“Hmm? Oh, a stunning spell,” Killian answered quickly.
Elyse scowled. “A stunning spell doesn’t knock someone unconscious.”
“You hit your head pretty hard on the way down,” Sera said. Her brows were knitted together above lavender eyes that shone with exaggerated worry. “You really don’t remember? Maybe we should get you to Privya…”
“I’m fine,” Elyse repeated, this time with more aggression. Sera snapped her mouth shut. Elyse looked between the three of them for a long moment, as if debating how much she wanted to press the issue. Killian forced himself to hold her gaze.
Finally, she shrugged and stalked out of the alley. Killian let out a long exhale and exchanged relieved glances with Sera and Manny. They’d managed to subdue her—this time. But as they followed Elyse out of the alley, Killian couldn’t stop wondering how long they’d be able to keep her wicked impulses contained.
12
Killian
It had been another longday—one that could only be remedied by a warm bath and a mug of ale.
They’d made it to Levoy right after sundown, after trekking for nearly five hours. They had, at least, been able to commandeer a carriage, though the long, bumpy journey had been spent mostly in silence. Manny and Sera had taken turns sleeping on each other’s shoulders while Killian tried his best to avoid Elyse’s haughty gaze.
Levoy wasn’t as large as Sevhella, but it was still sprawling and filled with the same raucous energy. That was where the similarities ended. A wide river bisected the city, and sandstone bridges connected the two halves every few blocks. The weather was far milder, courtesy of the northern climate, and the air tasted cleaner—not like the stench that plagued Sevhella in the summertime. The city had a sort of charm that Rhodan’s capitallacked, a level of sophistication that came from the stylish stone architecture and a well-planned layout.
Upon arrival, they’d stopped the carriage at the first inn they’d found, paid the driver a handsome wage, and acquired three rooms for the evening. Sera had inquired about the location of the bizarre bird attack and discovered it was in the opposite corner of the city from where they were staying. It was late enough that they’d decided to investigate in the morning.
Killian and Manny had conducted their nightly training, now under Elyse’s tutelage. Though, tutelage was far too benevolent a word to describe how she taunted them, sneering at every mistake. Killian was wholly convinced that the only reason she had offered to train them was so that she could abuse them—both mentally and physically.
Now, Killian soaked in the tub in his private room. A mug of ale sat on a stool beside him, its contents already half-drunk. He let the warm waters soothe his back and hips, which were angered after sitting in the cramped carriage for so long. He slipped deeper into the tub and savored the feel of the heat on his shoulders, the way the tension seemed to evanesce. As he closed his eyes, he pretended he was anywhere else. He imagined the way things could be between him and Elyse, if she weren’t a soulless wretch, and if they weren’t burdened by a demon whose motives were impossible to determine.
Months ago, they had glimpsed that normal life together. Killian had worked at the palace during the day while Elyse ran the Emporium. Then he would meet her in the evenings, and they’d share dinner over candlelight. Sometimes they would skip the meal altogether, their hunger for one another overpoweringtheir desire for food. They’d spent countless hours in Elyse’s tiny bed, exploring one another’s bodies.
As glorious as those hours were, they hadn’t been Killian’s favorite. He preferred the moments when he could watch Elyse—quiet moments when her focus was honed in on something else. The way she bit her lip as she studied one of her ancient spellbooks. How her face lit up when a potion simmering in the cauldron turned a precise shade of green. The pinch of her brows as she tried to cook them dinner—a dinner that, more often than not, ended up being inedible.
Those were the moments he cherished most. But now, each time he stole a glance at Elyse, she was scowling. Or she was nowhere to be found. And as it stood, they were as far away from getting Elyse’s soul back as they were from tracking down Lazarus. Which was very, very far.
He heard the doorknob rattle, but he didn’t think much of it. The door was locked, and whoever it was could wait. But when he heard the undeniable click of the lock and the creak of the hinges, he opened his eyes.
Water sloshed around him as he moved to cover his body. He shouted some indiscernible noise at the intruder, but the door swung open anyway. Elyse stepped into the room. Her dark eyes went straight to him, a smirk forming on her lips.
Words evaded him, fear stealing them from his throat. Elyse looked at him with a sort of brutality that made him squirm. She was merciless, and that look could mean a hundred different things. Perhaps she hadn’t berated him enough during their training, and now she was there to continue. Perhaps she’d decided she had no more use for him and was there to endtheir alliance—violently. Killian had no clothes, no weapons, no warning to protect himself. Nothing but the little pink crystal wrapped around his wrist, the very one that Elyse had gifted him in a past life.
Yet as Elyse moved closer, there was a glimmer in her eyes—one that didn’t quite align with the monstrosity that Killian feared. With each lithe step she took, he realized she was looking at him withdesire. Hunger. A sort of possessiveness. And that made him fearful for a different reason.
He swallowed and tried to ignore the way his body responded to her, and how utterly aware he was of his nakedness. He tried to ignore the way Elyse’s smirk meant she, too, was thinking of his bare skin. She sat on the side of the tub and trailed a finger along the water’s surface.
Speak, he commanded himself, but he didn’t know what to say. He knew he should tell her to leave, but his throat refused to cooperate. His body was betraying him in the most infuriating ways.
Elyse spoke instead, her voice a seductive drawl. “I thought you might like some company.”
Killian drew a steadying inhale. “It’s rude to enter someone’s room uninvited.” He wanted it to sound cool, impartial, but his words wavered at the end.
Elyse let out an arroganthumphand cocked her head. Her hair spilled down, dangling like a sheet of soft silver, and Killian had to look away. His chest tightened as he resisted the urge to run his hands through that hair, to grasp it at the scalp and pull her face closer.
“Leave me be, Elyse,” he said quietly. It was as loud as he could manage, as if his heart had tried to stifle his words. He knew it was a terrible,terriblething that Elyse was in his room, that she was so enamored by his body. He wanted nothing to do with this devilish version of Elyse. A version who cared only for revenge, and apparently carnal motives.
She grazed a finger along his neck and Killian jerked in surprise. Her touch didn’t falter as she stroked the skin from his jawline to his collarbone, the movement slick from the water. He’d expected her touch to be cold, like her heart, but instead it was warm. Inviting even. Tantalizing.
She was here. She’d sought him out. Clearly, she wanted him. Maybe it was a sign—that she remembered what they’d shared together. Maybe somewhere, even in the absence of her soul, she could learn to love him again. She could becomehisagain. As Elyse dragged her finger across his shoulder, Killian felt a spark of hope.
He lifted his gaze to hers and realized how wrong that hope was. Her smile was cool and wicked, no trace of love there. Only lust, undiluted by anything like shame or even nervous butterflies.
“Elyse,” he chastened, moving her hand away from him. He couldn’t bear to feel the sensuality in her touch, knowing there was no sincerity behind it.
