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Manny quickly gathered Elyse’s arm in his own and pulled her in close. “I can’t believe you left me alone with them,” he growled, though there was a playful tone to his voice.
“Sorry,” Elyse said, trying to convey her sincerity. “Was it that bad?”
He shot her a look that said, “Yes, it was absolutely that bad.”
They strode into the corridor and back into the foyer, Manny keeping her close, perhaps afraid she’d slip away again. She felt him tense, and then he whispered, “About earlier…”
Elyse swallowed down her discomfort. Devil’s tail, she did not want to revisit this now. “Let’s just focus on tonight,” she whispered back. But she squeezed his hand, silently relaying that she understood.
Manny caught her eye as a soft, grateful smile warmed his features, and together, they entered the Diamond Room.
Chapter 31
- Killian -
For a moment, Killian thought Elyse was sitting across the tavern from him, batting her lashes at unsuspecting patrons. He realized, with some relief, that the woman’s eyes were blue, not dark like Elyse’s, and that her hair was too long. They could have been sisters, though, for all their similarities. Her hair was the exact same shade of silvery-blonde, her lips the same soft pink. She even had a cunning smirk like Elyse, which she flashed at each man who glanced her way.
Still, his breath caught. The woman might not have been Elyse, but his body didn’t know better. He was assaulted with memories of the night before: tangling his hands in that pale hair, watching those lips tremble with each shuddering breath. She’d looked so beautiful in the moonlight. Beautiful and wicked.
His hatred had fueled his passion. He’d wanted to punish her. He’d wanted to make her weak for him. But he’d also wanted to forget for one gods damned minute everything that had gone horribly wrong between them.
“Killian?” Sera asked, tapping his arm.
“Hm?” Killian replied reflexively. He blinked and turned toward Sera.
She gave him a taunting look. “I was asking if you wanted to dance,” she said, pointing to the very back of the tavern where a crowd of patrons swayed to the music. They seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, though it looked more like a heap of bodies gyrating together than any sort of dance Killian had ever seen.
He quickly shook his head. “Oh, no. I don’t dance. In fact, I think the last time I danced was with you at Royce’s.”
Sera had dragged him onto the floor then, and he had only obliged her as a way to keep her distracted while Manny searched Royce’s home for evidence. Perhaps that was what she was doing again—distracting herself while Manny was away.
“Can I tell you a secret about that night?” she asked, her purple eyes full of mischief.
Killian glanced at the silver-haired woman across the bar. A man approached her, sending a sickly feeling through Killian. He cleared his throat and gave his attention wholly to Sera. “As long as it doesn’t involve something you and Manny did privately after the party.”
She giggled but waved him off. “No, it’s much juicier than that.” She looked deviously over both shoulders, then leaned closer. “I switched our glasses on purpose.”
Killian’s jaw fell open. “You what?” He remembered how after dancing, they had returned to their table and sipped from their drinks. He also remembered how Sera had handed him the honeysuckle wine instead of his own pear wine. He’d thought it had been a mere accident, especially since he’d claimed to have an allergy to honeysuckle. Apparently, he’d been wrong.
“But,” Killian stammered, “but what if I really had been allergic?”
Sera brushed him off with a shrug. “Oh please, you were clearly lying.”
“Really? You were confident enough to risk my life with that theory?”
She opened her eyes wide, conveying her point. “Well, you didn’t die, now did you?” She lifted her chalice and playfully swirled her mead in circles. “I’m very good at reading people, and you, sir, were hiding something.”
Killian leveled his gaze on her. He couldn’t deny it—he had been hiding several things. The fact that he had feelings for Elyse, and that he had taken an emotion-suppressing potion to smother those feelings. Had she known that honeysuckle was the one antidote that would break the potion and send his feelings for Elyse flooding back to him?
“This ability to read people,” he began skeptically, “is it tied to your clairvoyance?”
Sera tilted her head, considering. “Partially, yes. I do have some innate ability to discern people’s emotional states, even without using tea leaves or tarot cards. But it’s also from studying my clients over the years, and learning the patterns of human behavior. I’m sure you have similar skills from being a lieutenant.”
Killian knew exactly what she meant. As a lieutenant, and often a lead investigator, he had carefully honed his ability to tell when someone was lying or hiding something, when they were a naturally nervous person, or nervous because they were guilty. Perhaps that was why being tricked by Elyse felt especially demoralizing—because it was undeniable proof that he was a poor detective.
The waitress brought them another round of drinks, and Killian sipped from his stein, garnering strength from the brew. There was something he’d wanted to ask Sera for months, and since they were being candid, perhaps now was the time.
He waited until the waitress left, then lowered his voice and asked, “How much did you know about Elyse’s involvement in King Cyril’s murder?”
