“Kaelisar forbade us,” I protest.
“What did you do to me?” Now it's Nell who asks in a whisper, but there's no fear in her voice, rather wonder.
“It's a temporary boost,” I explain, watching as Sylara discreetly leans against the wall. She's pale, more than usual even for an elf. “She gave you part of her elemental energy. That... that's not something we normally do. It has a cost. In fact, Kaelisar explicitly forbade it.”
“I feel...” Nell breathes deeply, closing her eyes. “It's like I could create a hurricane just by thinking about it.”
“Don't do it,” I murmur. “The apartment insurance doesn't cover damage caused by novice elementals.”
“Wow, you're getting the irony. Very good, Kobold,” she laughs, raising both thumbs at me.
We're so close I can count the almost invisible freckles scattered across her nose. For an instant, a primitive impulse invades me, almost uncontrollable. I want to taste her lips.
I pull away abruptly, confused and alarmed in equal parts. I don't know what's wrong with me.
“Take this,” I say too roughly, handing her a small glass vial with a clear liquid inside. “This is the last thing. A few drops in his drink and he'll sleep long enough for you to explore the mansion.”
Nell takes the vial, studying it cautiously as she rolls it between her fingers.
“It won't kill him, will it?”
“It'll just knock him out.”
“What a shame! The world would be better off without him,” she says suddenly. “Anyway, I'm not a killer,” she declares firmly. “Thief, yes. Liar, when necessary. But I don't cross that line.”
I'm about to respond when Sabina enters the apartment, her hair slightly damp at the tips. She's wearing a tight shirt that shows more than necessary, and it irritates me to notice how Nell's gaze drifts to her cleavage.
“All set,” she announces. “Six visible guards, four at the main entrance, two patrolling the perimeter. Standard camera system, nothing Sylara can't handle.”
“And the escape route?” I ask, moving even further from Nell.
“Clear. Ready, little thief?”
Nell nods as she shifts her gaze to Sabina's lips and a pang of something that looks too much like jealousy pierces through me.
**
“What the hell did you do?” I protest the moment I'm alone with Sylara.
“Improve her chances of surviving, that's all.”
“That's all? And in the process increase your bond with her, right?” I insist.
“Jealous, Kobold?”
“Kaelisar forbade it.”
“Are you jealous of me or Sabina? Because it's clear the Fae is devouring her with her eyes.”
“Why would I be jealous?” I growl.
“Because I am... and I'm an elf. I don't even want to think how a Kobold might feel in a situation like this. And that confirms my theory.”
“All that bonded Quad stuff? That's bullshit, assuming it ever really existed.”
“And yet, here we are. Three elementals: one of each element, feeling an inexplicable attraction to that girl,” she states with a calm smile.
“And how does that work? Assuming it could be true, of course. Do the three of us end up fighting over her? Does Nell choose who she wants from us?”
