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My words are interrupted by the swift jerking of the tent fabric as Godric leaves me alone.

I’m left with nothing but my questions and a haphazard pile of furs tangled around me.

Unable to help myself, I begin organizing them into neat piles, and pray that I won’t meet my sponsors in my dreams.

CHAPTER 29

“Did you call for me, Lady Rinhold?”

A male voice I know all too well makes me jolt up on the bed that is a mixture of Godric’s furs, Arwan’s silk, and Ze’ev’s forest moss.

The mixture is strangely comforting as I dig my fingers into it and scan my murky surroundings.

Shadows.

My dreams have usually been plagued by the sensual onslaught of my sponsors, but it seems that tonight I have a new visitor.

My heart skips a beat when Cain himself appears, not in his kingly form but in his monstrous one.

The Nightmare Beast.

He’s huge and, aside from shadows that strategically cover his intimate parts, very naked. Horns protrude from his head, and his sheer size has me swallowing a scream.

“You have nothing to fear from me,” the monster says as he crouches onto one knee. He leans forward and gives me a toothy grin that might be an attempt at a smile but is downright terrifying.

“Your Majesty,” I say as I bow my head. Then I realize I’m wearing nothing but a sheer nightgown, and I freeze, unsure of what to do.

I think back to Edward and his dealings with Cain.

Then I remember my sponsors telling me Cain had killed my brother.

Maybe now he’s here to collect…

Clutching my arms to my chest, I shiver, hoping that I’m not about to be taken and devoured before I die. I’m to be taken by the most fearsome beast in the unfortunate realm I inhabit.

That’s all I am. Just an object to be⁠—

“Don’t cower like that. You have nothing to fear. I already have a mate,” he says as he wraps one of the furs around my shoulders. “And I love her very much. She’s the reason I’m here, in fact. She said that I should check on you.” He grins, which is more like a snarl, but I can’t help but stare anyway. “Her exact words were ‘contract be damned.’”

“I wasn’t aware you had a mate,” I say. The King of the Elite City is an ancient immortal known for his incompatibility with the candidates. I really have been living under a rock, but what else is new?

His massive tongue wets his lips, as if just thinking about her gets him distracted. Which, when it comes to monsters and their mates, it probably does. “I do, and she’s right about one thing. The contract doesn’t say anything about checking in on one of King Njord’s candidates.” He winks. “Or giving her a boost in the form of a certain purple tonic. Has it proved useful?”

My eyes widen. “The Rinhold tonic? That was from you?”

That might just explain the side effect that allows Ze’ev and me to also communicate telepathically.

If it was from the Dream King… then it would definitely have some special properties.

He leans back, and his shadows curl around him like tiny living creatures. “Indirectly, yes. I was hoping to speed along your progress in finding your mates.”

“Why do you care if I find mates?” I ask. “Why do you care about me at all?”

A boom sounds through the dream, and Cain snaps his head to glance at the disturbance. In this realm, his eerie eyes look like a thousand shards of broken glass and glitter with his intense power. He keeps his attention on the distance while he speaks to me. “Because you’re special, Lady Rinhold. You’re uniquely favorable for the task I have for you. But you must bond with all three of the mates that you have chosen, and you must enter the Monster Games and survive. Even I can’t help you beyond occasional tonics or dreams unless you can get into the castle and destroy my contract with the Monster Isle King.”

“What contract?” I ask.

Another boom sounds, making Cain frown. “It seems your sponsors have found me. They don’t know of my involvement yet, and per my contract, I must keep it that way.” His broken-mirror eyes lock on me, making me curl my shoulders. “Know that you have my protection, Lady Rinhold, as much as I can offer from this realm. Do not do anything to hinder it.”