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Eloise frowned in thought. Nobody had ever asked her that. “If I could be anyone, I suppose, I would probably be a storyteller.”
“A novelist?”
Eloise let out a soft snort. “Where have you heard of female novelists?”
Keyon shrugged his enormous shoulders, lifting her slightly in his arms. “I hear her right now.”
Eloise smiled, basking in the warmth of his reassurance. How nice it felt when someone deemed you important. Important enough to ask what you wanted. Important enough to believe in your dreams.
She wasn’t ready to talk about her dreams, though, or the future. “When you were a highwayman, you must have stolen a lot of valuable things,” she said.
“Mm, plenty. And plenty since.”
Eloise chuckled. “What is the most impressive thing you’ve ever stolen?”
Keyon kissed her on the top of her head, and his arms tightened around her. “You.”
* * *
Eloise woke up in the dark, empty room. It seemed like it was still night, but the thin light streaming from behind the curtain indicated otherwise. Eloise sat up and stretched. Her muscles ached from the vigorous night activity. Her cheeks heated in memory.
Keyon was not in bed with her. She wished she could’ve woken up next to him. She would make certain to tell him that.
Eloise looked around and spotted a new silk dressing gown lying on the chair beside the bed. She smiled and walked toward it. Beside the dressing gown lay a beautiful, bejeweled hairpin with a long stem. She loved those little gifts Keyon left her. She wished she could see his face when he gave her those presents. She picked up the dressing gown and put it on. The cool silk was like a balm to her overheated skin.
She slowly walked toward the window and looked out. The weather was gloomy and gray, but her mood was the opposite, and nothing would be able to sway it.
She would definitely miss this leisurely lifestyle. Here in Hades’ prison, she lived like an aristocratic lady, doing nothing of importance all day, reading and socializing, wearing the finest of silks.
She loved being here. But she missed being useful. She wished there was something she could do to busy herself.
Her gaze fell to the journal by her bed.
What if you could do anything in this life? Anything you want. What would you do?
Keyon’s words rang in her mind.
A storyteller.
Eloise smiled and shuffled toward the journal. She opened it and read the few first lines.
She shook her head with a smile. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d written those words. It definitely didn’t seem like a few days.
Soon those days would be over.
Eloise would want to come back to Keyon, of that she was certain. Her brother, on the other hand, would not let her go easily. And despite Keyon’s words the night before, she wasn’t certain he’d fight to keep her.
Eloise wanted to remember her stay here, and she wanted to remember the enigmatic man who had captured her heart.
She stood and went to her closet. She performed her morning ablutions and then peeked out of the room. Sal and Garric were in their usual places, on guard.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile. “Would it be too much of a bother to ask for a bath?”
Sal shrugged. “Actually, the master told us to get you a bath as soon as you awakened, so it’s probably ready by now. I’ll tell the women to get your breakfast too.” He winked at her and hurried away.
Eloise’s cheeks heated as she was left one on one with Garric, but he pretended not to notice, and she was grateful. Keyon had probably encountered both guards when he was leaving the room, so they knew he had spent the night with her.
She quickly closed the door, her breathing labored. She fanned her heated cheeks and walked back to the bedside table.
