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My heart flutters as I lift my chin, a grin forming on my lips. “My, my… For a lady, you clearly have a way with words.” Reminds me of Alice.The queen has a collection of colorful insults that put ‘asshole’ to shame. “It’s safe.”
“I’m sorry, was I supposed to be polite to demons? All of you are the same, cunning, selfish tricksters. I’m not in the mood for playing games.”
I let my eyes wander over her features, the button nose, the ethereal cheekbones, almond eyes… She’s elegant, but I know in elvish culture that her beauty likely means nothing thanks to the dark hue of her hair. For elves, the more silver the better. Regardless of what kind of elf they are, silver hair is a symbol of nobility and the darker their hair is, the more polluted the genes are.
It’s fucked up. No one can control their hair color, nor can they control their heritage. The color of their hair determines nothing beyond physical appearance. It doesn’t make them brave or wise. It’s just one more reason to deem the elves snobbish.
And she calls me selfish. At least I believe in basic rights.
“How did you get past the enchanted wall?” I grit.
“What?” She arches a perfect eyebrow, rolling her neck, feigning impatience.
“The stone wall that surrounds the keep. You can’t miss it. It’s enchanted to keep people from stumbling upon this place. So, either you toyed with it or—”
She cuts me off with a shake of her head. “There’s no enchanted wall. I’ve been living here for weeks. If there werewards somewhere other than the rocks we’re standing in, I’d know.”
“You’ve been living in my home for weeks?” My brows disappear into my hairline.
“I didn’t know it wasyour home. It looked abandoned.”
It was…but she doesn’t need to know that.
The woman scans my face, but her scowl softens a moment as if she’s just now noticing my scars. She quickly darts her eyes away when she realizes I’ve caught her gawking. It’s a pretty common reaction. At this point, I’m used to it.
She inches to the right, but I put my arm out, my fingers splaying over the cool stone beside her head, talons gone. I’m not sure when they went away.
“I’m not done with you, little girl. I still have questions.”
“I owe you nothing,demon,”she says, as if the species itself is dirty. “Now move and I’ll be on my way.”
“Would it kill you to sayplease?”I just need a moment. If the wall is down, there’s no telling what else is lurking around the keep. If she leaves, with or without her crystal, I could very well be sending her to her death. Yet, if she stays… What? I’ll stay here all night?
I could take her to Hell Hold. Alice and Kai could put her in a room for the night and find her a ship back to the islands tomorrow.ButAlice would insist I stay in Hell Hold, too. She’d try to convince me to move in with them permanently while we ‘look’ for somewhere else that’s fitting for a prince. I’ve never been able to tell the woman no. Nor, have I ever been able to stick to my wits when she bats her baby blues at me. She’s my best friend, as hard as that is for me to admit. I prefer to stay to myself, yet she’s wormed her way into my heart.
I hate and love her for it at the same time.
Not to mention, Alice would use the children against me. That’s how she kept me there for weeks already. She’ll convincethem to beg me to stay, and if she’s hard to say no to, those little spitting images of her are much harder. They’ve mastered the puppy eyes.
No…Going back to Hell Hold, even if it’s to take this woman there, is not an option.I’ll make it work here.
“Sorry,” the elven woman’s voice hits my ears, yanking me from my thoughts, and as I return my gaze to hers, white-hot, searing pain explodes in my middle. She leans in, putting her mouth near my ear as she whispers, “Keep the crystal. I don’t need it, anyway.”
My lips part as I stagger back a step. It’s impossible to take a deep enough breath, the air leaving me in short bursts. The woman pulls up her hood, shoots me a closed-lip smile, and glides out the front door of the keep. Before I can wrap my mind around what just happened, she’s disappeared into the woods.
My spine arches as I buckle forward, bracing myself with a locked arm, using the wall for support. Gritting my teeth, I wrap my free hand around the leather-bound hilt of my dagger, then yank it free from where it’s buried between my ribs. A grunt escapes me, the air hissing through my clenched jaw.
If I were mortal, the wound alone would kill me. Yet, this blade in particular is going to make me wish I was dead in a moment. It’s been dipped in pix root poison, strong enough to bring an immortal, like me, to their knees. It could take days before the drug works its way out of my system, unless I can take the antidote.
Which, to my fucking luck, is in the castle's apothecary in Hell Hold. Pressing my hand to the wound, dark blood seeps through my fingers, dripping steadily onto the dusty marble floor.
I curse out loud, hearing the echo of my voice bounce off the stone ruins.
She stabbed me.
With my OWN BLADE.
Then had the gall to leave me for dead.
