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She’s in her human form, wearing a tight-fitting dress as she crosses her legs. A smirk plays on the edge of her wicked mouth as she patiently watches me cough up blood onto her clean floor.

“Well, hello, Cain. Isn’t this a nice surprise?” she says.

I have a feeling it’s not a surprise at all.

A growl rumbles in my throat, but it’s only an echo of my beast that lies within. He doesn’t have the energy to come out, so for that, I’m grateful that my hypothesis was correct.

It means that Scarlett and my people are safe, for now. And if I had come into Helia’s tower out of control, she would have dealt with the problem herself. In that situation, I would have become a threat.

And therefore, her enemy.

Now, though, I am her friend. One she has neglected.

“Where have you been?” I ask, my voice a low, dangerous threat of a whisper. It feels as if knives have scored my insides and every word creates a fresh dagger to slice through salted wounds. But I don’t flinch; I don’t show her what kind of discomfort I’m in.

This is what I deserve, after all. Once I’m done here, I’ll be going back to the undercurrent of the Dream Realm.

For Scarlett’s sake.

I can’t pick up her prayer on the wind now that I’ve left the ethereal plane, but that makes sense if my beast is weak. There must be a reason I’ve surfaced here, though, in Helia’s tower rather than closer to home.

Helia flicks her tongue and shifts the weight of her hips. She’s sitting in a single sofa chair that could easily double as a throne. She has a talent of making everything around her a piece of her royalty, of her power, and to accent her complete and utter control.

Sometimes that’s a façade. Sometimes it’s real.

Today, I can’t tell. I only know there’s a new glow about her that certainly wasn’t there before.

“I’ve been… busy,” she says as she drags a long, manicured nail over her lower lip. I don’t take her flirtatious behavior too seriously. Helia would flirt with a house plant, given the chance. It’s her nature.

Being so evasive, though, is unusual. At least when it comes to our relationship.

“I don’t have time for your games,” I growl as I turn toward the shattered window.

We’re high up, higher than my own tower, given the way that Helia’s city has developed. The skyscrapers here are characteristic of what this territory used to be. Once upon a time, it was called New York. Just as my Elite City was once named Chicago.

Those names are as ancient as dust. Only their memory lingers over the newly developed cities that have taken over the ruins. The buildings and towers were made in our image and carry little pieces of ourselves within them.

We’ve built our cities differently, but we’ve always ruled alongside one another.

It feels like everything is falling apart.

“I don’t either, Cain,” she says with a sigh. “So if you’ve come here for the dreamwalkers, then I suggest you go talk to them and stop wasting your time with me. They are your new mates, after all. It’s rude how long you’ve kept them waiting.”

Glancing at her from over my shoulder, I give her a raised brow.

She gives me another one of her characteristic smirks, then bounces to her feet. She pops her hips as she marches to her closet and emerges a few moments later with a tailored suit. One I know will fit me perfectly.

“They aren’t my mates,” I argue. She doesn’t try to correct me. “Did you know they were coming?” I ask as I accept the clothes. I put them on while I wait for her reply.

She shrugs, sending her long, silky hair unfurling over her shoulder as she moves. “I suspected it based on the type of distortion I had been sensing closer to Monsters Night, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case I was wrong.”

“Distortion?” I ask.

“Do you recall the peekaboo portal that kept popping up? Someone from the other dimension had their eye on us, but there was more to it than that. Many of them came through, and a few decided to stay.” She grins. I know there’s more information, but she isn’t going to share it with me right now. “Including your new mates,” she continues in complete disregard of my protest about them being mates. “I had an Emissary ready to locate them once the portals opened. They accepted my invitation and have been staying here.”

“Hmm,” I say as I decide if it’s worth it to argue with her or not. While I highly doubt these two monsters are also my mates, Helia likely can sense their connection to Scarlett. Explaining that to her would require explaining my connection to Scarlett and therefore risk her understanding that I’m going to have to leave this world. Permanently. I don’t need anyone trying to convince me to stay when it’s not the right thing to do. “Anything else I should know?”

Her smirk turns into a full-on grin, which is usually a horrible sign of misfortune on its way. “They aren’t the only interesting monsters who traveled here from that dimension.”