Page 257 of Blade of the Nightking

I tore one hand free, instantly battling the heavy folds of my skirts, my fingers scrabbling frantically through layers of silk. The dress had become its own prison, every pleat tangling around my hand as I searched for the sheath strapped against my thigh.

"Get off me!"

He seized my wrist and forced my hand flat against the hardened bulge beneath his trousers.

Revulsion surged through me. I wrenched against his grip with everything I had, twisting so violently that pain lanced through my shoulder, but he held me fast, deaf to every protest, lost entirely in whatever fantasy my struggling had conjured in his mind.

I could feel the bone knife strapped against my thigh—only inches away, if I could just reach it.

He ground himself against my palm. Then, without warning, his free hand fisted the front of my dress and yanked. The air split with the sound of tearing as the fabric ripped clean in two.

His eyes heated as they caught on my bare skin, my heaving breasts. His fingers flew to his trousers, grappling with the buttons.

It was the opening I needed. I bucked my hips as hard as I could. Thalassis lurched forward, hands splaying to catch himself. I rolled onto my side, drew my knees to my chest, planted one sandaled foot square against the center of his chest, and shoved with everything I had.

He sprawled backward over the edge of the couch, hitting the floor hard with a startled grunt.

I scrambled to my feet as the ruined halves of my dress slipped from my shoulders and fell around my ankles. My fingers found the familiar curve of the bone hilt strapped to my thigh just as he pushed himself onto his knees.

I tore the knife free and thrust it between us, its point leveled at his throat. The hilt vibrated against my palm, warm as though it were still alive—as though it were urging me to finish him.

Thalassis stilled.

The softness in his features was gone. In its place was something cold and contemptuous, a smile that never reached his eyes.

"Think carefully, Elowen," he said evenly. "Imagine the consequences."

The Full Circle would come after me. I knew that well enough. I was already going to have to answer for what had happened in Illyra, but if I injured—or killed—Thalassis... there would be no coming back from that. Not even Aedric could save me from the Full Circle's wrath.

I edged backward toward the door.

Slowly, Thalassis rose to his feet. A savage gleam lit his eyes, a taunting smirk contorting his handsome face.

"Now where do you think you're going?"

"To... to Aedric," I whispered.

He let out a theatrical sigh. "Such a shame," he murmured. "To possess power like yours... and have so little command of it." His smile widened. "Lucky me."

He lifted one hand—and the air around me changed. It thickened at once, pressing against me with suffocating weight.

The enchantment. It was gone.

What moments before had behaved like air was simply water again.

It closed over my face, my hair, my skin. I clamped my mouth shut, terror seizing me. One instinctive breath—one panicked gasp—and seawater would pour into my lungs.

Thalassis tilted his head, cruel amusement curving his lips.

He was going to drown me.

"Did you really think you could threaten a High Lord in his own domain?" he asked with terrifying calm.

My vision blurred. My lungs screamed for air. I stumbled backward, but the magic followed me. My back struck the wall.

He took a step toward me. “This can all be over, Eidra,” he said. “Bond with me.”

The chamber burst inward.