To Marry A Monster (by Brey Mitchell) novel Chapter 234

Chapter 234

Chapter 234

Atasha’s POV

“Tell me everything,” I said the moment I stepped inside the war tent.

The air smelled like blood, smoke, and crushed herbs, the kind of mix that told me people had been trying to solve a problem with whatever was within reach. Maps were pinned to a board near the center, and a few of the northern men I recognized stood at the edges like they were ready to move the moment I gave a command. Grace entered behind me and did not bother hiding the tension in her shoulders.

William and Renan were already there.

Both of them were injured, and they looked like they wanted everyone to believe it had happened while they fought like heroes.

Renan’s sleeve was soaked through near his forearm, the cloth torn where someone had slashed him. William’s collar was stained, and there was a smear of dried blood at the corner of his mouth, as if he had been hit hard enough to split skin. Their breathing was controlled, but their eyes were too sharp, too alert, like men who were not only in pain but also counting every reaction around them.

William stepped forward first, bowing just enough to look respectful without looking weak. “Your Highness,” he said. “Lady Celeste has been taken.”

Grace’s jaw tightened, but she did not interrupt. She waited, the way she always did when she was deciding whether someone deserved to finish speaking.

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have allowed her to come with us.” Renan added as his gaze flicked to me. “She insisted on helping,” he said. “The soldiers are dying from the poison, and she wanted to gather herbs herself because she believed there were plants near the outer line that could slow the effects.”

I stared at him, letting the silence stretch until he looked uncomfortable.

William took over quickly. “We warned her,” he said. “We told her it was unsafe beyond the guarded pack needed to see her doing something, and she would not stay inside while others suffered.”

Of course she said that..

Celeste loved a stage, and she loved it even more when she could turn herself into the sacrifice.

It she said the

Renan’s voice grew tighter. “It happened fast,” he said. “Demon Fangs came from the tree line, more than we expected, and they did not fight like raiders. They fought like they knew where we would be.”

Grace’s eyes narrowed at that, but she still did not speak.

William continued, “They used poison, Your Highness. It was on their blades, and something else was in the air. We tried to pull her back, we tried to hold the line, but they wanted her specifically. They did not try to kill her. They knocked her down, restrained her, and then disappeared before we could gather enough men to pursue.”

The

way he said it was careful, like he wanted the words to land as proof of effort rather than proof of failure.

I stepped closer until I was standing in front of William, and I held my hand out.

His eyes flicked down, then back up, and something crossed his face that he tried to hide immediately.

I caught his wrist before he could move away.

William stiffened, his fingers twitching like he was deciding whether he could pull back without making it obvious.

10:34 Tue, Dec 30

Chapter 234

R

But Grace reacted faster than anyone. Steel flashed and in an instant, her sword was at Willian neck, ne skin yet but close enough that one wrong move would make it bleed.

“Calm down,” Grace said. “Her Highness is checking the poison.”

William swallowed and forced his hands to relax. “Of course,” he said, but his voice came out too tight.

Renan shifted, clearly unsettled, but he kept quiet.

I let my awareness sink through William’s pulse, and I did not need long.

It was poison, yes, but it was not the kind that truly threatened his life in the way he wanted me to believe. There was damage on the surface, enough to look frightening, enough to make a healer hesitate, enough to create urgency and panic. Beneath it, there was something else, something subtle, something placed like a smear on a story.

A trick.

A tiny distortion in rhythm that could mislead someone inexperienced into thinking the heart was failing faster than it actually was.

I withdrew my hand slowly, then turned to Renan and did the same.

Renan’s poison was more real than William’s, but even his was manageable, and I knew that immediately because the pattern was familiar.

I looked up and met Grace’s gaze. “This is fatal poison,” I said, letting the words hit the room the way they needed is nothing the North cannot heal. Bring that thing…”

Grace did not ask questions. She simply lifted her hand and gestured toward the entrance.

A man stepped in within seconds, carrying a small vial wrapped in cloth.

“But it

William’s face changed so quickly it almost amused me. His mouth tightened, his eyes sharpened like he was watching a knife being placed too close to his throat. Renan’s expression followed, his jaw clenching like he wanted to protest but did not dare.

“What is that?” Renan asked, and his voice came out too rough. “What does that mean?”

“It means you are lucky the North came prepared,” I said as I reached out and took the vial from the

I held it up so both of them could see the liquid inside.

“This poison is common in the North,” I said. “We have dealt with it enough times to carry antidotes for it without being told.”

William’s stare stayed locked on the vial, and for a brief second I saw something close to disgust on his face before he forced it back down into something neutral.

I wanted to laugh, but I kept my expression calm because watching him squirm was better when he did not know I enjoyed

1. it.

Renan swallowed. “What will it do to us?” he asked. “What will it do to our bodies?”

I almost rolled my eyes.

He was asking like I was the one holding them hostage, like the only danger in this room was the vial in my hand and not the choices they made outside the walls.

“It will keep you alive,” I said simply. “It will stabilize your blood and stop the spread, and your body will start recovering in a

10:34 Tue, Dec JU

Chapter 234

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