Page 73 of Monsters Carve Thrones

I nodded once, heart pounding. “Thank you.” Her gaze flicked to the cuffs on the floor. Her jaw tightened.

Olesya grabbed her linens and turned toward the door. Before she stepped out, she glanced back at me, eyes heavy. “Don’t lose your fire,” she said. “You’re going to need it to burn this fucking place down.”

Then she was gone, the door clicking shut. I stared at the tea, then slowly reached for it. My eyes stung with tears immediately when I realized that it smelled like jasmine and honey. And for the first time in weeks, I took a sip of something warm that hadn’t been forced on me.

***

RAFE

The wallpaper was starting to peel in the corner. I couldn’t stop staring at it. Gold leaf curling like burnt paper, mocking me with how easily everything fell apart. Everything.

My heart was beating too fast. My fucking hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I pressed the heel of my palm to my eye socket. Hard. The Oxy was dulling some of the sharper edges, but not enough. Not the ones inside. My skull still felt like it was full of glass.

Nico paced near the window, phone clutched in his hand like it had answers he couldn’t find. “I’m looking at two properties in Montenegro, both with ties to Waylon’s old suppliers. One’s coastal. The other–”

“–If we even fucking find her,” I growled, my voice hoarse and ragged, “she might be so destroyed I won’t know how to help her.”

Silence.

I stood. The room swayed.

“This is an evil fucking world we live in. Do you get that, Nico? This isn’t a movie. There’s no goddamn clean rescue. These men are monsters beyond belief. Brutal. And he’s hurting her.” My voice cracked. I pointed a shaking finger at nothing. “He’shurting her, Nico. Right fucking now. And what if she never comes back from it? What if I find her and it’s too late?”

Nico’s jaw locked, but he didn’t say a word.

Laura stepped in from the hallway. She looked pale, but her voice didn’t waver. “I know her better than any of you. And I’m telling you, Adela Sinclair can surviveanything.”

I snapped. “No, youthinkshe can!” I shouted, spinning toward her. “You think she’s invincible because she acts like it. But none of usknowwhat he’s doing to her. And I can’t fucking take it!”

My fist collided with the mirror before I could stop myself. The glass exploded. Shards rained down, catching light, catching blood.

“Jesus Christ, Rafe!” Nico barked.

Blood dripped from my hand. I barely felt it. “Just give them the black card,” I said through clenched teeth, panting. “I don’t give a shit. Let them charge fifty grand for the damage. I’ll buy the whole fucking hotel if it means I don’t have tofeelthis.”

I didn’t know what I was saying anymore. My mind was on fire. All I saw was her, tied down, bleeding, and crying. I didn’t even know what image was real anymore. All I knew was that I was too late. My imagination was my worst fucking nightmare.

“She is theonlyfucking woman I have ever loved!” I roared, throwing a chair back against the wall. It splintered. “No one has ever made me feel what she has.No one!She is the only goddamn thing that matters to me, and she’s in the hands of thatfucking monster!”

My body was on overdrive. The drugs pulsing like lightning through my bloodstream. My vision was vibrating.

Kieran jumped in then, arms like iron around me, steadying me, anchoring me. “Hey. Hey, Rafe–look at me. Breathe. You have to come down, brother. Youhave to.”

I tried. I really fucking tried.

But then my knees gave out and I hit the couch hard, shoulders shaking.

I broke.

The tears came fast. Ugly. Violent. Gasping sobs.

Laura was there in seconds, pressing paper towels to my bleeding knuckles. She didn’t say anything. Just cried with me.

Nico sank into a chair across from me, hands clasped between his knees. Quiet. Present.

I looked up through blurry eyes at Kieran. My voice came out in a whisper that sounded like it belonged to someone else. “If she dies… will you kill me?”

Kieran froze.