“Well,” I stutter. “I—”
“Exactly,” she cuts in. “We are bound, you and I, by our indiscretions.”
It hits me again; in being played so often, I have come to know their hand. Their tells, their strategy. There is power, too, in bearing witness. And I have witnessed much.
“We have a deal,” I say, extending my hand blindly in the dark to shake.
Soft fingers wrap around mine, tugging me forward with shocking strength. Kassandra grips my palm in hers, clutching it as if I were a memory onto which she desperately wants to hold. She has held me twice today when she’s never touched me before.
“We have a deal,” she echoes.
The candle flickers awake once more, a small spark that illuminates her satisfied face.
“How did you do that?” I ask.
“I didn’t,” Kassandra says, the fire shining in her eyes. “You did.”
“I’ve never properly spoken to fire before.”
“Perhaps it’s never listened until now.” She shrugs, dropping my hand and leaning back.
Kassandra is stark naked. The flame flickers, crimson and peach and gold light painting her shining hair and taut pink nipples. Indigo shadows cup her breasts and pool between her thighs. I cannot look away from the power, my power, especially not as it bathes every inch of her in a brilliant portrait.
For once, my magic doesn’t smell like festering hate. Rather, it smells like the tang of upturned soil for a fresh grave. It is not the aroma of rot; it is the aroma of ruin.
“What’s changed?” I breathe.
Kassandra smiles, slow and deep, like a cat with its cream.
“Everything,” she says.
And the fire burns brighter and bigger and hotter.
Chapter Twenty-three
Days later, my hand hoversover the door.Knock, I will myself. It’s been three shifts since I nearly murdered Dominik in the lounge. In between Healing sessions with Eli in the king’s private library, I took advantage of the time off by lacing as much food to the bloodstained tunnel as my genius could manage. Now the scab itches, and I will return to work in two days. I haven’t had a chance to see Lila or thank her.
If they can wield their magic to destroy…why can’t I use mine to create?She is a strong, admirable faerie, someone I want to create pockets of joy with, to call a friend.
So I knock.
Lila opens the door, her coiled hair framing her face like a halo. Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise before a smile breaks out across her features.
“You’re okay!” she exclaims. “I was so worried—”
I throw my arms around her neck. We stumble against the doorframe and when she laughs, I’m shocked that I do, too.
Lila pulls back, scanning my face. “Are you okay?”
“Much better.”
“There was a lot of blood.”
My eyes water. We could talk about what happened, what she saw when Dominik curtained us with an Illusion. I shouldapologize for all of the disruption, for making her clean up alone. Instead, I just hug her again.
“Thank you,” I mutter.
“For what?”
