No sound came. I was about to leave when she opened the door.
Her radiance stunned me. Every wili, the healthy ones, emitted a faint white-silver light that made their skin perfect. But the effect the glow had on Irene was striking. It took me a moment to stop staring at her sapphire eyes.
I clasped my hands behind my back. “May I come in?”
She held the door open. Good sign.
“How are you faring?” I steered away from her not to touch her.
“I’m better.” She rubbed her arms, making the fabric of her white gown shimmer. “I needed time to accept the changes in my new life.”
“Does it mean you forgive me?” My already slow heart skipped a beat as I waited for her answer.
“Being angry is a waste of energy. And once, you told me I shouldn’t apologise for something I didn’t control. I suppose I should return the courtesy.”
It was a start. “You need to develop your power and make your first kill before you start to fade.”
I probably should have been more sensitive, but tact didn’t come naturally to me.
She put a hand over her mouth and sobbed.
Hell. I should listen to Darius. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She wiped her face quickly. “I wonder if I should let my power fade. What is the point of revenge? It won’t bring Papa back.”
“Revenge, no. But what about justice?”
She sat down in a froth of white fabric, and if my breath could catch because of her beauty, it would. Sunlight caressed her cheek as if it wanted to comfort her, and I’d never been as jealous of a ray of sunlight as I was now. I couldn’t provide her with the warmth she needed.
“What justice?” The tip of her nose was pink from crying, and I found her even more beautiful.
“What Sean did to you…” I shifted my weight as my imagination produced unwanted visions of the thug attacking Irene. To me, revenge would be pure satisfaction. “He’ll do it to another woman. A woman who trusts him. He’ll break her and kill her, and then he’ll find someone else and start again. Together, we can stop him, and by stopping him, we’ll save lives.”
She regarded me with something close to respect. “I didn’t think about that.”
“You’re kind.”
She drew her eyebrows closer.
I continued. “Killing to make yourself feel better isn’t in your blood. But helping others might help you. As we speak, Sean is charming an innocent woman to destroy her.”
She flinched. “You made a fair point.” She crossed the room with the ethereal grace only wilis had and stretched out an arm towards me. “I’m ready to work.”
I flexed my fingers as a combination of longing and disgust battled inside me. Her hand remained hanging between us until she withdrew it, confused.
“You won’t shake hands with me,” she said, her tone sad.
“I don’t touch anyone, nor do I want to be touched.”
“Why?”
“I’m Ravenhill, the Duke of the Dark Court.” Emotion clogged my throat.
The urge to hold her slender hand, even for a moment, was so strong I shivered. The last time I’d touched someone, I’d been human, and since my transformation, I hadn’t wished to touch anyone. But Irene was special.
All of a sudden, the desire to be normal again, to enjoy her touch overwhelmed me as it hadn’t done before. Cold baths sounded rather enticing if they helped me.
I glanced at her hands. “You’ll start today.”
