Page 46 of Their Fierce Little Monster

“I should leave you, then,” I say, strolling out of her room because now no one can say I’m a fucking bastard who doesn’t leave when she asks me to.

Once I’m out in the hallway, her words reach me. “You never answered my question.”

I turn on my heel, face her, and place my hand on the doorframe. “I don’t answer things I already know the answer to. It’s terrible for the mystery.” Then I head down the hall.

And that’s when I realize I’m in the worst fucking kind of trouble.

All while the feral beast inside me is beyond thrilled.

Chapter

Twelve

DAWN

The loud knock at the door has me jumping out of my skin.

I fly off the couch in seconds, half expecting Lian or Corvin to burst into the room, even if it’s locked. I’m surprised I haven’t seen them yet this morning. After enduring the most chaotic day of my life yesterday, I fell asleep early last night and woke up feeling more refreshed than I have in a long time. The hot shower was heavenly. Back in the village, I was lucky if the water was barely warm.

But now, I approach the door. “Who is it?”

The knock comes again, more persistent, and I figure I have to find out who it is one way or another. I pull the door open slightly, and that’s where I find a girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, in a crisp white apron over a black dress. At first glance, all seems ordinary, her features cute, dark bob hair swaying around her jawline, except she stares at me with completely white eyes. And her hands end in elongated claws, her skin faintly scaled, her toes tipped with the same claws as she stands there barefoot.

A small gasp scrapes the back of my throat as we both stare at one another. Can she even see me, or is she blind?

“Hello?” I finally say.

She suddenly beams with a smile, lips peeling back over needlelike teeth, and for a split second, I can’t tell if she’s here to eat me or not.

“I’m Insy,” she finally says and draws a rolling trolley into view from beside the door, filled with covered plates. “I’m here with your breakfast. You’re Dawn, right?”

I nod and pull back, opening the door for her. She enters, her claws clicking on the wooden floorboards, and I can’t stop staring at how perfectly curved they are.

“You’re—”

“Very late, I know,” she answers while wheeling the trolley into my room. “It’s caused a scandal in the kitchen, as we were just informed this morning of our guests, and now we’re all running around because nobody tells us anything. And these rooms have sat empty for the past two weeks, so we didn’t expect anyone. I apologize, as I was meant to feed you yesterday on your arrival, but never mind, we’ll make up for it today.”

She talks fast, her voice almost squeaky, and already I know I like her.

“I did enjoy the fruit I found in my room, though it was a bit old, so I’m not going to starve,” I explain. “I hope it was all right to eat it.”

She exhales, her shoulders dropping as she pauses near the table and turns to face me. “If you hadn’t eaten it, you might have fainted from starvation, and I just can’t have that on your first day.” She grins and watches me shut the door. “But fruit isn’t real food, and I won’t allow you to wither under my watch. Come, let me prepare your meal.”

“Thank you,” I say, approaching her, curious about what she’s brought me because the talk of food has made me suddenly ravenous.

She’s fiddling with setting cutlery on the table, asking, “You’re the nonhuman girl, I hear.” Taking a side glance at me, she tilts her head, and it’s slightly disconcerting staring into those white eyes.

“I guess that’s correct,” I answer, though technically, I’m still uncertain about exactly what I really am. “Evidently, I’m the last of my kind, which isn’t as exciting as it sounds.”

Insy laughs, her needle teeth showing. “I can imagine it might put you in a compromising situation. Or extremely wanted, which explains why you’re traveling with three warriors.” She sets a plate on the table and taps the chair with her clawed hand. “Now, come and sit down.”

I do so because my stomach groans, and in front of me is a bowl with long, transparent, glistening noodles. Every strand is thicker than I’m used to and studded with green spikes. Never have I seen food like this.

“Oh…”

“It’s not finished,” she says almost excitedly, opening a container and proceeding to shake its contents over the noodles. And the things have tiny legs that are kicking, scattering through the dish. I rear back at the sight of the black beetles.

“I can’t⁠—”