“Here.” He held out the blade he’d gifted her in the human lands, the one he’d retrieved from her home.
“If this won’t allow me to kill you”—she took it from his grasp and slipped it into her shirt, securing it in her bra—“why wait until now to give it to me?”
“I didn’t want to ruin the surprise of your botched attempt to kill me with it. I also wanted to see howyou’d react to being completely at my mercy. In case you’re wondering?—”
“I’m not.”
“—better than I expected. Your fearlessness and confidence, not to mention what must be hours upon hours of training, is exceptional.”
“I was dosed to sleep for most of it.”
“Nonsense. You talked yourself out of trying to escape, you tried to break the crystal chalice at your possible peril, and we enjoyed a lovely horse ride together—it’s been an exciting collection of hours. The only additional thing I could’ve asked for was to taste your lips while my fingers sought your deeper places, feeling you tighten and ripple around them as I brought you to climax. But I’ll wait for that. I want to watch you unravel in the comfort of my chambers.”
“You’re getting tedious,” she said with a suddenly flushed face. She knew full well that shewouldunravel, which was why it wouldn’t be happening. Unless it was a means by which to kill him?—
She jerked her face toward him in frustration, belatedly cutting off that thought.
He laughed delightedly as the shimmering purple in the air lightened.
“What a fun toy I have found.” He slowed, checking the straps on his backpack and taking his knife from its sheath. “So grumpy in your resignation, yet still so delusional. Iwillwatch you unravel. You won’t be able to help yourself. I can’t wait. Now…” He held out his hand to slow her, his eyes going skyward. “This is it. The moment we cross this plane, the fringe will be right in front of us. It is entirely an illusion, remember that. It is not actually a large wall at all. The holes you noticed aren’t really holes. The archway is not as it seems. It is an illusion to cloak the fringe, to identify the barrier, and to seem very scary.”
“And so when you say you are going over the fringe…?”
He squinted while tilting his head this way and that, thinking through how to explain it. “It’s complicated. We’ll be running toward what looks like a briar-covered hole, thesecondopening on therightof the large archway. So there is the archway, and we will take thesecondopening on theright.Do not get confused.”
He paused and waited for her to nod.
“I have tried each and every one of those supposed openings. The first on the right is devastating. I barely lived through it. I have permanent scars to show for it. Okay?”
“Second on the right.”
“Yes. Now.” He held out a finger, the teasing and joking from earlier completely gone. “The moment we cross the threshold—are actually within the fringe—we will stop and collect ourselves. This is the important part. From now on, you will do exactly what I say, when I say it. No stopping to think. No grudging acceptance and dragging your feet. Your survivaldepends upon you following my orders to the letter, and immediately. I will keep you alive as long as you trust me.”
She quirked an eyebrow at the last line. It was a very large ask for her to trust him in any capacity. He was her captor, her secondhand abductor, and he was taking her to her doom. Trusting a guy like this seemed like suicide. But it was clear he had plans for her, and they weren’t just what he had planned within his chambers.
Besides, what other choice did she have? The bottom line was, shewasat his mercy. Completely. Her weapon and his didn’t work on him. Hand-to-hand was laughable—his magic would stop her before she could get anywhere. And yeah, the magic. He had the upper hand in all things. He could kill her at any moment anyway.
He waited patiently, his gaze jogging back and forth between her eyes. He was letting her work it out, wanting her to agree to this willingly.
It was that, above all, that made her offer him a crisp nod.
“Okay,” he said, mimicking her nod. “Take out your blade. You’ll need it. It’ll save your life and, if needed, mine, because if I die, you won’t make it out of this realm. Do you understand? I am your lifeline and you are my responsibility. We work as a team to keep each other alive.”
She repeated her nod and did as he said. Once inhand, the small knife grew to the size of a dagger, her weapon of choice. It clearly knew that.
“Okay.” The word rode a release of breath. “This is the most dangerous part. That blade will cut through fae magic. Remember outside of the charity banquet hotel? The Celestials are no different. They’ll just have more power and more cunning. Defend yourself however you can, and do it while running. They cannot follow us into the fringe. That is where we’ll be safe from them.”
He didn’t say it, but his tone made it obvious—safe from them…but not safe.
“Try not to make any sound until you’re within the fringe,” he continued. “I will speak into your mind. Think any answers, and I will hear. I won’t bother explaining why it’s necessary. From here, we will sprint to the gate. Are you ready?”
Her stomach fluttered with adrenaline. Her body was amped up and a little anxious. A lot wary. She gave in to it for a moment, letting it run through her. Then she focused. She loosened her limbs and prepared for battle.
Yes,she thought.
“My gods,” he said softly, his gaze appraising. “You are magnificent.”
She didn’t get a chance to wonder what had excited him because he thought,Three…two…go!
