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We both turn as a slightly panicked, stern voice calls, “Please hurry. I’m running out of ways to deal with all these monsters.”
Grim.
Cora giggles and grabs my hand. “Come on. Let’s rescue my minotaur before he kills them simply to shut them up.”
Smiling, I lace my fingers with hers and follow her.
It’s just like old times.
Chapter
Fifty-Two
CORA
Happiness overflows my heart and soul, and I can barely contain it. It’s not only because Kai is alive and well, but also because she found her own bright spot of joy. After Grim knocks on the door, we walk out of the room and settle in the courtyard. Someone decided to prepare some food while Kai and I were in the bathing room. I suspect it was Nero, because the naga has taken to cooking in a way I never expected. I certainly won’t complain since I get to eat all his tasty meals.
“Are you hungry?” I ask Kai, gesturing toward the table. “Nero is an excellent chef.”
Nero grins from where he hangs from a fruit tree, his large, iridescent body draped through the branches like a garland. Seeing him grin from his position reminds me of when he dragged me up one of the fruit trees with him. He’d taken the sweet fruit and squeezed the juice over my body before licking it off. The memory makes me flush, and Nero’s grin widens like he knows what I’m thinking.
“My mate flatters me only because the very first meals I cooked were atrocious,” Nero adds, flashing a softer grin toward my sister. “She’s grateful I’m no longer trying to kill us.”
Kai giggles, and the sound makes something in my heart flare. I never thought I would hear that sound again. The Kai who leapt from the king’s tower had lost the ability to laugh, but this Kai is stronger and happier. I’ve never been more grateful for the stubborn persistence of monsters. I suspect they helped her heal in a way I never could have, and I’ll be forever grateful for the four monsters who take up residence between us in the courtyard.
“So, you never mentioned how everyone met,” I say, grabbing a handful of food and settling onto a bench. “I can tell our story if you’d like.”
“I don’t think there’s a monster alive who doesn’t know your story,” Weyland comments with a boyish grin. The werewolf is interesting and would be scary in his appearance if not for the genuinely sweet expressions he wears. Of course, I have no doubt he can go feral at a moment’s notice, but it’s easy to see why Kai would fall in love with him. Rook, in contrast, mostly just terrifies me. The only reason I can stomach being near him is because of the clear adoration he has for my sister. Grim described him as the boogeyman, and I understand why. Rook seems like the sort of monster you whisper about, not the one you fall in love with, but here he is.
Kai smiles at her monsters and shrugs. “There’s not much to tell. Each one of them found me. Kaito was first, and he nursed me back to health. Weyland appeared a little while after I grew strong enough to explore. Dade came in the midst of a battle. And Rook . . .” She glances at the shadow monster and smiles. “Rook found me in the shadows.”
I tilt my head. “As if fate guided them home.”
“Fate indeed,” Rook murmurs, and his voice feels like the cool shadows that leak around his feet.
Grim grumbles something under his breath, and I turn toward him with a raised brow. “Care to share, minotaur?” I ask teasingly.
“We should discuss the hunting parties and come up with a plan to deal with them,” he declares, his heated eyes on me. I see a promise for pleasure and a need to act in his gaze. Yes, there’s still a threat we must face, but at least we won’t ever face such struggles alone.
Never again.
“Grim is right.” I sigh, focusing on Kai. “You said Merryl is leading them?”
Kai nods. “We ran into him once, and he tried to take me, thinking I needed to be saved. I don’t think he understood that I was with them by choice, not until he came to our cabin and attacked. He tried to steal me and nearly killed Kaito in the process.”
I crinkle my nose up. “Why is he so interested in fighting now? The spineless bastard didn’t help when . . . well, you know.”
I see anger flicker in Kai’s eyes—it’s not directed at me, but at a man who promised to love and protect her. In the end, he’d done nothing of the sort, so he doesn’t get to play the hero now.
“Yes, well, apparently he’s more of a fool than I thought.”
Dade snorts under his breath, clearly in agreement. When we glance at him, he nods. “A fool indeed.”
Zetros speaks up from his place at the table. “So what do we do about this human and his hunting parties?”
Krug sniffs. “They are well organized and strategic for humans, using their strengths. When we face them, they’ll be prepared.”
“But they can’t hope to take on ten monsters and two powerful sisters,” Weyland points out. “Kai’s and Cora’s powers can—”
