Mated To The Cruel Prince-Chapter 903: Arrival Of The Monster King

"Go! Go! Go!" Aldric urged, his voice rising above the clamor of battle. His eyes darted to Ava, whose arms were trembling as she strained to keep the portal open. Her strength was fading, her face pale, and Aldric knew it was only a matter of time before she collapsed.

The fae citizens, battered and bleeding, hurried toward the barely stable portal. It was risky considering what happened to the other Fae when it went down, but they would rather die than fall prey to the monsters.

Aldric’s heart pounded in sync with the desperate rush. He would be most glad if the citizens were on the safer side of the portal and away from the heat of the battle that kept getting chaotic with each second.

If anyone had told Aldric he’d come to care so deeply for the fae citizens, he would have scoffed. But seeing them now, so vulnerable and broken, stirred something protective in him. Though the citizens of Astaria had never truly appreciated him, they were still his people, and he would not let anyone bring them to ruin. If anyone was going to bully the citizens of Astaria, it would be him alone. Not some Tamry scums.

Determined to protect the remaining fae, some soldiers abandoned their positions, leaving their battle-weary partners to cover the fight, doubling the strain on them all.

It was in the middle of the turmoil that someone barreled into Aldric’s side, nearly toppling him. With a low growl, he turned, ready to snap, "Watch where you’re going—"

But his words died as he felt something slip into his hand. Glancing down, he saw a crumpled note, and when he looked up, the messenger was gone, vanished back into the maelstrom of battle.

With quick reflexes, Aldric surrounded himself with a shield of dark energy, deflecting stray strikes as he unrolled the note. Scanning the message, his face darkened:

"Palace in chaos. Usurper on the throne. Oberon’s missing in action. An enemy’s enemy is a friend."

By the time Aldric finished reading through the last line, he knew instinctively who had sent the message. It seems now he had more solid reasons to visit the palace.

Since the time they separated, Aldric had not gotten any information from Issac. Aldric did not want to think the worst, but it was not secret that Issac worked for him and if Valerie had done anything to him, he’d raise hell on him.

Cautiously, Aldric scanned his surroundings, ensuring no one had seen him with the note. Soldiers and fae were too busy in the thick of battle, oblivious to the message’s perilous contents. Satisfied, he called upon his shadows, which subtly

shredded the note into nothingness, scattering its pieces like wisps of smoke.

By the time Aldric lowered his barrier, the last of the fae citizens had already passed through to safety. Ava collapsed to the ground, her strength entirely spent from holding the portal.

A soldier, a spring fae, from the look of him, immediately rushed over, healing magic spilling from his hands as he worked on Ava’s wounds.

Normally, such a scene wouldn’t have caught Aldric’s attention, but he recognized the soldier as the same one who had fiercely defended Ava when Aldric had commanded her to raise the barrier despite her injury.

Aldric raised an eyebrow at the sight, sensing the spark between the two. It seems even in the midst of war, love seemed to linger in the air.

Snapping back to the task at hand, Aldric’s voice rang out over the battlefield. "Fall back! Fall back right now!" he bellowed.

His orders quickly rippled through the ranks as the soldiers echoed his command.

Aldric knew the general would be furious with him for pulling back the troops without his direction, but he didn’t care. This wasn’t the time for rigid chain-of-command formalities. He’d witnessed enough of his people suffer today; he refused to lose any more.

The enemy forces had a distinct advantage in numbers, a luxury the fae couldn’t afford, especially with injured citizens to protect.

Despite the surprise attack, it was clear now that the monsters had been planning this assault for a long time, waiting patiently to strike back with all the fury they’d been stockpiling during their time in captivity in the Tamry Forest.

The retreat was necessary, and Aldric wouldn’t gamble on the lives of his soldiers and civilians in a futile show of bravado.

As the fae troops began to pull back, Aldric felt a shift in the atmosphere as a raw, oppressive power descended upon the field.

His instincts prickled, and he knew, without a doubt, that someone of immense strength had arrived. It was a monster unlike any of the others, its presence radiating an aura of command. Aldric’s heart sank as he realized what, or rather who, had joined the fray: the king of monsters.

His instincts were right. Someone was organizing the monsters. As if to prove his point, a monstrous roar reverberated through the air, sending a shockwave of dread through the ranks of fae soldiers. The sound was primal, deep, and filled with malice.

A cold rush of fear surged through Aldric as he thought of Islinda at the front lines. "Islinda!" he shouted, his voice raw with desperation.

He plunged through the crowd of retreating fae, determined to reach her, but the retreating troops were dense, pushing him back each time he tried to surge forward.

Every attempt to press ahead was met with a wall of bodies, all scrambling to escape the new threat. Aldric’s frustration grew with each passing second; Islinda was still at the front, caught amidst the worst of the danger.

He cursed under his breath as he fought against the tide of soldiers, painfully aware of what Azula would likely do. The Succubus was determined and headstrong, and knowing her too well, she would surely try to challenge this monster king herself.

While Aldric trusted Azula’s strength, he knew this was an unknown enemy with unknown abilities, and it was foolish to underestimate him. Azula’s pride might compel her to stand her ground, but her defiance could drag Islinda into a deadly confrontation.

And he might lose his mate, Islinda.