“It’s not safe to wake a sleeping king, love. Not that I’m complaining.”
Her face must have shown the urgency in her visit, for a quick flash of concern flitted through his features. “Why did you come here, Isla? Are you alright?”
Isla nodded. She tried to remember the terror and disgust she had once felt for this dark god when he visited her so many weeks ago, but they weren’t there. All she saw was someone being held against their will, trapped in his own mind, fighting to hold onto whatever hint of humanity still existed beneath his pale skin.
His solid, bare chest pressed lightly on hers, and his leg shifted against her thigh. Thin cotton pants brushed her leggings. He let go of her hands, but she didn’t try to move. Her pulse raced through every inch of her; there was such a small amount of space between them that his hair fluttered when she exhaled.
“I had to see you,” she said, then paused as his eyes lightened from black to blue. “Sebastian, tell me what’s happened to you. Tell me what’s making you do all of this so that I can—”
She was cut off as he growled and pushed himself away from her, grabbing a black shirt from the floor and jerking it over his head, covering those vicious scars. “Nothing has happened to me, Isla. Is that why you came here?” He sneered at her. “For some foolish idea of redemption? Don’t you remember what I’ve done to you and your family?”
Isla sat up in the bed and got on her knees to face him. “I know this isn’t you—”
“You don’t know me at all.”
He might be right, but still, she pressed on. “Some people who know you from your past spoke about you today,” she blurted, stumbling over her words. “They talked of your childhood, and how compassionate of a leader you were. How much you cared for the people in your kingdom. That you were a great prince, following in the footsteps of a great king.”
Sebastian tensed and turned away, moving to stand at the foot of the bed, gripping the mattress there tightly.
“Why are you treating my father and brother so well when they’re supposedly your prisoners? You told me that night by the river that you didn’t want to do this, and—and even now, you were worried about whether or not I was alright. That doesn’t sound like someone past redemption.”
She shuffled on her knees to the edge of the mattress, coming face-to-face with him. “Tell me what’s doing this to you. Is it the same thing that gave you those scars?” His face tightened, but she pressed on. “Maybe the elementals can help. I need to know what we’re up against,” she whispered as she reached out a hand, unsure why it was shaking so badly. His blue eyes closed when she touched his cheek, lightly tracing a path on the edge of his face until she reached his chin. Fire and ice danced across her fingertips as she pulled away.
When he opened his eyes again, the inky black pools had taken over. He swiftly grabbed her outstretched hand. “You should not be here. If you’re caught—”
“Bywho?”
“I can’t—what do you want me to say, Isla? It doesn’t matter who I used to be! I’vehurtpeople, or did you forget?” He released her fingers and moved away from her, running a hand through his disheveled blonde hair. “I amthisnow. I have to be. Stop looking for something to save.”
Isla scrambled off the bed and followed him. She was so close to an answer, she could taste it. If she pushed a little harder… “What do you mean, you ‘have to be’?”
“Stopthis!” He rounded on her. “These questions are dangerous, and you can’t keep coming to see me unless you have the dagger. It’s only going to get you hurt,” he seethed, but still drew closer, as if the pull to her was too strong to resist.
“Areyougoing to hurt me?” she said quietly. She’d asked him that once before, but that had been a different time. A different man.
He stared at her like he was trying to solve a puzzle in her eyes, their faces inches apart. “I don’t want to,” he finally said. His fists formed tight balls. “But I have to get the dagger. I can’t stop. Not even—” he stopped himself, his breath shaky as his eyes slammed shut.
“Not even, what?” Isla asked, stepping as close as she dared. His eyes opened and his fingers skimmed the side of her arm, nostrils flaring.
“I can’t fight it much longer, Isla.”
His whispered words reverberated through her mind and sent scorching chills down her spine. It was all the confirmation she needed.
Before she could say anything, the ship lurched. Sebastian grabbed her arms to steady her before she fell.
“Why are you on a ship? Where are you going?” she asked, gazing out the small porthole and onto the choppy waves beyond.
He took his hands away and rubbed his jaw. “I told you, you shouldn’t be here.”
Tension and unease crept up her back, folding her stomach into knots. She stepped back from him. “Where are you, Sebastian?”
He met her eyes, and his were black and filled with regret. “I’m on my way to Iona. We’re gaining on you.”
Her blood ran cold, and she stumbled back, her fingers finding the edge of the mattress. Whatever was in control of him was sending him after them. She hadn’t anticipated this.
“Oh, gods,” she whispered. He was going to follow them to the dagger and force the elementals to give their power over. They wouldn’t have a chance to get to her family and stop him if he was on their trail the whole time. She may trust Sebastian to keep his promise and leave her father and brother unharmed, but the force manipulating him? She knew it would have no mercy.
“Isla,” he said urgently as he grabbed her wrist. “If I catch you, I will destroy them. There is only one way to stop me,” he growled.
