel sicker with every second that passes.

We sweep around through the mountains, through a massive cavern, to another part of the cities. This one isn’t as tall and as well built as the other. It’s smaller, with more structured houses in rows and gardens stretched far, filled with farm land. We pass dozens of fields filled with sheep, cows, and other livestock. Older, ancient-looking buildings stand around the edges of the city, and I don’t know which one of the two areas I’ve seen is the best. This city is clearly designed to feed the others.

I see an influx of people gathering on the edges of the city on several fields, red tents in every direction spread about in no order. Lorenzo lands right on the edge of the campsite, helping me down off Celeria, who snarls at me before flying up into the air. Many people around us gasp and look in horror at Celeria as she flies away. “Fairy tales to them. Must be frightening,” Lorenzo murmurs.

“You sound like you feel sorry for the fae,” I comment.

“I do,” he replies, but he doesn’t add to it. Lorenzo leads me over to Zurine, who is helping bandage a young girl’s leg. We stop at her side, watching her touch the bandages once, frost spreading across the fabric until it is frozen in thick blue ice. The little girl, who can only be seven or eight, stops sobbing. “Water heals and ice cools. That should help with the burns, and I will find you later to change it.” The girl nods, looking up at her through burnt blonde hair. She is covered in ash and dust and many cuts. “Did you find my mommy yet?”

Zurine hesitates long enough to tell me that no one will be finding this girl’s mother. She lies all the same. “No, but I’m going to continue looking while you rest.” Zurine softly strokes her hair. “You should stay here in this tent. I’ll come back for you and take you over to the other children later.”

She sobs once, wiping her snotty nose. “With my mommy?”

Zurine strokes her hair. “If I can.”

We walk away together and Zurine stops, turning back to me. “I’m glad you’re here. There are few Wyern who want to help the fae or mortals or any lower supernaturals that have made it here.” She pauses. “You have ice powers like me, and you’ll be very useful in helping the injured. Many of them are burnt from the fires or just outright hurt.”

“I’ll help where I can. I’m new to being fae, so I’m not too great with my powers, but I will try my best. I thought I only had the fire power until recently. Ice is my second power,” I explain to her.

“Ice is your strongest power. Fire is nothing compared to it,” Zurine sharply corrects. “And if you only have basic knowledge, it’s better than nothing. Find who you can. It’s chaos.”

She leaves with Lorenzo towards the thick of the groups, and I lift my shoulders before going in another direction, where I can hear people asking for help. For a good hour, I help anyone I can find, but there is always another injured. So many of them have terrible stories of the city, of people they love being killed, and I can barely stand to hear them all. I stop for a drink, only to have a familiar face stop next to me, pouring himself a drink of something that isn’t water. “I’m not surprised you survived.”

“It’s been a time, Calliophe Sprite,” Grimshaw comments, with his yellow eyes searching mine. He looks tired, less polished than when I saw him last in his club. Where Emerson kissed me for the first time and claimed I was his. I fell for him so much on that night and thought about that kiss over and over for more than one reason. I was addicted to Emerson from the beginning, and I miss him. My soul misses his. “I’m guessing Emerson is around here somewhere, ready to kill me for even looking at you. Did you figure out he is your mate yet?”

“Yes,” I answer, not wanting to go into detail. “And you knew I was from the Rift. How?”

He sighs. “Not that it matters anymore, but my family were servants to the goddess, and the goddess had eyes like you. I had drawings of her that my mother sent. You are the image of her, and she came from the Rift. She came on wings that many believed were dragons, but I suspect they were more likely the creatures that fly around here. Or something else. She has been given so many names over the years, so many fairy tales made about her, it’s hard for many to know what is true. My race knows her as the original goddess who came from another world for peace, but did not find it here.”

So, it’s true. I’m a descendant of the dragon goddess. “It was said she bred with many, many lovers, but I’d guess you were from the fae line. The royal fae did kill most of them off when the goddess died, but clearly, one survived.”

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