Page 96 of The Monsters We Are
Shortly before he was due to arrive, Wynter helped her coven count their earnings and note down whatever they’d received in trade. They preferred to keep track of everything. While the others were debating who’d get what from the selection of traded items, Wynter grabbed the trash bags and carried them out the back door and round to the side of the cottage.
She came to a sharp halt as two male fey abruptlyappearedin front of her. Before she even had a moment to react, a wave of magick slammed into her, clogging her nostrils and pouring down her throat. It was thick. Sickly-sweet. Cloying, like too-strong perfume.
Her thoughts hazed as a fog built in her mind, insidiously slinking into every corner. A familiar otherworldly breeze washed over her skin, vibrating with urgency. Her monster pushed at her skin, wanting out. But Wynter . . .damnif she didn’t feel floaty right now. Even a little tipsy. But not in a good way. No, in a way that made her feel weak and weary.
And yet, she felt happy. A silly kind of happy. Like she was caught up in a warm, merry dream.
“It’s all right, it’s just Cain and Seth,” said a male voice.
Her vision swam, blurred into a collage of smudged colors, and then sharpened once more. She double-blinked. Oh it wasn’t fey, she realized. It was just Cain and Seth.
She smiled up at them, rocking back on her heels. “Hey. Gotta say, I’m feeling kind of drunk right now. What is up with that?”
“Nothing is up, honey,” Cain assured her, resting his hand on her shoulder.
She felt her nose wrinkle. “Honey?” That was a new one. And it made her chortle to herself, though she didn’t really know why.
Wynter’s head sagged forward.Whoops.She frowned as she saw the bottom half of her body. What was with the dress? What had happened to her jeans? And why was the hair dangling around her face auburn?
Questions for the ages.
“The glamor spell won’t last long, so let’s not waste time getting to the surface,” said Cain.
She looked up at him, ready to ask what was happening. But then her stomach did a nauseating flip. “I don’t feel so good.”
That breeze came again,slappingat her skin this time, demanding her attention. Jeez, she was kind of busy here. Freaking deities thought they were the only ones with lives.
“You’re just tired,” Cain told her, his voice low and full of assurance. “Come on, let’s get you home and put you to bed.”
“Okay,” she said softly, wishing her monster would stop freaking out over jack shit.
Cain curled his arm around her shoulders andblurredthem across the bailey and into the Keep.
Wynter’s stomach lurched.Oh, fuck.Convinced she’d puke all over him if they didn’t stop, she shoved hard at Cain. They both stumbled to a stop in one of the Keep’s many hallways.
Wynter pressed a hand to her stomach. “I think I’m gonna hurl.”
“No, you won’t, you’re fine,” said Seth, urging her forward. “We’ll just walk at a normal pace now.”
Cain frowned. “But—”
“If she spews up her guts, it’ll attract attention,” Seth said quietly. “We don’t want that.”
Feeling her brow furrow, Wynter looked up at him. “Say what?”
Seth gave her a shaky smile. “Well, you don’t want people seeing you vomit, do you? It’s very unladylike.”
Okay, thatwouldbe embarrassing.
A horse whinnied somewhere close by.A horse?In the Keep?
She frowned . . . and suddenly her surroundings smeared and shifted as the walls peeled away. Outside. She was outside. And she was approaching one of the city’s towers.
She blinked. “Why are we . . .” She trailed off as the hallway walls slammed back up as if they’d never been gone.
What the hell?
Wynter shook her head hard, unable to properly think. Process. Reason. It was like she had no grip on reality. Like the Keep wasn’t solid around her. It made no sense.