To Marry A Monster (by Brey Mitchell) novel Chapter 202

Chapter 202

Chapter 202

Atasha’s POV

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“This is the information that we currently have,” Grace said. “We were able to trace a witch lair not too far from the border and found one witch nearby. However, we still have no signs of the witch that was with Matron Yara and until now…”

Grace didn’t need to continue her words. I shook my head and started reading the reports. After that torture, the Matron still refused to talk. Cassian had vowed not to let her rest until her death, and it seems that he is going to do everything to fulfill his promise to the people of the north.

“You may leave now…” I gestured for her to leave.

Grace bowed and left, the door closing with a soft thud that felt louder than it should have.

Almost immediately, the room fell still.

I let out a breath I had been holding since the torture chamber and leaned back in my chair. The reports slid from my fingers and landed on the desk with a dull rustle. My shoulders ached. My head felt heavy. All I wanted was to lie down and sink into a bed that did not smell like blood or herbs or burned stone.

And I wanted Cassian.

The thought slipped in before I could stop it. I could almost feel the weight of his hand on the back of my neck, the steadiness of his presence behind my shoulder, the way his voice anchored me when everything else felt like it was moving.

I closed my eyes.

The last few days ran through my mind whether I invited them in or not.

First, there was Matron Yara and the confirmation of what we had already suspected. The witches had not simply found a gap and slipped in. She had opened the door for them. She had given them the path, the faces, the times when the walls were thin. None of that was new.

We had pieced it together long before she dangled from those chains. Her refusal to name the witch only sharpened what we already knew, that someone had walked beside her and vanished into the cracks she wanted us to ignore.

Second, there was what happened in the courtyard when the stones broke and whatever lived inside them answered my bond.

Elder Agape’s words echoed in my head. A mated bond was not just teeth on a neck and a shared bed. It threaded through everything. Through our power and through whatever strange thing lived under my ribs and woke when I save others.

“This is one advantage of being marked by your true mate,” she had said, eyes bright with unhidden interest.“Your abilities can feed each other, pull from each other, rise higher than they would alone.”

Sadly for Elder Agape’s research, Cassian still could not use my healing. He could not use it to heal himself or

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Chapter 202

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others. That had surprised the Elder enough to make him mutter to himself for almost an hour about variables and anomalies and goddess–blessed exceptions.

Third…

I opened my eyes and stared at the empty room.

Celeste.

She had been almost sweet these past two days. Too sweet. Her smiles lasted longer. Her tone softened whenever she spoke to me. She asked if I was eating enough. She mentioned Father with the right amount of sadness. She even said she was grateful the North had “welcomed” her.

Celeste did not do anything without a reason. It meant she had chosen a path. I just had not seen all the steps.

yet.

The corner of my mouth twitched.

I was not afraid of that. If anything, I was curious. I wanted to see what she thought her next move would be, how she planned to reach for the strings she thought belonged to her.

A knock pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Come in,” I said.

The door opened a fraction before a familiar face appeared in the gap. Celeste peeked inside, eyes shining in a way that would have fooled me once. “Sister?” she called softly. “Are you busy?”

I straightened in my chair and pushed the reports aside. “No,” I answered. “Come in.”

She slipped through the doorway, closing it behind her with more care than usual. Her dress was different today, trimmed with southern embroidery that did not quite match northern styles. Her hair was pinned back with a small silver clip I recognized from home.

“I was not sure if you were resting,” she said, taking a few steps forward. “I know you have been… working very

hard.”

Her gaze flicked to the stack of reports, then back to my face.

“What is it?” I asked, keeping my tone light.

Celeste’s lips curved. “I had the kitchen prepare something special,” she said. “Southern food. The kind you used to like. And pastries. I thought… if you have time, we could share them while we tour the North a little. You have not shown me much outside the fortress. It would be nice, would it not? Just the two of us. Eating and walking. I would love to talk about the South. Don’t you miss it?”

Tour the North.

I almost laughed.

The fortress still smelled faintly of smoke and healing salves. Fresh graves were being dug. Families were

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Chapter 202

counting who did not return. And Celeste wanted to go on a tour

Of course she did.

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Inside, I sneered. Outside, I let my face brighten as if she had just offered me a rare treat.

“Southern food?” I asked, letting interest color my voice. “How did you manage that? The North does not have those ingredients. At least, that is what your maids told me when I asked before”

Celeste’s eyes gleamed, pleased that I had taken the bait. “If there is a will, there is a way,” she said, tilting her head slightly. “Some traders owed favors. Some guards were easy to charm. Not everything, stops at the border just because snow falls on it. Come. You will understand when you taste it”

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