Nice.
He lifted the blade, placing it against my cheek just under my eye. The tip was wet as he dragged it down, smearing blood from the cuts he’d made on my thigh. “Tell me, pet. Tell me how you’re still alive. How you survived before.”
“I…I don’t know,” I said, and that wasn’t exactly true. I knew how I’d survived our first little meet and greet.
“Hmm.” He slid the edge of the knife over my chin and down my throat. “I don’t believe you.”
I held still.
“And I don’t like it when you lie to me. I thought we’d moved past all of that,” he said. “That you and I were better than lies.”
“You’re insane,” I choked out.
“I’m a lot of things, pet. Insane is not one of them.” The pupils of his eyes dilated. My breath caught as I started to close my lids. “Don’t,” he commanded, and it was too late for me to do otherwise. “Tell me how you survived.”
My lips and tongue moved, giving sound to words. “Caden saved me.”
His head straightened, and he frowned. “How did he save you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have to know.” He cupped my cheek, smoothing his thumb over the trails of blood. “Think hard about it. What was he doing when he saved your life?”
I did what he asked, thinking back to when Caden had saved me. It was like wading through muddy waters until I came to vague images of a hospital room and beeping and…. “I felt the sun. I tasted…tasted sunlight.”
“Tasted sunlight?” Aric was still for several moments, and then he jerked upright. He stumbled back, dropping the dagger.It clattered off the floor. “He gave you theKiss.” His eyes widened. “He gave you theSummer Kiss.”
Scratching the rock against the stone, I carved another mark.
Forty-seven.
Today was day forty-seven, and it was different. Aric had not been to see me. Not yesterday or today, and I knew this because my thoughts were clearer, even though I was hungrier than I’d ever been.
But I knew there was something important that I needed to remember, something that Aric had shared, and that was what I focused on while I worked on the mark.
He’d told me something about the Summer fae, something that had been…unexpected.
My gaze drifted from the stone to the floor as my thoughts wandered to all-you-can-eat buffets and gumbo and beignets and—
I dropped the rock and tipped forward, my eyes narrowing on the floor under the slab. Something was lying there. What was it? Scooting onto my knees, I stretched until my fingers brushed cool metal.
The dagger.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, curling my hand around the hilt. How had it gotten there?
Part of me didn’t even care to know the answer, because this…this was my chance. My vehicle of retribution. My payback. It was everything, better than a juicy steak and a mountain of mashed potatoes.
My stomach grumbled in disagreement.
Okay.Almostas good as a juicy steak and a mountain of mashed potatoes, but this was…this was my chance.
Tears flooded my eyes as I stared at the dagger. Aric was an Ancient. I still remembered how to kill one. Head shot or sever the brain stem. Fae be gone, right there.
I rocked back, lifting the dagger toward one of the torches. The blade was stained red—with my blood. I looked down at the cuts all over my legs and my arms. This was Aric’s weapon, the tool he used on me. He…he’ddroppedit the last time he was here.
That was super careless of him, but he’d been…shocked about something. My grip tightened on the dagger as I tried to recall what had led to him dropping this. Even though my head felt less woolly than normal, it was still full of empty spaces. He’d been asking me questions, wondering how I’d survived—
The sound of footsteps outside the chamber forced me into jerky action. I needed this dagger, so I knew to hide it and pray that he hadn’t realized he’d left it behind. Shoving the blade back under the tomb until it was hidden by the shadows, I then took a deep, slow breath, preparing to stand. I knew I’d be dizzy and winded, but I needed to get to my feet. I needed to do everything possible to keep my wits about me and keep that dagger hidden.
