“I’m just saying—we’d all be better off if the king was dead. Would it fix magic? No. But at least we wouldn’t be getting executed anymore. It’s a more solid plan than trying to make a deal with death.”
Jessa closed her eyes now.
A familiar vibration hummed in the air, causing Elysia to straighten.Shit, shit, shit.And then an even more familiar voice was in her ear, his lips tickling her skin as he murmured. “Suchfilth coming out of your mouth. I think the least you can do is buy me a drink if you’re going to talk like that.”
All the tiny hairs on her ear and neck stood up.
Son of a bitch.
He spoke again before she could move. “And what do you mean,make a deal with death?”
She spun on her stool and stared up into the ever-vibrant green eyes of the crown prince.
“This bar doesn’t serve people like you.” She spat the words and probably a little gin right at his broad, handsome face. He was so close she could see the faint dusting of faded winter freckles along his nose and under his eyes. She used to kiss them in the summer, when they popped against his skin. Even the slightest hint of light brought them back. She had always wondered if he’d be covered had he lived anywhere else.
The prince toyed with the edges of her cloak, his hands moving to grasp the outside of her shoulders. He looked torn between his intrigue regarding her ill-timed statement and saying whatever it was he had come here to say. He settled on the humor that sat awkwardly upon him, like a sweater he’d outgrown, but couldn’t quite part with.
“I’d chastise you for your loud proclamations of treason, but we all know it wouldn’t do any good, and I don’t have much time. I came to warn you.”
Elysia eyed him more carefully now. Beneath the freckles were the bruised smudges of a man who hadn’t slept well for a very long time. The corner of one eye jumped and his shoulders were strained. She frowned.
“Warn me of what? Tell me.” Anxiety closed her lungs, her thoughts going to all the worst places. Her hands wrapped around his wrists, heart pounding unevenly.
The prince gave her a crooked sort of smile, one he used to make all the time, but never did anymore. Her fingers dug intohis skin. He was trying to soften whatever it was he was about to say, but he was only making it worse.
“Just say it. Is there a warrant for me? Is Beatriz okay?”
His brow smoothed. “No, no.” His eyes went out of focus for a moment before they latched onto her once more. When he spoke, his voice chilled Elysia to her core.
“You’re right. The king does need to die. I’m afraid that’s going to prove difficult, though. I came here to warn you that he knows—what I am, what you are, and he can rip the magic right out of your body. I watched him kill Terrin using the same power.”
Elysia stared at him. The entire bar disappeared. She didn’t hear the glasses clinking, or stools creaking while people shouted, only her blood rushing in her ears.
One last time, it was just her and him. Eye to eye, soul to soul—she leaned in, letting him be the rock her wave broke against. She held onto the feeling for one breath, two breaths, and then she exhaled out and the room slid back in with reality.
“You should have told me—about you.” Her words were barely a whisper.
The prince looked down at the mud tracked floor, tension lining his mouth. “But I didn’t. And neither did you.” He squeezed her shoulders. “He’ll kill you, Lys. In a heartbeat, if you do anything brash. I know I said we should work together, but I think you should leave.”
Elysia took a step back, shaking her head. “I don’t believe you.”
The prince heaved a short, frustrated breath. “He said he would kill you the second you step out of line. He thinks he can manipulate me through you.”
A small, sad smile moved Elysia’s lips. Her words were soft. “Butweboth know that isn’t true. You almost let me die once,and you would do it again no matter what you say if it meant saving Kava.”
The prince started to open his mouth, but Elysia spoke over him. “There’s something you’re not telling me. You’ve gone sentimental for the moment, but I know you, it won’t last. It never does. So tell me, what did you find out?”
He glared fiercely at her. “Don’t use your magic on me.”
Elysia laughed, feeling more and more drained the longer this conversation continued. “I just know you. No magic necessary.”
He scraped at his face, his stubble making a scratchy sound against his palm. He refused to meet her eyes when he finally answered. His whole body tensed.
“He killed her. My sister. I know you didn’t know her. She was always gone or being hidden away. Guess I know why now, but—I think he had something to do with the Fall. He made all these comments about my grandfather and how my mother died.” The prince regained his focus, and his face hardened. “I won’t be responsible for him killing you, Elysia, and I don’t know if I’m going to like who I am at the end of this, so I am begging you to leave. Because you’re right. My grief will blacken, and there is no telling what I will or won’t do to stop him.”
A flash of guilt entered his eyes, and she knew what he wasn’t saying. Whatever promises he had made that he would never hurt her were now void. He had one mission and she would only get in his way.
His large hands swallowed her face. “Just tell me what you know, and I will get you out of here. You want Beatriz or your friend to go with you? Fine. Just tell me what you’ve learned and I’ll handle the rest. You can pick the kingdom. I have friends everywhere, there’s nowhere you can’t go.”
