Our fellow monsters hold us responsible.
“Isabel Hardgreaves.”
Belle peers toward the king when he announces her full name, and now we all come to stand before his throne again. I hate this. It sucks to be standing and looking at where I once sat.
Those thrones belong to us, and I know I’m not the only one who wants to overthrow our uncle. Madoc’s eyes burn with the light of a thousand suns whenever he gazes at the fat oaf, and it won’t be long before he pulls a knife and gets us all killed. Enzo is poised as ever, and Nero hides all his emotions behind that calm, stony facade.
But I know they hate every moment of this too.
Those thrones belong to us. They’re our father’s legacy, but they were taken from us.
Yes, plunging a knife into my uncle’s heart right now would be a delicious victory, but I would only screw up Belle’s mission. She needs to get back home to her dad and rid the world of the darkness.
And we need all the help we can get.
“So, you managed to pass the first challenge. Well done. You truly are a testament to your race. All that delicious temptation, yet you still resisted. How?”
Belle glances up at the king smugly. “It’s not hard to see behind the lies. Happiness? More like concealed misery. Money? Loneliness. Love. Well, too much sweetness can make you sick, after all. Luxury? Hello, bills, you need to pay them! Freedom? All that high altitude would make you dizzy, and sex. Two words: genital herpes.”
Madoc and I snort. Well, I snort, but he giggles like a crazed serial killer stalking his prey down a dark alleyway. The king sneers at us, settling back on his throne. His fingernails click against the arm when he taps them.
“Very well. It appears you have somehow managed to restore my faith in humanity, showing me that some humans are, indeed, worth saving. You’re smart. I’ll give you that.”
She smirks. “I get it from my dad. He was a physicist.”
The king waves his hand. “Yes, yes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. However, I hope you are up to the next challenge I have in store for you. Are you ready to hear it?”
She smirks. “Hell yeah.”
His eyes burn at her insolent response. “Isabel Hardgreaves... for your next mission, you must seek the Sword of Vitality in the Supreme Mountains.”
Supreme Mountains. Oh, boy. Not a great place for humans. That jagged mountain range has the ability to grant any human superpowers, hence why they’re called the Supreme Mountains.
The sword he wants her to seek is known as the Sword of Vitality for a reason. It gives the wielder unsurmountable strength. It’s embedded deep in a rock of granite, granting the one who yanks it from its stone prison endless power and strength.
Of course, there is always a catch. The human will lose their soul to the Abyss, but even that small surge of power can make the wielder feel as if they are unstoppable. That nothing can get in their way.
They’ve even been known to move mountains, literally. It’s why the mountain range is a wasteland. It has been torn apart by too many overpowered humans who got a little carried away.
This will not be an easy task. Throughout history, humans have always sought strength and power. From the times of Hercules fighting Cerberus the three-headed dog to the modern-day era of comic book superheroes.
But ever my plucky little mate, Belle gives the king her best shit-eating grin and says, “Bring it on.”
She’s going to need me for this challenge. Madoc went on the last one, and Enzo is keeping Alice preoccupied. Also, Nero is going through some personal stuff right now, so I’m the best monster for the job.
Bring it on then, uncle.
Chapter fifteen
Belle
TheSupremeMountains?Morelike the not so supreme mountains.
I’ve seen better.
So, all I have to do is find the Sword of Vitality and resist its lure? Apparently, it grants the wielder unspeakable power, but who needs power when you’ve got book smarts?
I never saw the appeal in having power. That was more Gustave’s thing, and when I remember that awful being he’d turned into, I shiver. If Gustave had been on this mission instead of me, then he would have failed the moment he stepped into the Forest of Forbidden Fruit.