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Elyse held her bloodied hand out to Sera, who began tending to her cut. “Well,” she said once the wound was covered. “The place where I’m staying has an extensive library. We could start there.”
Sera brought Killian a roll of fabric to bandage his hand, along with the small leather bracelet sporting the pink crystal.
“You can have this back now.” She said it with an impish smile, though the levity didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Killian let the bracelet lay on the table while he began bandaging his hand.
“I see you’re still using the pink one,” Elyse observed aloud. She had been surprised to see that he still had the crystal she had given him, especially since she’d chosen pink as a joke.
Killian didn’t deign a response.
One month suddenly felt like an immense amount of time.
Chapter 15
- Killian -
Killian strolled up the path to the country estate where Elyse stayed, Sera following behind him. Neither of them spoke to one another—Sera must have sensed that Killian wanted nothing to do with her company. He wished Manny was joining them, but his friend had been too busy with guard duties to attend. Still, Killian supposed that having Sera around was better than spending the day alone with Elyse.
It was now the third time he’d been to the enormous home, yet every time he saw it, he felt his anger renew. Over the past few months, he’d pictured Elyse many times. He’d always imagined her hiding out in shady inns, stealing to get by and traveling only by the cover of night. In reality, she had been living like a princess in a prim and spacious cottage.
The house was settled on top of a hill, sunshine pouring in through its tall windows. Pristine grass stretched in every direction, and rows of perfectly manicured tulips lined the walkway, yet Killian had never seen any groundskeepers. Perhaps the whole bloody place was enchanted to look immaculate. It belonged to someone named Jaime, and Killian wondered what sort of woman this “Jaime” was. Was she a witch like Elyse? Or more of a connoisseur of magic, like Royce? Either way, she was housing a wanted felon, and that made her an idiot in Killian’s book.
He approached the massive mahogany door and performed the special knock Elyse had shown them on their first visit—the one that would let them pass through the wards and signal to Elyse that she had friendly company. He couldn’t tell if he imagined it, but he swore he felt a stirring in the air as he finished the last knock.
Moments later, Elyse swung the heavy door open. She smiled meekly up at Killian, but he brushed past her into the lavish foyer, down the hall adorned with expensive paintings, and into the library.
He could hardly keep from rolling his eyes upon entering the room, which was the size of his mother’s entire house. The shelves were so tall that some of them required ladders to reach the higher levels, and every surface was covered in books. The only wall that wasn’t obscured by shelves boasted an enormous map of the Kingdom of Rhodan, so pompous and gaudy that it made Killian snort.
He knew he should be grateful for the size of the library, and for having access to it, but did it have to be so damn lavish? It only served as a reminder that Elyse had won and was doing just fine. Better than fine, even.
He settled himself in the corner as Sera and Elyse entered the library. They were discussing something in hushed voices, but Killian paid them no mind. He had gotten good at tuning them out over the last few days.
He dove into the book at the top of the pile he’d set aside for himself—An Extensive History of Western Rhodan. They’d divided up certain areas of research to be more efficient, and Killian had agreed to look into Prestowne’s history to see if there was anything relevant to the attack. Meanwhile, Elyse read through books on the demonic language to see if she could decipher the symbols that had surrounded the priest’s body, and Sera looked up spells that involved genocide and fire.
Hours passed as they each worked in silence, occasionally reading a passage aloud to the group to get their thoughts. So far, nothing significant had come up in their search, but they earmarked a dozen or so pages to come back to just in case—probably more out of wishful thinking than actual merit. Time passed slowly, especially as the texts were incredibly dry, and Killian often found himself daydreaming about being out on the obstacle course behind Elyse’s shoppe.
He had been proud of the way he’d fought against her in Prestowne, even if he hadn’t been able to get any spells past her shield. His magic had been powerful, fueled by his emotions, and he had been mostly accurate. The duel only made him want to train harder, and he had spent hours each night since honing his spellwork. If it ever came down to a battle between him and Elyse again, he wanted to be sure he wouldn’t lose.
He realized he must have been staring at Elyse, because she looked at him with furrowed brows. He shook his head and refocused his eyes on his book, but he could feel that she still watched him for a moment longer.
“I’ll go make us some lunch,” Sera announced suddenly as she stood up from her chair.
Elyse scooted back in her seat. “I’ll come with—” she began, but Sera cut her off.
“Don’t be silly,” she said, waving her hand. “I can handle it on my own.” Then she fled from the room before anyone could protest.
The library instantly felt entirely too small, as if all the books were pressing in on Killian, shoving him toward Elyse. He was acutely aware of her presence, the sound of her breathing like a horse snorting, loud and gusty. And it was so damned hot! The sun was practically roasting them alive through the grand floor-to-ceiling window. He tugged at the collar of his tunic, trying to get comfortable, but to no avail.
He tried to focus on reading, but his mind traveled. He wished that Sera would hurry back. He was in the middle of reading the same sentence for the fourth time when Elyse finally spoke up.
“How’s your mum?” she asked quietly.
His hand flinched reflexively, his thumb and forefinger tightening around the page they gripped. “Fine,” he answered without looking up from his book.
Elyse was quiet, and Killian thought that was the end of it. He started to read the sentence for the fifth time when she added, “And Georgie?”
Killian stared down at the book in his lap. He hadn’t seen George in weeks, not since the boy moved in with his new family. He’d heard from his mother that he was doing well, that he got along great with his three new sisters and that he was excited for school to start. His expression soured as he realized, with a pang of guilt, that he should have gone to visit Georgie by now.
