To Marry A Monster (by Brey Mitchell) novel Chapter 207

Chapter 207

CELESTE’S POV

“Sister!”

49

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The word tore out of her before she could stop it. It cut across the cold air, slipping past the balcony rail and straight into the little circle of candlelight where Atasha and the Lord of the North sat pretending the rest of the fortress did not exist.

Atasha’s head turned first. Cassian’s followed a heartbeat later.

Celeste saw their faces shift, saw the moment the private spell around their table broke. Good. They should not be allowed to sit there alone while she choked on everything that had happened.

She took a step forward from behind the stone pillar, fingers still digging into the edge as if she needed it to stay upright.

Her mood, already sour, curdled.

She had saved Atasha.

She had not stumbled into that knife by mistake. She had planned it. She knew exactly what she was doing when she brought her sister out that afternoon.

Celeste had chosen the park, chosen the hour, chosen the path where the patrols thinned just enough for someone brave or stupid to try their luck. She knew the witches would not give up after one failed attempt in the courtyard. They would go after the healer. Anyone with half a brain could see that.

So she had pulled Atasha’s hand and said they should walk.

She had watched every shadow, every hedge, every man who passed too close. Her heart had pounded, not from fear, but from the thrill of a move that had finally reached the point where there was no turning back. When the cloaked man staggered out, clutching his stomach and gasping for help, she had already decided what she would do.

She had wanted that moment.

She had wanted to drag Atasha behind her and put herself between her sister and the knife she knew was coming. She had wanted the guards to shout, wanted Grace’s eyes to widen, wanted the soldiers nearby to see her take the blade that was meant for their precious consort.

She had wanted to be the one they called hero.

Instead, she had woken under unfamiliar beams with fur piled over her legs and her side burning for a breath before Atasha’s hand pressed against it. She had watched the skin knit together under her sister’s palm, watched the blood stop, watched the wound disappear in seconds. Seconds.

Then they had started treating her like a child.

“Lady Celeste, please, you must not strain yourself”

19:23 Fri, Dec 12

Chapter 207

:

“Lady Celeste, the Consort is occupied. You can see her later.”

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How could she be occupied with reports and soldiers? How could she be occupied with anything except the sister who had just taken a knife for her?

They had seen the wound vanish. They had seen Atasha’s power close flesh faster than the eye could follow. Yet they still tucked her in, dimmed the lamps, and told her to sleep. Every time she shifted her legs off the bed, someone appeared at the door. Every attempt to insist that she needed to speak with Atasha was met with steady, polite refusal, the tone they used on injured warriors who thought a bandage meant they could return to the wall.

She had already given them blood. What more did they want?

Now, finally, she stood outside in the cold, exactly where they did not want her.

Celeste had watched from the shadows long enough to see her sister laugh at something he said, the same soft smile she used to save only for Celeste when they were children hiding from Father’s temper.

That alone made Celeste’s jaw ache.

She had imagined this afternoon going very differently. She had pictured Atasha sitting at her bedside, thanking her for stepping in front of the knife, calling her brave in front of the others, maybe even saying that she was proud of her.

She had pictured servants whispering about “the southern lady who saved our consort,” and soldiers nodding when she walked by. She had pictured Cassian calling for her to thank her in person, perhaps in front of his men, acknowledging what she had done.

Instead, she had been tucked away with a blanket and told to rest, while Atasha was here, bathed in

candlelight, with Emberback boar on her plate. Emberback boar that should have belonged to a victory feast, not a quiet dinner for two.

“Sister!” she called again, letting every bit of hurt she felt wrap around that single word.

Before Celeste could step onto the balcony, an arm barred her way. Grace materialized at her side like a wall, expression cold enough to match the stone.

“You are not allowed to approach,” the lieutenant said. Her hand closed around Celeste’s upper arm in a grip that stopped her forward momentum. “Her Highness and His Lordship are not to be disturbed. You should be resting.”

Celeste’s teeth clicked together. Resting? As if she were a fragile doll they had checked out of storage only to shove right back when they were done with her.

She pulled her arm just enough to make Grace’s hold obvious but not enough to actually break it. “I am not asking to join a council meeting,” she said, letting her voice tremble. “I only want to see my sister. I took a knife meant for her, and you would keep me away as if I am some threat?”

Grace’s jaw tightened. “Lady Celeste, the healers said—”

“I know what they said,” Celeste snapped, then forced herself to soften, lowering her lashes as if she regretted it. “I know they are only concerned for me. However, they are not the ones who watched that blade go in.

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Chapter 207

They are not the ones who heard my sister scream.”

Atasha had screamed. For her. That part had to be emphasized.

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Celeste drew in a shaky breath on purpose and raised her voice enough that it would carry to the table. “My Lord,” she called past Grace’s shoulder, angling her face toward Cassian. “I am Celeste, the Consort’s younger sister. Please allow me to see her, just for a moment. I promise I will return to my bed afterward.”

Cassian’s gaze sharpened. He did not answer yet. He looked from Celeste to Grace, then to Atasha, weighing something in that northern head of his.

She could not let him decide too slowly. She needed the scene to look ugly before he had time to smooth it.

Celeste shifted her weight and took another step forward, making sure her boot slid on the thin layer of frost that had formed along the threshold. Grace’s hand moved to hold her back, fingers closing at the wrong angle for balance.

Celeste let herself go.

Her foot skidded. Her knee buckled. The world tilted just enough for the fall to look uncontrolled. She twisted her shoulder into Grace’s arm in a way that, from a distance, could easily look like a shove. Stone met her palm hard when she caught herself, and the sting in her hand helped pull real tears to her eyes.

She stayed half–kneeling, cloak pooling around her, and looked up at the balcony as if the floor had fallen out beneath her life instead of just her feet.

“Sister,” she choked out, letting her voice crack properly this time. “They will not let me see you.”

Grace cursed under her breath and bent instinctively, one hand hovering near Celeste’s shoulder as if she could not decide whether to help her up or hold her down.

From the corner of her eye, Celeste saw both chairs at the table scrape back. Atasha had already risen, one hand flattening against the table as if she meant to come forward. Cassian stood as well, eyes fixed on the doorway. The line of his mouth was hard, his attention sharp, the way it had been when she had watched him on the wall.

Good, Celeste thought, letting another tear slip down her cheek. Watch. All of you. Watch how your “hero” is treated.

She reached one hand out toward Atasha, fingers trembling just enough to sell the picture. “Please,” she said, not bothering to wipe her face. “Please, Sister. I only wanted to thank you… and to make sure you are truly well.”

Seeing Atasha’s worried look, Celeste smiled inwardly. Yes. This is what she was waiting for!

To her surprise however, Lord Cassian suddenly snorted. “If you want a reward for saving my wife, ask for it. But do not pretend to be prey in front of a predator. Lambs that whimper at a lion’s feet do not live long.”

19:23 Fri, Dec 12

Chapter 208

Chapter 208