Page 1 of Monsters Carve Thrones

Prologue

The floor was cold. Rough stone bit into my knees, and every breath felt like a punishment. I didn’t know how long I’d been here. Time had stopped meaning anything after the third day without sleep… or maybe it was the fifth. Or maybe I was already losing my mind. Disobeying him wasn’t wise, but I’d keep doing it.

Chains rattled as I shifted, the iron cuffs clinking against the metal loop anchored to the stone wall. My wrists were raw beneath them, skin flayed open in some places. My blood had dried into the grain of the shackles. I didn’t feel it anymore. Not really.

I stared ahead into the dark, waiting for the door to creak open. Waiting forhim.

The monster who had taken me. The one who spoke Rafe’s name like it were a mere joke. He didn’t seem to entirely comprehend that he’d just stolen theone thingRafe Vaughan would set the world on fire for.

His fucking wife.

I coughed, my throat torn and aching, and the sound echoed too loudly in the room. A laugh followed, and goosebumps broke out over my arms.

“You look like hell, Sinclair.” His boots scraped slowly against the concrete. “But even like this… I can see why he went soft for you. You’re as beautiful as a rose, but with the sharpest thorns I’ve ever seen.”

I lifted my chin, even as pain pulsed down my spine. “You’re going to die for this.”

“You keep saying that,” he chuckled, crouching in front of me, his face too close. I could smell his cologne, sweet and sharplike spoiled fruit. His brown hair was pulled back into a messy, low bun, and his brown eyes burned into me. If he weren’t so goddamn evil, he’d be a ruggedly handsome man.

But hewasevil.

“Maybe I will die. But not before you realize something important.” His fingers dug into my jaw, forcing my gaze up to meet his empty, soulless eyes. “Rafe isn’t coming, sweetheart.” He smiled. And I broke.

For the first time since I’d been taken...I almost listened. This was a hell like nothing I’d ever known, and all I wanted was to escape or die.

“I’ve got good news,” he murmured, his gaze dragging down the front of my torn shirt, his smirk widening when I stiffened. “I think you’ve had enough of your timeout. Back to more…comfortable quarters.”

The way he said it made my stomach twist violently. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to be cuffed to his fucking bed again.

His eyes gleamed. “It’s time we stop pretending you’re getting out of here. No, I’m going to break you properly, little queen. Piece by fucking piece.”

I flinched as he reached for the shackles, unfastening them with a click. My arms fell limp at my sides, and I nearly collapsed, my body too battered to support my weight. Without warning, he slung me over his shoulder like I was weightless. I choked back a cry as my bruised ribs screamed in protest. He laughed.

“Bet you won’t disobey me again,” he purred.

I shut my eyes tightly. My fingernails dug into my palms as I fought against the memories that wanted to surface–the blows, the taunts, the taste of iron and salt on my tongue.

God, I missed Rafe.

I could still smell him if I tried hard enough. Still feel the press of his lips on mine, the way his voice rasped when he said he loved me. That memory was the only thing keeping me together.Barely.

But this monster wasn’t finished. He leaned close, breath hot against my back. “He’ll never find you,” he whispered. “And if he tries… he’ll be dead before he gets within a mile.”

I wanted to believe that was a lie. But my hope… it was starting to bleed.

Just like everything else.

Chapter 1

ADELA

I never thought I’d marry a man with blood on his hands. Let alone one who bathed in it.

And yet here I was, seated in a sun-drenched bridal suite wrapped in ivory curtains, the scent of roses filling my nose. I was preparing to walk down the aisle to Rafe Vaughan.

Behind me, Laura fastened the final pearl buttons on my gown. She could negotiate a hostile corporate takeover with one hand and apply false lashes with the other.

“You look like a fucking queen,” she said, stepping back with a grin that couldn’t quite hide the flicker of worry in her eyes. “One that the people would undoubtedly build sculptures in memory of.”