Page 1 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

Chapter 1

Ravv

I stared at the city in the valley below, watching the streets as humans flooded them. Though the city was smaller than my own, it must’ve had ten times the population.

And I needed to find one human female among them.

My lips flattened in a line. If there was a way to survive that didn’t require taking a mate—such as cutting off a finger or three—I would’ve done it without batting a damn eye.

But no amount of sacrifice would deter the assassin hunting me. My only chance was a human woman with magic that could hide mine.

So I had to take a mate.

Temporarily, of course.

I gave the city one last look, cursing the elf who sent me after the female, before heading out to find her.

Chapter 2

Laeli

I scrubbed my filthy dress with a rough bar of soap, wondering how I’d been so damn unlucky.

Most people had some amount of bad luck, but me?

Mine had yet to be good.

The dented metal bucket I scrubbed my dress in was shallow, and the water in it was filthy, yet I scrubbed anyway.

“You’re taking too long,” Jern grumbled behind me. Like me, he was a human with magic. Unlike me, he had dark brown skin and a mass of curly blue hair. I was pale, with long hair that was either red or orange, depending on the angle you looked at me from. While his eyes glowed electric blue, mine were the same reddish-orange as my hair.

Both of us were equally skinny thanks to starvation; we were locked in a glorified cellar beneath our kingdom’s castle.

It was below the dungeon.

And since the floors were dirt, everything was filthy.

Everything.

“Move faster, Laeli.” Gora smacked me on the arm, and I flashed her a glare. All I had on was my scratchy undergarment, but it covered all the important bits. It didn’t smell great, but we’d get clean clothing in a few days.

I’d rather wait it out than sit around naked while my undergarment dried. Nudity led to discomfort, and discomfort led to losing control of my magic, which was not an option.

Gora was nearly as pale as me, with shaggy brown hair and small eyes that glowed an intense greenish-black.

I said, “I’m really damn tired of the two of you teaming up against me. I would never have supported your relationship if I knew it was going to lead to this.”

This, meaning, me being the odd woman out. Constantly.

Having to stare at the walls of our jail every time they kissed.

Having to lay in the bed above theirs while they made love.

Veil, if I never had to think about someone having sex again, it would still be too soon.

The veil separated our world from the next, and was commonly used as a curse word.

Some part of me was happy for Gora and Jern, but I would’ve been much more enthusiastic about their relationship if I wasn’t forced to witness every single moment of it.

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