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An instant later, dirt replaced grass. Tendrils of blue smoke dissipated into the darkness as Elyse clutched the rose to her chest. Beside her, Jaime dropped his hands to his knees, breathing heavily. Ahead of her stood the clinic, its windows alight with the flicker of candles.
It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an hour as she waited.
Another puff of blue smoke, and Killian’s silhouette appeared beside her. He was instantly upon her, wrapping his strong arms around her shaking body.
“We did it,” he breathed. “You did it.”
She closed her eyes and leaned further into him as her heart migrated back into her chest. She allowed herself a moment. One moment of rest, of being with Killian, before she would check on Sera. Before she would figure out what to do about the blood pact. Before she would sleep for an entire day.
“You did it,” Killian whispered again in her ear. All of the anxiety and self-loathing she’d felt faded with those words as she sank deeper into his arms.
She lifted her head, finding strength and awe in his gaze. His lips were so close to hers, and she rose to her tiptoes to close the space between them. Their mouths met, a tender yet passion-filled kiss that melted everything else away.
And then—
Chapter 59
- Elyse -
Elyse crouched low, the wind whipping her hair as she lingered near the edge of the ridge. In the distance, the setting sun crested the treeline.
“As soon as Ymaritis is down, we go in,” she said, forcing strength into her voice. “Watch my back, and I’ll watch yours.”
Jaime nodded, though his eyes flickered toward Killian.
Elyse pivoted, fully facing Ymaritis once again. This was it. They would either fail, or they would succeed. Either way, they had to act fast.
She heard the groan of the bow string as Killian pulled the arrow back. The forest seemed to quiet, intensifying the sound of Elyse’s racing heart. Ahead of her, Ymaritis knelt in the clearing, tending to something on the ground.
An exhale.
An echoing thrum as the bow released.
A whistle as the arrow flew through the air.
Ymaritis’s silhouette disappeared.
He was gone—not dead. Not injured. Simply… gone.
“You didn’t actually think that would work twice, did you?”
Elyse whirled and nearly tumbled backward off the ridge.
Ymaritis stood on the rocks behind them, his silver eye iridescent in the fading sunlight. A menacing smile slid across his lips as he stared down at them.
Elyse’s mind raced to catch up. He had transported himself from the clearing to the ridge using that inexplicable magic. But how had he even known they were there? And what did he mean—about thinking it would work twice?
Her teeth gnashed together as fear overtook her confusion. On pure instinct, she flicked her hands toward him, summoning her magic. Ymaritis gracefully waved his hand, bringing his shield up in time to deflect her death hex.
“Have you learned nothing?” His voice was a laugh that hissed with arrogance.
Before she could comprehend his words, the world darkened—so quickly it might have been a blink. Yet when reality returned, it was in a different setting. She stood, her hands behind her back, bound by rope. Silhouettes of trees surrounded her, their towering branches haunting in the light of dusk. In the distance was the ridge where she’d been perched moments earlier, its jagged edge jutting against the sky. Confusion clutched at Elyse’s lungs, making her breaths serrated.
Ymaritis ran a hand through his dark hair as a confident sneer tore at his lips. His mismatched eyes gleamed with triumph. Behind him, Killian and Jaime both knelt on the grass. Their arms were pulled behind their backs just as hers were, but while Elyse struggled against her binds, they were both rigid, every muscle taut. Daggers hovering menacingly in the air, their points pressed to both Killian’s and Jaime’s hearts.
Elyse’s fingers twitched, evoking her magic, but Killian grimaced as the dagger kissed his skin, drawing a single drop of blood.
“I wouldn’t dare,” Ymaritis drawled.
