The girl let out a short chuckle. “Do you treat all of your staff like that? No wonder you had no one to travel with.” Lingering close to Amira, the girl seemed ready to intervene should Amira decide to make good on her word and scream.
Hands clenched into fists, Amira asked, “Who are you? Why were you defending Loraine? And why are youreallyin this carriage with me?” She tried to make her voice sound menacing, but she didn’t have Wryen’s talent.
This girl knew Karwyn’s cousin. All the questions Amira had kept buried in her mind about the mysterious Loraine were bubbling to the surface. Why was she still trying to find out when her curiosity had only brought her more pain?
The redhead inched her face towards her. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Amira was thrown off by her tone. She would’ve expected a threat; instead, Elyssa’s voice was teasing. It was strangely…pleasing.
“No more questions?” Elyssa asked, a half smile pulling up the corner of her pink lips. “Good. If you want to keep popping pills, quit asking.”
Amira huffed. “You can’t stop me from taking pills.”
“Wanna bet?” the girl dared her, not at all worried she might lose. “I’m your provider. So you better not tell anyone about myhumanness,or else you can saybye byeto your precious little pills.”
Amira still couldn’t wrap her head around the girl’s presence in her carriage, but the pill was starting to act. The weight of her body disappeared. Her mind told her she should be worried about the girl’s words, but her thoughts all turned numb, floating around aimlessly, exactly how she liked it to be. How sheneededit to be.
“What’s your name?” Amira heard herself asking the mysterious girl. She blinked, the pill making her more sleepy than usual. Maybe she had overdone it this time.
“Elyssa,” the girl replied sharply.
“That’s a pretty name.” Her voice sounded so distant.
Elyssa’s smile turned soft. “That’s the pill talking. You should shut up before you say anything you’ll regret.”
Amira closed her eyes, drifting away on her favourite high, Elyssa’s radiant smile still on her mind.
* * *
The carriage hit a hole on the uneven dirt road, jerking Amira awake. With a yelp of pain, Amira sat upright. For a second, she almost thought she had dreamt Elyssa’s presence until her eyes landed on the human girl.
Using her cloak to cover her outstretched legs on the bench across from Amira, Elyssa was reading a book. She had pulled back the curtains, and the sun shone on the side of her face, making her freckles more prominent.
“Morning, sunshine,” Elyssa said while keeping her focus on the book. “That’s ariveting read you got there.”
Amira’s eyes landed on the cover and she hastily sprung up. It was the human book Rhay had gifted her when they had still been…friends.
“I can’t believe you went through my things,” Amira hissed as she snatched the book away.
“Easy, princess, you wouldn’t want to ruin this masterpiece. I wasn’t expecting you to readthis.” Elyssa’s grin increased, her eyes sparkling. “I’m intrigued.”
Amira stuffed the book back in her bag. This girl was awfully rude. Resisting the urge to argue, Amira bit the inside of her cheek. “My things are private. Never go through them again. Understood?”
Elyssa raised her hands and laid back against the bench. “I’m not judging. I was just looking for a distraction. And that book sure is…distracting.”
Amira’s cheeks flushed. “It was a gift. I didn’t choose it myself.”
Leaning forward, Elyssa’s gaze settled on Amira so intensely that Amira felt it dive right under her skin. Who was this girl?
“Agift? Well, now I’m even more intrigued. Who gave it to you?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Amira replied, trying hard not to think of Rhay. “But it was given to me so I’d have something fun to take my mind off things.”
A wicked glint lightened Elyssa’s bright golden eyes. “And did you?” Amira stared at her, a question on her face. Why were they still discussing this? Elyssa’s smile turned up, and somehow, Amira almost forgot to breathe. “Enjoyyourself?”
Amira’s mouth dried up as she struggled to find words. Was Elyssaflirtingwith her? Surely not. Fortae must be messing with her mind. “As my maid, you should know better than to question your mistress.”
Silence turned the air heavy. Elyssa’s eyes were calculating. Aware she shouldn’t be interested in her reply, Amira still couldn’t look away as Elyssa opened her mouth to reply, “Is this the kind of roleplay your books have been teaching you?”
