Two. I want to scorch the very place of his shoulder that has been touched by her.
Three. I’m going to kill them both if Alice is truly dead.
“Where is Alice!” My throat stings, my voice cracking with every word I say. “Take me to her!”
“She’s been dead for…” Lykia looks towards Koen, “weeks now, right?”
Koen’s eyes shut, swallowing tightly as his nostrils flare by Lykia’s words. “We didn’t know you knew her.”
“What the hell did you do, Koen!” I stride towards them both, my finger aggressively pointing towards them. “I swear to the God of Fire I will scorch you both to your death if you don’t take me to her!”
“She’s buried in the ground. We can take you there?” Lykia shrugs. I swear she has no soul.
“You are lying! Tell me you are lying, Koen!” A tear escapes, even though I did everything in my power to keep them in, the pain is too much.
“We aren’t.” He looks away, ashamed for what he has done. “Serene, I had no idea who she was. We thought she was—”
“A damn shifter?” I hiss, my voice dropping to the most disgusted growl possible. “How dare you.”
“You told me she died too?” Lykia points her slender finger directly towards me. Her eyes narrow, disbelief etched across her soft features. “I can't believe I didn't recognize her. Why the hell did you keep her alive?”
Koen's jaw visibly tightens, a muscle twitches beneath his sun-kissed skin. I remember snuggling up to that exact spot, my nose brushing against his neck and chin with his arms around me as we laid in the field of flowers. How the hell did we end up here, so distant from one another, when we used to never want to be apart?
He rubs his lips carefully, pulling them between his teeth. With aggression, he pushes her arm off his shoulder. “You have no right to know why.”
“She can’t be the reason you left Eekatia?” Lykia’s arm cross, gazing between the two of us. “Is this why you broke our vow?”
“I’m not,” I hiss, wielding fire in my hands. “Don’t worry, I am no threat to your damn relationship with him.”
“Oh, I see you as no threat.” Lykia’s brow lifts. “I pity you.”
Fire heats in my palms by her words. Her face.
“Oh, wait.Isyour friend alive?” Lykia teases me and enjoys every minute of it as her lips curl into a wicked sneer. “Maybe I have her confused with another I took there.”
She’s dead.
I lunge. Kaine tries to stop me, placing his hands upward so his skin doesn’t touch me.
“Stay away, Kaine!” I bellow from the pits of my soul.
“There is no way she survived.” The muscles in Koen’s jaw tick, eyes widening in disbelief. “You told me that you saw her die. Did you lie?”
“Is she alive, Lykia!” Heat runs up my throat, beating against my head as I scream. “Tell me right now, or else!”
“Or else what?” Her voice drops to a sinister growl “You’ll scorch me?” she scuffs, tossing her chin up. “I doubt that. Knowing I am the only one who knows for certain if she is or not.”
“Take me to her.” My eyes narrow, the fire in my palms bright, whipping in the subtle breeze.
“I can do some digging,” she taps his finger on her chin, “to see if she has survived. But, I need something in return.”
Koen steps in front of me. “Do not trust her.”
My head slowly shakes, eyes locking onto his that fill with tears. “You have no say in what I should do. Ever again.” I take a fierce step around him. “What do you want?”
“Serene, I’m serious.” Koen shifts in front of me. “Look at me, not her. Believe me when I say I had no idea who you were. Everything I have done has been for you.”
Lykia gasps, covering her mouth as she lets an amused, wicked chuckle escape. “Wait. No.” She pauses, crossing herarms as her body shifts to the side. “Is this the one you need to take back to the Darklands to save your mother?”
