Ouch. That had been a little too on the mark, but Lynd’s message from the fates crashed in between her ears, and she paused, trying to remember exactly what Lynd had said.
“Topp… One of the things the fates said was that we have different missions.”
He looked at her askance. “You’re just saying that to get rid of me.”
“No, I’m serious. Gods, I wish I could remember what Lynd said, butoh—the king is yours.” She nodded feverishly, one hand pressing down on the table.
“As in…”Kill my father?He let the unsaid words hang in the air between them.
Elysia deflated, smiling weakly. “I’ll let you decide what that means,” she offered delicately.
The prince grabbed her unfinished beer. “We could swap if you want? I’m sure your death god would love me.”
Snorting, Elysia gave him an actual grin. “If only.”
Topp looked into her now empty mug. “You want some food? I’m starving.”
She nodded, waiting until he stalked off to the bar to slip off her stool and back outside.Some guard he would make.Elysia leaned against the wooden slats of the tavern, letting the cool air clear her thoughts. She just needed a moment. Her insides itched, and there was something screaming in her brain for her to put as much distance between herself and everyone else that was getting difficult to ignore. She had zero practice with emotional vulnerability and—surprise, surprise—it wasawful.Rip your skin off and jump into the lake so you can travel back to the death realm awful.
Elysia exhaled, watching the white air puff away as she walked around the side of the tavern. Was this what other people dealt withall the time? Shit was for the birds. Maybe sheshouldgo find the nearest body of water before Topp found her and reinstated himself as her personal guard.
Her gaze on the forest, she didn’t pay any mind to the crunch of boots behind her. But then the noise stopped, and with the sudden silence a prickle of unease ran up the back of Elysia’s neck. Right as she began to turn, the cold metallic cut of a blade pressed lengthwise into her throat. The arm wrapped around her chest from behind held the blade easily, their grip and posture confident.
Elysia’s nostrils flared in irritation. All she’d wanted was amoment. One single moment to clear her mind.Wrong day, bitch.Both hands gripped her attacker’s small wrist, her body turning and twisting beneath the woman’s arm. One hand still squeezing her attacker’s wrist, she shoved her opposite hand between the woman’s shoulder blades, forcing her to bend in half.
The knife clattered down with a dull thud against the snow, but the woman wrenched out of Elysia’s hold, kicking the knife away and turning toward her.
Elysia ripped two blades out of her chest harness and stared at the narrow dark blue eyes glittering back at her. Lanky and lean, the stranger looked far too at ease for someone who was nowwithout their weapon. Breath rapid, Elysia’s hard gaze never faltered as she took a step closer, her magic creeping out and verifying what she’d already gathered. Her attacker knew how to get in, out, and wipe her blade clean before anyone else even knew she was there.
In other words, Elysia found herself facing a fair match.
She darted in, her offense practiced and without error, but the woman moved fluidly, avoiding her with a laugh. Annoyed, Elysia tried again, mentally trying to place the woman’s familiarity. There was something about her eyes—the small size, the shape. Maybe it was the point of her chin.
Focused on the blonde, Elysia failed to realize there was a second, far more concerning threat lumbering up behind her. A massive hand grabbed her shoulder, whirling her around and latching onto her throat. Feet dangling, Elysia scrambled to dislodge the giant’s hold, swiping with her daggers.
Unamused, he lifted her higher, where she couldn’t reach him.
Fuck. She was losing air. Black danced on the edges of her vision.
The blonde ambled closer. The winter sun bounced off her face.
“You stole my kill, Elysia Parker.”
Stunned, Elysia blinked, but the man squeezed harder, until black dots became an endless, airless sky.
Chapter 16
Elysia woke to angry,incessant snarling.
Gods, she felt like shit.
She’d only been choked out once before. She hadn’t minded. She was always trying to get Gage’s men to practice harder with her, but Gage, on the other hand, had made sure the man joined her on the dirt, out cold and with a bruised windpipe.
Last time she’d woken up to careful ministrations from Gage’s practiced hands. Today, her wrists and ankles were chafing against ropes that tied her to a chair, and she had no idea where she was. Another sharp snarl echoed out, and her lips turned up at the sight of Crusher, world’s best Deathlands hound, standing on her feet and warning everyone off.
The lanky blonde sat on a stack of crates, twirling and tossing a blade to a silent rhythm, likely blissfully unaware Crusher could swallow her whole.Fucking Aidan.Such a stalker.
“Quite the undead pet you’ve got there, Parker.”
