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She hadn’t even realized she was crying until the two women pulled apart from one another, and Elyse stood back to observe her friend through her tear-blurred vision. She let out a nervous laugh as she wiped her eyes, and Sera did the same.
Sera was just as beautiful as Elyse remembered, perhaps more so. Her black hair contrasted lovingly with her fair skin, and her pastel silk dress clung to her frame adoringly. She took hold of Elyse’s hand and, with her typical grace, pulled her to the settee.
As she sank onto the familiar cushions, Elyse let out a long exhale. It was funny how emotions seemed to have a way of smothering themselves until they were allowed to release. And now that she had emancipated an ounce of feelings, they assaulted her all at once. Her heart pounded with gratitude.
“I didn’t know if you’d want to see me,” she blubbered.
“Elyse,” Sera sighed, so much emotion in only two syllables. “Of course I’d want to see you.”
“You don’t hate me?” Elyse choked out. Her chin wobbled as she stared at her friend.
Sera gave Elyse’s hand a squeeze. “You did something terrible, and you lied about it. But…” She paused and shook her head. “I know your soul, Elyse, in a way that only someone with my gifts can. I know you have a true heart. Whatever your reasons were, I trust that they were good. I just want to understand.”
Elyse didn’t know what to say, so she stared at her lap. She wanted to thank her friend, to tell her she was undeserving of her kindness. Yet all Sera wanted was an explanation, and Elyse wasn’t sure that she could give it to her.
When she’d told Jaime, she’d been an emotional wreck, still reeling from the way her world had collapsed so suddenly. Since then, she’d been able to restore her walls, creating the barrier she’d hid behind for so many years. She wasn’t sure how to break out of that sanctuary again.
She took a deep breath. She owed it to Sera; it was the absolute least she could do for her friend.
She started at the beginning, explaining how she and her mother were enslaved to a demon named Lazarus. At first, she faltered through her words, waiting for Sera to rebuke her. But the more she explained, the faster her words flowed, until she was professing every detail.
Sera listened intently with tears in her eyes. She held Elyse’s hand the whole time, even as she described her first kill. When Elyse told of how she took her own life ten times to try and get out of murdering a young woman, Sera’s expression mirrored her own grief. And when she described killing King Cyril, and how she despised herself for every moment she had fallen deeper in love with Killian, Sera rubbed her back in soothing strokes.
As difficult as it was to relive each moment, the solidarity she felt from Sera gave her the strength she needed. By the time she was finished, she felt the tiniest bit better, like a fraction of a weight had been lifted. They sat together, holding one another, until Elyse’s breathing slowly returned to normal, and she had no more tears left to cry.
Sera relaxed against the settee. “I had no idea,” she breathed. “I wish you would have told me. I could have shared your burden.”
Elyse immediately shook her head. It felt liberating to tell Sera the secrets she’d held for so long, but it hadn’t been easy. And even now, there were still secrets that she held back. She couldn’t bring herself to talk about how Lazarus might be her father, and that she was too terrified to learn the truth—that she might be half-demon.
“No, I—thank you. That’s kind of you to say, but… I already involved you more than I wish I had. You lied for me, Sera. You were my alibi—you could have been thrown in jail. And Manny—”
Sera held up her free hand, cutting off Elyse’s rambling.
“Manny and I are fine,” she stressed. “Great, actually. He understands why I lied—he would have done the same for Killian.”
Hearing his name sent shivers down Elyse’s spine.
“And Killian,” she began timidly. “Do you know how he is?”
Sera glanced away, and Elyse’s heart lurched. “He’s… Well, he’s torn up—as is to be expected. I haven’t seen him personally—I don’t think he wants to be around me—but Manny tells me he spends most of his time…” She paused and glanced back at Elyse. “...searching for you.”
Elyse only nodded. There wasn’t much she could say.
Sera finally pulled her hand away and patted Elyse’s leg. “But I’m glad you’re here,” she said, plastering a smile on her face. “I say we get utterly drunk, just like old times.”
Elyse laughed as cherished memories flooded her mind. “Remember when we started a brawl at the Black Cat?”
“Yes,” Sera laughed. “Remember when we were bored and drunk and decided to switch bodies?”
“Yes,” Elyse snorted, recalling the way she had felt so ridiculous in Sera’s lanky form. “Remember when we challenged those guards to see who could finish a cask of ale first?”
“Gods, I was sick for days after that,” Sera lamented. “And that’s why I don’t drink ale anymore. But, lucky for us, I have a bottle of wine in the cabinet.”
She began to stand when she abruptly fell back onto the settee and pressed her hand to her temple. Her face was pinched, her eyes closed, and she let out a groan.
Elyse rushed to keep her friend from falling forward. “Sera? What’s wrong?”
But Sera was unable to say anything coherent. She groaned again, squeezing her eyes tighter, her already pale skin drained of any remaining color.
