Page 17 of Their Fierce Little Monster

Dawn’s eyes are huge and fixed on me.

I meet her stare. “Years ago, your family line was attacked, Dawn. I have no idea which family struck first, but they turned your court into a grave. Everyone was killed.”

Dawn’s lips part, and she stares at me almost in disbelief.

“Your father sought me out before he perished. He broke into my house with you passed out in his arms. You were only a child.” I clear my thickening throat, picturing that night clear as day. The deaths, the agony. “He handed you to me and made me swear to take you away and keep you safe, no matter who came hunting.”

The Grimvale heirs just glare, because they know the story of how the Ice Fire Court was decimated in a single night. But not what spared their youngest heir.

“Dawn, your father gave you to me not as a prize or property, but as a vow. He sealed our bond in the old ways, removing your memories so you can forget a deadly past in order to survive.”

She shakes her head, falling to her knees, tears flooding her cheeks. And it breaks me, but I don’t stop.

I crouch beside the pyre and sweep my hand through the glowing ashes, collecting them in my palm. It burns and clings to my skin, but it doesn’t bother me.

Up on my feet, I drag a hard hand with the ash across my heart. Sharpness bites into my flesh.

A fiery gold instantly glints through the smear across my skin, and both guards pull back, cursing under their breaths.

A mark rises from my flesh, the ash falling away. Once gold, it now settles into a dark image of a skull. Beneath it, burning in gold in the old script, appear the words Dawn Starbourne.

“Dawn is betrothed to me,” I state loudly to ensure there’s no confusion. “Her father promised her to me when she came of age. It’s sealed in ash and blood. So you came here for nothing. She’s mine.”

A breeze flutters past, taking with it the name that scatters into the air, falling away from my chest.

Staring at my gorgeous girl, she’s folding forward, and I rub my clean hand down my face. For years, I protected her from the truth by following her father’s instructions. Here in the village, I watched over her, took walks with her through the woods, enjoyed suppers at her family’s home, and I’d collect berries for her from the wild woods, as she loved them.

But the last few months, things started feeling more intense. She’s less of a child needing guidance and more of a woman I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Now, fuck, she’s suffering because of me. “Dawn.” I step toward her, but Corvin blocks my path.

“This isn’t possible.” His jawline clenches. He’s glaring at me, shaking his head, then he turns to Rylan. “Viscount, we have a problem, which is going to turn into a bloodbath. I placed my claim over the girl in front of your men and Dawn, and as far as I’m concerned, that binds her to me.”

“And me,” Lian adds.

“Yet she’s mine,” I declare, all while Dawn kneels on the ground saying nothing, wiping the tears from her eyes. She might hate me, but I’m to buy her freedom, and maybe one day, she’ll learn to forgive me for the lies.

Rylan clears his throat. “My lord, I am not the man who decides which of you has the strongest claim.” Then he stares at me, fear behind that expression, having discovered who, exactly, I am. “And the king would declare a broken treaty should there be bloodshed in his territory, in front of villagers.” He’s rolling his hands together, obviously terrified but using the king to protect himself.

“I don’t give a fuck,” Corvin growls. “I’ll destroy anyone who stands in my way.” His gaze lands on me with those words.

Rylan grunts, pacing in a small area, muttering under his breath. “Well, my lords, maybe there’s another way. When multiple claims are placed on the same Offering, the claimants enter the Selection Portal with her. It will determine who holds the true claim. Of course, I have never used the incantation in the village before.”

“No.” Dawn’s face drains of more color as she speaks out, lifting her shocked face. “I don’t care. I want nothing to do with any of you.”

Her words rip me to shreds. For a heartbeat, the silence hangs in the air, peaceful and brutal all at once.

She rubs her face, glancing around as though she’s still making sense of everything, and part of me is scared we’ve pushed her to the breaking point.

“Well, you’ve lost your privileges in this village,” Rylan snaps with venom in his voice.

She’s trembling, that strong side of her pouring forward with her squaring shoulders. “That’s fine with me. I won’t be staying.”

“You have nowhere to go alone,” I remind her. “Outside villages, there are beasts, and other Viscounts won’t accept you. But I⁠—”

“I will take care of you,” Corvin interrupts.

“Do the ritual, then,” I counter. With these two Grimvale warriors, I can’t fight my way out of this, so I need time.