Page 37 of Monsters Carve Thrones (Crowned Monsters Duet #2)

RAFE

My body still ached like hell, but it wasn’t the kind of agony that made me want to claw my own skin off anymore. The worst of the withdrawal storm had passed, leaving me raw and shaking, but lucid. My thoughts were clearer. Sharper. And something inside me…clicked.

There was a way out.

It wasn’t guaranteed. It was dangerous as hell. But it was something.

I stared across the dim room at Laura, her back against the cold wall, knees pulled up, arms loosely draped around them. Her face was pale beneath the grime, but her eyes–those were still alive, staring at the floor.

“Laura.”

She looked up at me. “Yeah?”

I took a breath, nausea curling low in my gut.

I hated what I was about to say. Hated that it had to be her.

But we didn’t have many moves left. I rubbed a hand across my face, feeling the scratch of stubble and dried sweat.

“I know how we can get out. But…” I paused, throat dry.

“Laura, you’re going to have to trust me. ”

Her expression tightened. “Why does that sound like the start of a really bad idea?”

“Because it is.” I forced myself to hold her gaze, even though it physically hurt to do so. “And you have to do it.”

Her brows drew together, suspicious. “You’re saying I should flirt with them or something?”

“No.” My voice was low. “I’m saying you need to piss one of them off. Make them angry. Make them come into this cell and do something stupid.”

“And then what?” she asked, tone biting.

I clenched my jaw and glanced toward Kieran and Nico. They both stared back, unreadable, but I saw it in their eyes. They knew what I was thinking. And they hated it as much as I did.

Laura’s face shifted again. There it was–the flicker of fear and realization. “Why, Rafe?”

I looked down, then to the door, jaw tight enough to crack. “Because you’re a beautiful woman,” I said, almost choking on the words. “And that… that gives you power. Power I don’t have.”

Her eyes narrowed, surely thinking I was condemning her.

I glanced towards the closed door and pushed on, slower now.

“The men guarding us… they’re the kind of men who’ve hurt women before.

Men who feel powerful when someone smaller cowers in front of them.

I’ve seen that hunger in their eyes. They work in this dark world.

I know them.” My throat closed, and I looked away, hating myself for my next words. “I’ve been them.”

Laura went quiet. Real quiet. And then, her voice softened. “I don’t know if I can do it. What if I’m overpowered?”

I looked at her then, really taking in her appearance. Her cheeks were sunken from dehydration, and her lips cracked. Her blonde hair was matted, and her frame thinner than it had been days ago. She looked breakable. And here I was, asking her to walk into the mouth of the fucking beast.

I swallowed, shame clawing its way up my chest. My heart squeezed under the weight of it. This wasn’t a chess piece I was moving. This was Laura. Adela’s best friend. My responsibility. And I was asking her to bait a monster.

“You can’t guarantee my safety,” she said, voice trembling, pulling me out of my spiral. Her blue eyes met mine, so full of worry it made something inside me crack.

“I can’t,” I admitted. My voice was rough, broken.

“But I can be waiting. I’ll be ready. Kieran and Nico, too.

” My heart squeezed under the pressure of what I was asking of her.

This was a dangerous idea that could end with those men hurting her in front of our eyes.

But I knew what it was like to be triggered by a woman as an emotionally unstable man.

I wanted to turn a gun on myself just remembering what I had done to my own wife .

Kieran and Nico remained stone-faced and silent.

I sighed heavily. “What’s Adela taught you in terms of combat?”

Laura blinked, then swallowed. “A few basic takedowns,” she said, voice steadier now. “Enough to flip someone over if they get too close. Especially if they underestimate me.”

A weak smile touched my lips. “That’s my good girl,” I murmured before I could stop myself.

“Taking care of her best friend.” My chest ached.

God, I missed her. Missed her fire and her stubbornness.

Her sharp tongue and soft eyes. She was the only person in the world who’d ever made me want to be a better man–and now I was here, asking another woman to risk her life to get me back to her.

Laura exhaled slowly, brushing a hand over her hair. “Okay, Rafe.” She looked up at me, jaw firming. “What exactly do I need to do?”

***

The bitch had forced me to watch the video three more times in the past few days.

She made sure that Adela’s sobs were ingrained in my fucking brain.

I sighed into the silence, glancing over to see Kieran and Nico sleeping, and Laura was staring at the ceiling.

I heard the boots before I saw them. They were heavy, fast, and without hesitation.

Great .

The door swung open and hit the wall so hard the echo cracked down my spine. I didn’t flinch. Just raised my eyes, already knowing what this was.

Three guards.

Big ones.

Grinning like they were about to have fun.

I stayed seated, wrists chained behind me, my back already aching from the way I’d slept–if you could call it sleep.

My skin still burned from the rawness left behind by the cuffs, and my body felt hollow.

Like I was just meat hanging from a hook, waiting for the butcher.

The one in front cracked his knuckles. “Morning, pretty boy.”

I didn’t answer. Beside me, Laura stirred against the wall. Her hands clenched into fists. She didn’t speak either. But I saw the fear bloom in her eyes when two of the guards looked her way–eyes crawling over her body like maggots. One of them licked his lips.

“Leave her,” said the tallest. “Orders were to make him regret breathing. That’s it.”

They laughed. Like it was a joke. Like it was all some game.

I dropped my head and let them come. Because I’d already made my decision last night–watching that screen, listening to Adela cry while that monster raped her.

I stared at them with dead eyes, daring them to do their worst. The first punch split my cheek.

The second cracked against my ribs. I didn’t scream or curse.

No, I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

I stayed silent through all of it. Through the fists and the boots and the elbow that smashed across my jaw.

One of them grabbed my hair and slammed my head back against the stone wall behind me.

Stars burst behind my eyes, blood rushing down into my mouth.

My own heartbeat throbbed inside my teeth.

But I didn’t speak or move or beg. My eyes stayed locked on the ceiling above me on the cracked corner where a spider’s web trembled in the cold air. That little web had survived this place.

So would I.

They kept going. Kicks to my stomach. A baton to the shoulder. One of them laughed when I spit blood onto his boot. “Still think you’re getting out of here alive?” he asked, dragging the baton along my collarbone. I turned my head, met his gaze, and smiled. He didn’t like that. Good .

One final punch to my gut, and they were done.

“Let the bitch clean him up,” one muttered, nodding to Laura before they turned and walked out, still laughing. “You’re lucky Waleria gave strict orders, babycakes. We’d love to rough you up, too.”

She winced, but glared.

The door slammed behind them, leaving us in a heavy and painful silence. My chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven gasps. My face throbbed. My ribs ached with every breath. Blood soaked the collar of my shirt, sticky and warm. I let my head fall forward again, tasting iron and fire and fury.

***

It had been a day since we solidified the plan. Just one day of pretending to sleep, of holding in the shakes, of waiting for the perfect fracture in the pattern. My body was so goddamn sore from the beating, and being covered in bruises and blood was becoming very, very fucking old.

Laura had said she was ready...but she didn’t look ready. Her hands trembled subtly at her sides, even as she rolled her shoulders and stared hard at the door. But I didn’t fault her for that. Fear was a survival instinct. And she was still here. That counted for everything.

I leaned toward her as much as the chains would allow, my voice low enough that only she could hear it. “Remember what we discussed.”

She turned to me, blue eyes flickering with nerves and determination. Then she gave a single nod. One deep breath. Her spine straightened. I could see her slipping into the role. God, I was so fucking proud of her.

The door creaked open.

The same guard who always fed us strolled in, holding a tray with stale bread and watery soup.

He was one of the men who routinely leered at Laura and definitely would have assaulted her if Waleria allowed it.

He didn’t even glance at the gun holstered on his hip.

Idiot. Arrogance and routine had made him soft.

That would be his mistake.

Laura sat straighter. Her chin tilted up as he neared. “Really?” she said, her voice coated in venom. “You gonna serve us that same shit again? What, did they run out of dog food this morning?”

The guard didn’t even blink at first. He just dropped the tray near the edge of the room and turned, amused. “I think you should be a little more grateful, sweetheart.”

“Grateful?” She laughed coldly. “For rotting in a piss-stained cell while you strut around like some knock-off warlord? Fuck off.”

He stepped closer. His smile dropped. Rage began to simmer beneath his skin. I watched him closely. “That mouth’s gonna get you hurt,” he growled, eyes narrowing.

She didn’t back down. She curled her lip. “Good. Because I’m bored, and your face looks like a lovely punching bag.”