“You keep saying that,” Elyse drawled. “Allow me to finish for you.Ido not like people who steal from me.Ido not care whether you live or die.Iwill squeeze the life out of you right here in this street and forget all about it by lunch. So what areyougoing to do about it?”
The man’s eyes flickered to Killian. Through gritted teeth, he snarled, “Control your woman.”
Killian’s brows lifted, and he raised his hands innocently. “Oh no,” he said, somewhat amused. “She doesn’t listen to me.”
The man’s face was turning so red, Killian thought blood was going to start spilling from his eyes. Elyse’s gaze remained locked on him, her brows pinched with hatred. Killian took a step toward them, unsure of how to diffuse the situation but desperate to try, when someone else hurried past him.
With sure strides, Sera marched up to Elyse. Elyse’s eyes flickered toward the seer for a split second before Sera reached a long arm out and touched Elyse’s shoulder.
“Sominus en rea,” she uttered in a guttural voice.
Elyse dropped to the ground in a heap—just like the cream puff had.
Killian stared, mouth ajar. He looked between Sera, Elyse, Manny, and the red-faced man, whose eyes were nearly bulging from his skull.
“You’re welcome,” Sera barked at the man. When he still didn’t move or speak, she spat, “Get out of here!”
The man shook his ruddy cheeks and scurried down the street.
Sera was already pulling at Elyse’s arm, trying to lift her up. “Come on, help me. We only have a few minutes,” she hissed at Killian and Manny.
Killian hurried forward and grabbed Elyse’s other arm. Together, they hoisted her up.
“Nothing to see here, folks,” Manny called to the few passersby who had stopped to gawk at them. “I’m a member of the Royal Guard, and I’ve got the situation under control,” he said, hands lifted in a placating manner.
He pivoted back to face Sera, pure panic on his face. “What the hell? She’s going to kill you when she wakes up!”
“No, she won’t,” Sera gritted out. “We’re going to take her to this alley over here, and when she wakes up, we’re going to tell her that you two were practicing your magic, and she took a rogue spell to the head.”
Obediently, Killian began dragging Elyse toward the alley. “Won’t she remember?”
“No,” Sera grunted. “The spell should knock out the last minute or so of her memory. Hopefully enough that she forgets the whole altercation.”
Once in the alley, they propped Elyse’s limp body against the wall. The last time he’d seen her catatonic like this, she’d fallen hundreds of feet, barely slowing herself from slamming into the ground. He tried not to think of how worried he’d been for her then.
“You can really do that?” Manny asked. He frowned. “Doesn’t exactly seem ethical.”
Sera shot him an exasperated look. “It’s a dirty spell, but it did the trick.” Her eyes softened as she took in Killian. “She would have slaughtered you for trying to interfere.”
It was probably true. Killian didn’t have much time to ponder it though, as Elyse began to stir. Her eyelashes fluttered half open.
“She’s coming round,” Manny announced.
Killian squatted, putting himself eye-level with Elyse. He schooled his face into a concerned expression, which wasn’t difficult. Though, his fear was more for himself than for her.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Elyse’s eyes opened all the way. She looked at each of them for a split second before bolting upright. “I’m fine,” she growled as they each took a step away from her. “Stop fussing over me.”
She swayed on her feet, and Killian instinctively reached a hand out to steady her. He pulled it back before she noticed.
“What’d you do to me?” she grumbled, bringing a hand to her temple.
“Technically it was Manny,” Killian said, earning a seething look from his friend. “His shield deflected my spell right at you.”
With Elyse’s back to him, Manny mouthed something along the lines of, “You’re so fucking dead!”
“What spell?” Elyse asked.
