Killian didn’t respond, his thoughts too jumbled to form words. Maelor must have followed his gaze, for he said, “She must have some honor, too, if she’s captured your heart.”
Killian didn’t miss the way his king’s voice had changed, losing some bravado as he spoke of the woman who had murdered his father.
“She does,” Killian agreed. “She’ll do everything in her power to make sure Lazarus is destroyed.”
“Even if that means harming others?” Maelor asked. “Will she take innocent lives if it means achieving her goal?”
Killian twisted to find his king staring at him, awaiting an answer. He thought back to when he’d first met Elyse. He’d found her so despicable then, so selfish and reckless. It was comical, really, how wrong he had been about her.
“No,” he answered easily. “She’ll protect others at any cost.”
Maelor nodded. He said nothing else. After a few moments, he clapped Killian on the back and descended the stairs once again.
Killian returned to watching Elyse. He noted every movement she made—every bounce of her hair, every curve of her body. The way her pale skin shone in the moonlight. He memorized all of it, treasuring it as best he could.
He knew without a shred of doubt that Elyse would save the world tomorrow. His only fear was that she would give up her own life to do so.
39
Elyse
Elyse’s thighs burned. She’d never climbed so many stairs in her life—not even at Zubir’s island. As she and Sera worked their way down the final row of stands, her muscles rejoiced.
She glanced up at the full moon and felt her stomach lurch.No more,she reminded herself.I don’t have to fear it anymore.How long would it be before she was able to look upon a full moon without her body reacting? Would it happen in this lifetime?
A few rows down the stadium, the others had gathered together. Killian and Manny were busy pointing at different spots around the arena while Nina and Corin leaned against one another on the nearest bench. Elyse thought she’d spotted King Maelor with Killian earlier. She was glad he was nowhere to be seen now.
“Let’s go check in with Killian and Manny before we start on the arena floor,” Elyse said, still a bit breathless.
She turned to look at Sera and found her friend’s face ashen, her expression grave. Her lips were pursed as her lavender eyes stared at her husband.
Her husband. Happy as Elyse was for the couple, it still didn’t quite feel real. The wedding had been too lovely, too perfect. Surely it had taken place in a dream.
She stepped closer to Sera. “What is it?”
Sera’s gaze remained fixed on Manny. In a hushed voice, she asked, “Do you remember when you promised you’d help me—no matter what?”
The blood drained from Elyse’s face as a quiet terror slipped into her heart. There was something about Sera’s tone that had her frightened to hear more. “I remember,” she answered after a dread-filled moment.
Sera pivoted, looking Elyse directly in the eyes. There was a cold determination on her face that Elyse had never seen before. Her brows were lowered in a straight line, and her jaw was set. But beneath all of that, there was a flicker of desperation.
“I need you to promise me something else.”
40
Elyse
The inn at Quinar wasn’t quite as luxurious as their room at the Tan’s home, but it was a close second. A four-poster bed sat in the center of the wallpapered room, its sheets tucked meticulously beneath a mattress that rose to Elyse’s navel. The fluffy pillows and soft linens looked enticing, but Elyse’s nerves wouldn’t allow her rest any time soon.
She dropped her rucksack to the floor and leaned against the bedpost. Killian had set his rucksack on the dresser and was busy unpacking his belongings. Elyse chuckled quietly to herself. Of course he was the kind of man who actually put his clothes in the dresser drawers, even when there was a realistic chance that he would never return to collect them. She kept that thought to herself, though. The mood was already tense enough without her morbid jokes adding to the mix.
She eyed her pack, debating if she wanted to follow Killian’s example. She decided against it. What if Killian returned without her tomorrow? It would be easier on him if her things were already compiled nicely. Instead, she sat on the bed—spawn of hell, it was soft—and began unlacing her boots.
She’d barely slid them off when she hopped off the bed and snatched up her rucksack. She’d heard Sera talk about manifesting before, about putting positive energy out into the world and how that would attract positive outcomes. With that in mind, she flung open the wardrobe doors and began emptying her rucksack. She hung her cloak on a hook at the back and set her other items on the wardrobe floor, and promised herself that she would be back tomorrow to get them herself.
When she’d finished, she stood back and eyed her work before shutting the wardrobe doors. Her hands hung at her sides, fidgeting and desperate for something to do.
“I’m going to wash up,” she decided aloud, and marched to the adjacent latrine.
