Each monster watches me spellbound for a few moments. Then Nero sighs, peeling his back away from the wall. “She’s talking about the time that human clown shot me.”
Enzo nods. “Ah, yes. Please forgive us, Belle. We know that memory will be pretty recent for you, but for us, that night happened over a century ago.”
Over a century ago? So my father was right. Ofcoursehe was right. He’s a genius, but it’s still no less surprising.
My monsters have been pining for me for one hundred years while I only had to yearn for a few months.
And I thought I was suffering. My poor monsters. If only I had tried to come sooner, then maybe fifty years would have passed instead of a hundred. Hell, no, ten.
I can’t feel guilty now. Father and I had to plan for months. It took us weeks to even procure the solar-paneled car.
Plus, humans are getting restless. They’re going rogue as the darkness is starting to get to them. We had to avoid being attacked on the road as we made the trip to the old university.
Still, it doesn’t matter. It’s a miracle that I even made it this far into the Abyss.
“So, your wounds have healed by now, I suppose?” I say to no one in particular.
Nero shifts on his feet uncomfortably. “Yeah. I’m over it.”
I don’t know how someone can be over being shot, but so long as he’s healthy again.
I glance around the room, trying to make out the walls, but they’re still shadowed. “Where are we exactly? This can’t be your castle, right?”
Each monster stills at my words and I peer up. “What?”
The others look at Enzo, their leader and head king, and now the monster settles his oranges eyes on me. Nothing but regret gazes back at me, and already I know what he’s going to say.
“Belle... we are no longer kings. We were overthrown by our uncle not long after we returned. Our subjects lost trust in us, and as a result, we were banished to live at the fringes of the Abyss. That was why I was able to find you. I sensed you the moment you stepped into the wraith forest. I’m... sorry...”
He’s sorry? He has no reason to apologize.
It does pose a problem, though. If they had still been in a position of power, then they may have been able to help me rid the darkness from the human world. But now their uncle has taken over.
Shit.
I guess finding my way to them was just the beginning of my hurdles.
My troubles aren’t over just yet.
Chapter four
Madoc
Finally.Mybeautyhasreturned to me. Now I no longer have to pine for her. She’s mine all over again.
I haven’t been myself since we last saw her. Even when our fucking uncle stole our thrones, I didn’t care. I was too numb, too heartbroken to even fathom what was happening.
Which was probably why we lost. I’m the best fighter of all my brothers, but I know they were heartbroken too. Even Nero, even though he likes to pretend that he doesn’t care about our mate.
It was just so easy for our uncle to turn our whole court against us and seize our thrones. We’d all lost the will to live.
But now she is here again, and I can rejoice. I even felt a little of my old spark return. It has definitely returned to my dick, that’s for sure.
I’m going to fuck her brains out. When we finally get a moment alone.
Besides, it’s my turn to guard the house. We all work in rotation. Three of us will hunt wraiths while one of us remains at the cabin.
No doubt some wraith or two will try and steal the one thing we have left in the world. Life at the edge of the Abyss isn’t pleasant. But I’m loving the proximity to the human world.