“Yes, we should have.” Had Cora’s shields been down, she might have sensed Gisele’s duplicitous intentions. But there was nothing to do about it now.
She eyed the two figures in the other pool, watched Gisele melt into the man’s arm as she pressed a kiss to his lips. The kiss immediately grew heated, and Cora averted her gaze. It landed on a boulder between the two pools, one strewn with the man’s discarded clothing. She was about to turn her back to the pool completely when something caught her eye—a small detail on the man’s greatcoat, illuminated by the glowing ceiling. It was a symbol embroidered on his sleeve.
A black crescent moon on an indigo background.
The sigil of Duke Morkai.
The man who’d made her into a murderer.
7
All the relief Cora had felt since entering the pool fled in an instant. Her muscles coiled, stiff with rage, her mind reeling.
This hunter, James, belonged to Duke Morkai. But he was more than just a duke. More than one of the most influential men in Khero, second only to King Dimetreus. He was a mage too. Not merely a witch, working quiet magic or the elements. No, he was something else. Something darker. Stronger. His Art was blood. His spell was death. Only Cora seemed to know the truth.
It brought her back to the dreaded bedroom of her nightmares. To the blood on her hands. To her screams. To the condemning voice, half anguish, half anger.
What have you done?
“Cora.Cora.”
She jumped at the arm lighting upon her shoulder. She had to shutter her eyes a few times to clear them of the bloody tableau.
“What is it?” Maiya whispered, casting a quick glance at Gisele and James. “Is it the hunter? Do you feel danger from him?”
Cora didn’t know what she felt about the man. Her senses were too clouded with ghosts of the past. That and her shields were still firmly in place. With a slow exhale, she imagined a small window parting the elements that comprised her mental shields. Narrowing her focus to the two figures in the other pool, she extended her senses, let herself feel what they were feeling—she snapped the window shut faster than she’d formed it.
Desire was all she’d sensed. That and…arousal.
It was enough to steal away some of Cora’s prior tension and send her cheeks heating.
Maiya snorted a laugh. “Did you just try to read their feelings?”
“I know, I know. It was a bad idea that I should have seen coming.”
“Hopefully we won’t see anything else coming, if you know what I mean.”
It took Cora an extra second to understand what she was referring to. When she did, her mouth fell open and she gently slapped the surface of the water, sending a teasing spray to her friend’s face. “Maiya! Did you just make a naughty joke?”
She sank down a little with a bashful grin. “I’m serious though. If they do anything more than kiss, I’ll…I’ll…throw a rock at them.”
“Make sure it’s a big one,” Cora muttered. She risked another look at the couple, but thankfully they’d parted from their kiss and now chatted side by side. As she pulled her gaze away, her eyes lingered on the boulder where James’ greatcoat was draped, that patch of indigo bearing a black crescent moon still watching her like an eye.
“Are you mad I told Mother about the nightmares?” Maiya said in a rush.
Cora wrested her eyes from the hateful sigil.
Maiya’s grimace was laced with guilt. “I know she came to talk to you earlier today. Are you mad?”
“Of course I’m not mad, Maiya. I couldn’t be angry with you if I tried.”
Maiya gave her an apologetic smile. “Did Mother end up…helping at all?”
Cora bit her lip, debating whether she should tell her the truth. “She didn’t talk with me about my nightmares.”
“She didn’t? What did she say?”
Again, Cora considered keeping the facts to herself. But she trusted Maiya. Besides, if she didn’t know now, she probably would soon. Maiya and Salinda had an honest relationship. “She wants me to take the path of elders.”
