Page 4 of Fates of Monsters

Horses neigh and dig their hooves into the ground as I lean my head on his shoulder, offering him my drink and some of my food. “I’m fine. Drink and eat.” He does as I ask. A first for everything. “The healer said you were near death. It’s been three days since then.”

His eyes tighten and I swear the shadows crawl to him. “No one hurt you?”

“No. They knew I was a descendant of the goddess, and they decided to be kind to us. They gave me directions to the veil, where I suspect the sword is, and that’s…” I drift off when he looks confused. “Shit, I forgot you don’t know this part.”

“Doe, start at the beginning,” he suggests. I smile before filling him in on everything I’ve learnt, all the visions and everything else. When I’m done, he picks me up and pulls me onto his lap before taking a bite out of the bars that I was given. Emerson pulls a face as he swallows the barely edible bars. And I don’t blame him. This food is disgusting, but I’m extremely thankful for it, especially when I learned that they’re starving here.

“I don’t think the veil is too far off now.” I take a bite of the bar when he offers it to me. “Dollisa told me it was about three and a half days’ ride.”

“We could fly the last part,” Emerson offers. “My magic is back, so it doesn’t matter either way, as I can defend us both.”

My eyes drift to the distant light that appeared only a day ago. “I don’t know what we’re walking into in the veil, but flying in might be a bad idea. We should try to fit in. As much as I think Dollisa and her husband were helping, they could have been lying to us for all I know. The goddess’s vision showed me a veil, the sword hidden behind it, but nothing else about this place.”

“You’re hoping to find your parents there?”

I nod, leaning on his chest. He tucks me into him, and his scent wraps around me. I let myself relax for the first time in days. “I’m happy you’re awake and healed. I can’t do this on my own.”

He lifts my head with his finger under my chin until I’m looking into his eyes. He leans down, passionately kissing me until I’m breathless when he pulls away. “You never needed me, Calli. Together, we are stronger, but you are a fucking amazing female all on your own.” He nudges my nose, and I can’t help but smile. “I know you’re still lost in your head about everything that’s happened, but imagine a future where we don’t have to fight every single day.”

“What do you see for our future, Emerson?”

His thumb runs down my neck. “I want to travel the world with you, show you what makes the world special. I want my people to cheer and celebrate the change of having a fae queen, and for them to celebrate when we have children. If you want them. I want a future where we laugh every single day, we have fun and just enjoy each other. We have never had that, and fuck, I can’t wait for it. A future with you is worth the wars.”

“And the Conquest of the Sea?” I breathe. “I would love a lifetime of never dealing with the elemental gods again. I can see why the goddess locked them away.”

“Fucking bastard sea god,” Emerson growls. “He will pay for taking my memories. One day, he will pay.” The vow sends shivers down my spine.

“I met the air goddess, Posy’s mother, and I thought she was good,” I mutter. “She can’t be trusted. We’ll have to keep Paxton safe in the city after the war. Make sure he never goes to his father. I need to explain it all to Posy.”

“Your bat is my brother’s mate,” Emerson muses with a small smirk. We both look at each other and burst into laughter.

They are both such opposites. She is all fire, and he is more like the sea, cool and calm. “We shouldn’t laugh, but I’m pretty sure someone’s having a laugh making those two fated mates. I’m pretty sure they’re either going to destroy each other or be an epic love story.”

Emerson kisses me. “I remember a time when you held a dagger to my throat and hated me. Maybe the fates know us better than we do and they are both exactly what each other needs.”

“Maybe,” I muse, brushing my lips down his jaw. His hands tighten on my hips.

“Behave, you’re too weak for anything,” he growls. I nip his neck and he growls louder, lightly tickling me until I’m laughing and pushing him away. He sighs, leaning back. “Lorenzo was obsessed with fated mates as a kid. He read book after book on them, and he will figure out a way to make it work. I don’t want to be around them while they figure out the entire mating process.”

I shiver. “Neither do I. I love them both, but anyone nearby is going to get hurt.”

He looks out at the grey expanse of mud and grey skies. There’s no sun, no stars or moon. It’s just nothing. No clouds. Just empty grey skies. How they grow anything here is beyond me. From the taste of these bars, anything they have grown is pretty disgusting. Dawn, well, the grey light, rises soon after, and Emerson joins me on the cart seats, taking over the reins before we get going again. Every few hours, we stop to give the horses a break before carrying on, the light in the distance getting closer. It’s not like sunlight, but something clearer and almost white.

Shimmering beyond the horizon, the light is so close, and the path ends, leaving us with rocks to climb to go any further. We let the horses go, leaving the cart in the mud before we start climbing the rocks. By the time we get through the rocks and back to mud on the other side, the wind is chilled, and it’s freezing. I’m thankful for the cloak as I pull it tighter around myself. Emerson keeps his blanket wrapped around his neck, and he glances at me. “Here, take—”

“Don’t you dare take it off. You’ll freeze and die,” I cut him off. “I’m okay. We just need to keep moving.”

He grumbles at that, but he takes my hand, pulling me close for his body heat. “We should fly.”

I shake my head. It’s too windy, and it would rip into his newly healed wings. We both know it, but the stubborn Wyern can’t see past wanting to look after me. Thankfully, the veil slowly comes into view. The veil is huge. It looks like a wall of water, all of it shimmering high into the sky in the shape of a triangle. Such a stark contrast against the darkness behind it and all around. Where we get closer, I notice that there are mountains everywhere, capped with snow. The veil is nestled in the mountains. Something seems to drum within my chest the closer we get, like my blood is coming alive. There are several houses built out of stone, old towers poking high into the sky from the mountains. Something about them looks familiar, and it takes me a while to realize that I’ve seen those spiked towers before in the goddess’s memories. “This was once a city.”

Emerson looks at me for a second. He doesn’t question how I know. “This is what will happen to our world if we don’t stop Louie. I’m sorry for what he has become. I know you love him.”

My heart hurts. “He isn’t Louie anymore. Just a shell with a monster within. I’m a monster hunter and I will stop him. Our world can’t become like this. I have a feeling the sword is what I need to fix everything, and I can’t leave without it. Maybe it’s why I’m here. Louie has the crowns, but the sword… it is more than the crowns. The crowns are seven broken pieces, and the sword has never been damaged. I’ve never believed in fate, or any of this, but I think I was born to stop this. To stop him.”

Emerson kisses the top of my head. “You won’t be alone facing him, and you’re right, the boy is gone.” He suddenly pulls out his sword, and darkness spreads around us like a mist. I follow his gaze to see the outline of two people in front of the veil, the light making it hard to see much of them.

A male voice rings out in the darkness, and Emerson tenses. “Speak, or you will be killed.”

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