AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As quietly as she could, she combed through the vials, holding them up to the window to try and see their coloring. When she found one filled with shimmering gold liquid, she smiled, and slipped the vial down the front of her shirt, tucking it between her breasts.
She didn’t bother with placing the chest back on the shelf. By the time anyone found it lying on the floor, she would be long gone.
Chapter 44
- Killian -
The fire did little to warm Killian as he sat in one of Zubir’s ragged chairs. A permanent shiver caressed his spine, urging him to be on guard. It wasn’t only the nalusa falaya that unnerved him—though the idea of a monster lurking outside the gates was certainly dread-inducing. Elyse had watched them from afar, her dark eyes venomous, proclaiming her anger. With her brows drawn low and her teeth gritted, she was more formidable than any creature that stalked the shadows. Now she was out of sight, and something nagged at Killian to follow her.
He waited as long as he could, then stood and raised his arms over his head, letting out an exaggerated groan.
“I’m going to go stretch my legs,” he announced.
No one bothered to protest the obvious lie. They all knew what he was doing. He was going to check on Elyse.
He rounded Zubir’s house and leaned against the wall, keeping an eye on the outhouse. A minute passed, then another. He shifted awkwardly. Maybe waiting for her outside as she relieved herself wasn’t the best idea, but it was the only one he’d had.
A few more minutes passed, and she still didn’t emerge. He was about to give her privacy when he heard a sound toward the front of the house. He strode around the side, squinting his eyes to see. As he rounded the house, he saw a movement at the gate.
Elyse had opened the gate, disrupting the ring of fire that encircled the property. She stood with one hand on the fence, as if pondering what awaited her. She looked regal, the fire casting her in magnificent shades of gold and copper, the shadows dancing at her feet. Then she slipped silently through the opening, shutting the gate behind her and disappearing into certain peril.
Dammit, Elyse.
He took off toward the gate. Each slam of his boots against the ground reverberated with realization.
She hadn’t gone to the outhouse at all.
She’d stolen a vial of angel’s blood.
This had been her plan all along.
Fury empowered him as he tore open the gate and raced after her.
It was dark, but he could see Elyse’s figure a dozen yards ahead. She was walking fast, her knife at the ready in her hand.
“Elyse,” Killian hissed as he ran to catch up with her.
He was fuming. She’d lied to them, she’d snuck out, she was putting herself—and their mission—in jeopardy.
Elyse whirled, her face glowing by the light of the fire that rimmed Zubir’s property. Killian swore he saw fear beneath the determination in her eyes.
But she turned around and resumed her pace without uttering a word.
He grumbled to himself as he hurried after her. She had to be the most incorrigible person he’d ever met, and it would be the death of both of them. He grabbed her arm and spun her to face him.
“What are you doing?” His eyes darted around the forest, searching for signs of the creature. Shadows loomed all around him, provoking goose pimples on his skin.
“I’m doing what needs to be done,” Elyse snarled, wrenching her arm from his grip and continuing down the path.
“No, you’re not,” Killian growled. He ran before her, blocking her path. “This is suicide, Elyse.”
With her back to the fire, he couldn’t see her expression, but he could imagine her dark eyes brimming with fury.
“Get out of my way.” She tried to push past him, but Killian stood firm.
He grabbed both of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “You can’t do this, Elyse. Certainly not by yourself.”
“I know how to protect myself.”
