Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I just don’t know what to do. If we don’t wake him, we can’t steal Angelica’s Ring, and if we don’t steal Angelica’s Ring, we can’t count on the melusines to join us against Morgane. Without the melusines—”

“I understand.” Her hand drew soothing circles. “At least Reid is all right. He is. Look at him.” Forcing my eyes open, I watched him breathe, each swell and fall of his chest a small comfort. Célie smiled. “Truly, he could be only sleeping. An enchanted sleep, perhaps, but—”

Her eyes flew wide.

“What?” I lurched upright. “What is it, Célie?”

“One of the stories my mother used to read me,” she said breathlessly, clapping her hands together. “It was about a princess cursed with eternal sleep. The only way to break the spell was the kiss of true love.”

Coco scoffed and threw herself on the sand. “That’s a fairy tale, Célie. It isn’t real.”

“We just bathed and dined and conversed underwater in the royal palace of melusines, where octopi walked on leashes and the Goddess of the Sea served us salted sea lettuce.” Célie’s cheeks burned pink. “None of this should be real.”

Beau arched a brow. “She makes a fair point.”

“Fine.” With a sigh of fatigue, Coco fell to her back, folding her hands on her chest. “Kiss him, then. Kiss him good. Just do it quickly. And when that inevitably fails, I’ll prick his finger, and we can make real progress.”

I looked between each of their expectant faces, feeling utterly ridiculous. True love’s kiss. Célie had apparently mistaken this nightmare for a sweeping romance, complete with the white knight charging in to save his fair maiden. I glared at Reid’s lips. To be fair, it had started that way, once upon a time. He’d crossed the entire kingdom to save me from Morgane’s sacrificial altar. Perhaps the roles could be reversed now that he was in need. And what real harm could there be in a kiss?

Exhaling hard through my nose, I gripped his shoulders and leaned over him.

Here goes nothing.

My lips brushed his in a light caress, and I parted them slowly, touching his tongue to mine. Just for a second. Just a single breath. My eyes fell closed at the simple joy of it—of kissing Reid. God, I missed him. For too long, our lives had been tangled yet separate, intrinsically linked yet forever apart. It was my fault. It was his too.

But mostly, it was Morgane’s.

He didn’t wake.

Sighing in defeat, I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heart. How many times had I lain in this exact position, counting each beat? He’d often stroked my hair, traced my spine, even when things had been strained between us. When things had been good, however, he’d wrapped his strong arms around me and—

A heavy hand fell upon my back.

My eyes snapped open.

Behind me, Célie gasped, Coco gasped—even Beau gasped—as I scrambled to my elbows, staring down at Reid’s face in shock. He blinked back at me, and those eyes—they were the most beautiful shade of blue. Giddy laughter bubbled up my throat at his frown. “Sleeping beauty awakes.”

His hands landed lightly on my waist. “I beg your pardon?”

Skimming a fingertip along his dark lashes, I leaned down to kiss him once more. He drew back before I could. “You slept for a while, Chass. We worried you wouldn’t wake up.” I chuckled and brushed my nose against his. His brows puckered. “You aren’t going to believe where we’ve been.” I didn’t pause for him to guess. “We went underwater, Reid. To the seafloor of L’Eau Mélancolique. You were there too, of course, just unconscious.” My thoughts whirled in an incoherent blur of excitement. Where to begin? So much had happened in such a short period of time. “We walked with melusines in Le Présage—did you know they can grow legs?—and we dined with the Oracle in Le Palais de Cristal. The Oracle is Claud’s sister, remember? Isla. We met Isla, and she was the world’s biggest bitch—”

He stiffened abruptly, and his frown deepened to an outright scowl. “My apologies, mademoiselle, but I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Please”—he lifted me from his lap, depositing me firmly onto the sand beside him—“allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Reid Diggory.” He cleared his throat pointedly. “And I’d appreciate if you’d refrain from using such coarse language around me in the future.”

I snorted in disbelief. “That’s rich coming from you, Monsieur Fuck.” His eyes widened comically at the expletive, and I laughed out loud. He didn’t. “Fine,” I said, still light with giddiness. His prickliness couldn’t puncture it. He was awake, I was awake, and we were together. Finally. “I’ll play along with this . . . whatever this is. Some sort of foreplay?”

Pushing to my feet, I offered him a hand. He stared as if it might bite him. Shrugging, I brushed off the seat of my pants instead. If his eyes had been wide before, they nearly burst from his face now. “Bonsoir, Captain Diggory.” Laughing again, I dipped in a theatrical bow. “My name is Louise le Blanc, daughter of the infamous Morgane le Blanc, and I am positively chuffed to make your acquaintance. I see you’re missing your official uniform, but no matter. Shall we light the stake now, or—?”