Page 135 of Mate of a Monster

“Go.” He doesn’t waste another second. He opens a portal—no point hiding magic now—and steps through with London in his arms.

The portal snaps shut behind him, and silence hangs over the cliffs for half a heartbeat.

“Well.” Sinner cracks his knuckles, looking deeper into the island. “Guess it’s just us now.”

“Let’s finish this,” I say.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Haide

We move fast, with Legend on my left, Creed on my right, and Zev bringing up the rear with a blade in each hand. Silver joined us after Knight’s exit, joining Sinner at the eastern ridge to cut off any retreat.

Which means it’s just the four of us pushing toward the cavern, and the Nightkin throbs harder with every step.

Closer.

The word vibrates through my chest cavity.

The stones know you’re coming.

I don’t have time to ask what he means, because every second matters. My temple jewels burn, pulsing to the same beat as my heart.

The ravine opens beneath our feet. Trees thin out to make room for black rock formations jutting from the earth as volcanic glass catches the light, speaking fluent violence. The air grows thick in my lungs, heavy with a scent I can’t name.

“There.” I jerk my head. “The cavern entrance.”

Legend’s hand catches my elbow. “We go slow. Check the approach.”

I want to fight him on it. Every inch of me is already lunging ahead, ready to tear down the distance and get to those stones before Arabella fucks us all further. But the bond keeps pressing against my ribs, steady and grim, carrying his caution, his fear. Even if I wanted to fight it, I couldn’t. Legend’s never scared of anything.

He’s scared of what this turns into if we fuck it up.

I’m scared of standing here and letting it happen.

I’m scared he’s right, and I hate that even more.

“Fine.” It comes out rough. “Slow.”

We pick our way down the ravine slope, loose stone shifting under our feet. The Nightkin’s pulse shifts from a steady throb to a frequency that rattles my bones.

“Almost there, Hellpet. Can you feel them?”

I can. The soul stones call through my blood like a second heartbeat, and it takes everything I have not to break into a sprint. The flowers are close now, their thorned vines visible in thick braids across the rock face, and the black-and-gold tar drips from it like an open wound.

Zev whistles low behind me. “That’s new.”

He’s both right and wrong. New to him, yes, but I saw the change before I headed back to Rathe with the Nightkin hitching a ride inside me. Even so, they’ve spread further now, crawling up the ravine walls in thick ropes, petals open like soldiers preparing for war.

My thoughts twist.

The warmth of the island’s decay cuts away, replaced by brine and salt and the stench of ocean water left to rot. I brace my hands over my belly as my stomach roils to keep myself from spinning out.

Legend stops moving.

“Hellpet…”

I feel it through the bond before I see it: a lurch in his chest, a skip in the rhythm of his power that drags my own heart sideways with it.