Page 17 of Monsters (Vengeance #3)

Gray

“ R hodes,” I groaned. “I know how to get off a horse.”

He let out a low grumble as Adyen chuckled. “Good luck there, lil brawler. He’s just marked you as his mate. You could get a paper cut and he’d flip his shit.”

I met Rhodes's pale green eyes and the bastard just shrugged as if to say 'sorry, not sorry.

' I rolled my eyes as we began to trek towards the Pixie's oasis.

The sky was turning deep twilight shades of purple and blue.

The creatures of the night, from owls to crickets, had begun their song.

My smile beamed as we came upon a curved stream and grouping of willow trees.

All we had to do was cross over the creek.

“Nothing weird is going to happen, right?” I asked because you never really fucking knew when it came to Fae shit. Your perspective on what was “normal” started to alter drastically when trees started adjusting and shifting for your benefit.

Sorrrrry for being cautious!

“Weird?” Adyen chuckled while grasping my hand on his side. “We are about to go talk to Pixies about joining our war efforts against another Fae kingdom. Would you consider that weird?”

Point made.

I scoffed and jumped over the creek with an easy leap. Rhodes made a frustrated sound. I smiled. What? The man was even more of a control freak now that I was his mate. Of course I was going to fuck with him. Adyen, as if knowing his pain, simply offered him a shoulder squeeze and followed after.

Was it wrong that Adyen’s humor about it made me want to complete mating with him also? You know, just so they can bond over what a pain in the ass I am.

Also… I really wanted to sleep with him. Bad.

The willow trees shifted out of the way like curtains.

I stepped through from the small stones on the creek’s shore to a stunning clearing.

My mouth popped open in surprise as I took in the whole scene.

Each willow tree contained these small glowing lights.

The smaller shrubs and saplings contained these little wooden houses.

I jumped slightly as a brilliant buzzing light shot past me.

I began to realize that the small glowing lights in varying shades of pink, green, and blue were actually small, living creatures.

Holy shit, but the pixies were so small!

I had no idea how the hell they would help in the war effort since they were the size of my thumb nail, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to meet them.

“How do we talk to them?” I asked Rhodes.

His arms wrapped around my waist. Adyen seemed just as interested in the little creatures as me, his eyes shifting fluidly from gold to black.

I think his dragon got frustrated sometimes, feeling as though he didn’t get enough time to explore.

It was a tad more difficult for Adyen to shift in comparison to Rhodes considering the massive difference in size .

At least the dragon had a sense of humor though. He was funny as fuck from what I’d gathered. Possessive, but funny.

“Our Queen,” a tiny voice began as a small blue light began to grow larger in the center of the clearing, “does not need to ask. We are here to talk whenever she needs us.”

My mouth popped open as a stunning, ethereal woman appeared in front of me.

She was taller than me by far, nearly Rhodes's height, and dressed in a long silk dress that flowed around her. The most shocking factor, however, was her honest-to-god blue, shimmering skin that almost had a water-like texture to it. It shimmered like scales underneath the surface of the water and matched her deep, sapphire-colored hair. Honestly, I’d never seen anything like it.

She offered me a small smile as if knowing what I was thinking about.

Her eyes traced where my crown sat and I was suddenly glad I wore it, feeling as though it somehow shielded me from this new experience.

I mean, I’m sure I could kick their butts but I had absolutely no idea what type of power they had.

There was just a general scent of magic that wrapped around the clearing with no singularity.

“Mina,” Rhodes spoke formally. “It is good to see you.”

“Child,” she greeted and looked towards Adyen. “I hope both of your fathers are doing well.”

Oh! So, she knew the council representatives? Also, how old was this woman if she considered Rhodes a child? I was totally going to bust his balls about that later.

“They are,” Adyen answered. Rhodes nodded.

I frowned slightly, reminding myself to ask Rhodes the state of his relationship with his father.

He said those scars were from him but he didn't treat it like Neo had.

My guess? The cigar burns had been some type of punishment.

My other guess? That was the reason for Rhodes's need for control.

It made me want to delve even deeper into my mate's soul. We had a lot to talk about still.

I figured this would be a good time to speak.

“I came here to see if you would aid us in the upcoming war with King Mario,” I admitted bluntly.

What? It’s not like I am known for my fucking finesse.

Mina’s lip twitched as she walked forward before reaching out a hand. I gauged her posture and expression, not noting any aggression as my magic surrounded the two of us before I clasped her hand. Her eyebrows raised.

“You are far stronger than I expected little True Heir.” She smiled happily. “Your parents would have been proud.”

Oh, no. I did not have time to open up that package of emotions.

“Thank you,” I responded honestly.

She continued, her eyes constantly on my expression .

“As for King Mario, I am not certain you are aware but he was the conqueror who destroyed our realm and hoped to enslave us. Your mother found out about the migration of our kind into captivity. She negotiated for our freedom. I believe the trade was an expansion of the Dark Fae lands, resulting in a smaller kingdom for the Horde. The sacrifice that she made has never been forgotten by our people. So child, the answer is yes. Of course, we will help.”

A small thankful smile tugged on my lips. I was just hoping they could all grow to be this large in size or else we’d have to be really creative with their place in this battle. Also, can we give it up to my mom? What a bad bitch.

“I do have one request,” she stated.

I tilted my head and waited for her to continue. Mina spoke, “After Mario is… taken care of, I would like to open up the conversation of having a pixie representative on your council. ”

Well, that is actually really fucking reasonable considering what I assumed to be their large population. I nodded and came to a decision.

“I think that would be a good idea. Did you have a particular person in mind or would you want to serve in that capacity yourself?”

Mina let out a soft laugh. “Me? No. I am far too old and stuck in my ways. Instead, I would like to suggest my son.”

Before she finished her sentence, another light of green glowing material grew to stretch out into the figure of a large man, nearly Adyen’s height.

My eyes widened because of several factors.

The dude had green skin that was this odd metallic material that contrasted against the texture of his grass-like emerald hair.

A pair of nearly silver eyes like his mother’s met mine as he offered a smile.

“Marcellus,” he offered and extended a hand.

I met it and he smiled pleasantly. Before I knew it, Rhodes had me back in his arms. Both Pixies smiled at his possessive behavior. All right. So, Pixies weren’t bad, but they did seem a bit antagonistic.

“I would love to discuss adding a representative onto our council in order to be a voice for what you need. After everything settles down with the Dark Fae, please come to the castle and we will sort something out.”

He nodded and I nearly laughed at my words. I was really fucking sure we would win, wasn’t I? All right. In a weird way, that made me feel more confident than anything else recently. I mean, hell. If I wasn’t sure of myself, how would anyone else be.

“We will ready ourselves and make our way to the SE guard for anything that happens from now on,” Mina added.

“Thank you,” I responded and after a head bow they were back to colorful zips of light. Marcellus, a green glow, brushed across my cheek as Rhodes let out a growl. I couldn’t help but laugh.

The three of us began to walk our way back under the willows and across the creek as thunder cracked across the sky. Of course, it would fucking rain.

“Shit,” Adyen cursed. “The twins are going to have their hands full if a storm is coming in.”

“What?” I frowned.

He looked back up at the sky. “They are holding a mage town hall of sorts and I think they’d planned on holding it in the mage city center. It’s going to become a cluster fuck.”

“Go help,” I spoke while also feeling pride at my two mages. I had a feeling I knew exactly what the town hall was about.

“Wait!” I grabbed his shoulder. “How did you know what they were planning to do?”

“Taylor saw them and let us know.” He flashed a smile.

I gasped. “I want to be part of the secret conversations.”

Rhodes chuckled. “Then we can’t talk about you, kitten.”

Adyen kissed me and took off by shifting, leaving me scowling at Rhodes who flashed me a smile. I grumbled as I swung up onto Midnight who was in a nuzzling fest with Rhodes's horse.

“Tell your horse to stop flirting with mine,” I demanded.

“I think your horse is instigating this,” Rhodes pointed out. It was true. Midnight was walking extra sassy and kept pushing her nose against his. Although, I still felt like his horse looked a bit too cocky, like he knew what he was doing.