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They still do, but I’m no longer alone in the dark.

Arwan’s voice rolls over me next. “Do you need us to come?”

“She needs some human time, Arwan,” Godric says next.

The three continue bickering inside my head, making me chuckle as I struggle to tune them out.

It takes some effort, but I imagine a wall muting the voices behind a barrier of shadows.

It works, for now. Only because they allow it, though. They respect my boundaries and my peace, and I love them for that.

I’ll let them back in when I’m ready. Godric was right that I need a little “human” time right now.

Sofia is blissfully unaware of my struggles as she reminds me what it is I’m fighting for. She coddles her child and looks down at him with an expression of the kind of love I’ve never seen on my own mother’s face. It’s pure and perfect, like the child is a little piece of herself she never knew was missing. “Renalt makes sure my every need is taken care of so I can spend all my time looking at how beautiful he is.”

I eye the royal as I reevaluate him. Maybe he is a good fit for Sofia. I wasn’t so sure during the past few years after he had taken on the role as emissary. He’d been a suitable fit to continue negotiations between King Cain and the persistent contract that I have been burdened to continue as Monster Isle’s ruler. Mostly because with Sofia as his mate, I knew I could keep tabs on him. But he eagerly took the role, which keeps him away from the isle for long periods.

He kept his promise to his mate to take care of her family and manage the collectors. I didn’t even have to open up Monster Isle’s coffers to help him. He had already saved up a dowry for his future bride. And so he has made regular trips to the Elite City as one of the few Monster Isle Royals permitted to leave, per the contract I manage with King Cain.

He brings back secrets, though. And finger sandwiches, apparently.

Maybe I selfishly want to keep tabs on my past, too.

But Monster Isle is my home now.

Perhaps I don’t have to run things as King Njord did, but there are still powerful and dangerous monsters that must be managed here. That’s where all my work, and that of my mates’, has come into play.

And the next Monster Games is only minutes away. I’ve been avoiding it, but the shadow crystal is in my pocket for when it’s time for me to observe and open my mind back up. I’ll have to tell my mates where the shadows are.

Only I can see them now. It’s something King Njord had been able to do all along.

When I killed him, I inherited his curse.

I’ll make it a gift.

Glancing out the window, I spot the clock tower that I installed in the center of the castle’s gardens.

I have about five minutes.

I wanted to see Sofia’s child before the games began. This little light reminds me what it’s all for and why I do what I do.

“It’s almost time,” I say, standing as I brush off invisible dust from my vest. I’m dressed in traditional battle leathers that are adorned with embroidered golden swirls.

I’ll have to be out on the field soon.

“You give me a heart attack every year,” Sofia says with a sign. She shifts the child against her bosom and lowers her blouse to feed him. She doesn’t even flinch when he settles into position and clamps down, hungrily indulging in his dinner. “Isn’t there another way to help the monsters find their mates?”

I’ve tried everything. But the best thing I’ve discovered is that a monster needs to hunt.

If they don’t hunt, they are consumed from the inside and they go insane.

Which means their prospective mates need to be trained, ready, and, most of all, consenting to the trials they’ll soon face. Even after all of the precautions and safety measures I’ve put into place, it’s still a dangerous affair.

But under my reign, there have been no bridal deaths, and I’m going to keep that record even if it costs me everything.

“I’ll be fine,” I say as I brush a kiss onto the child’s head, then I give my friend’s shoulder a squeeze. “You take care of this little one, and yourself, okay?” I give Renalt a stern look. “And, you. Double up on the sandwiches next time.”

I don’t question how he got the dainty little things all the way from the Elite City to here, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say he has acquired a shadow potion or two. While that’s illegal, I’m not going to tell on him.