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It was a shame they couldn’t pinpoint which one. If anyone could do it, it was Elyse. She had done so many incredible things, like growing Nina’s teeth back or giving Corin that compass. If only they had a compass, or even a map, that pointed them to the eternal rose. If only…
He leaned back, resting his elbows in the dew-soaked grass as an idea bombarded him. He’d only just begun to piece his thoughts together when a shout interrupted him.
“Killian!”
Manny’s voice echoed down the hill. Killian turned to see Manny waving at him from the doorway of the cottage, beckoning him back inside.
“She’s awake!” he called down.
Killian grinned. Elyse was awake, and right in time to hear his plan.
Chapter 39
- Elyse -
Sera, Manny, and Jaime all stood in Elyse’s bedroom, staring at her. She wanted to tell them that she was fine and insist that they stop giving her pitying looks—especially Jaime. He hovered by her side, fluffing her pillows and forcing water in her face, making her feel like an invalid.
The truth was she felt like hell. Every joint seemed to have been torn apart and crammed back together, and the little bit of sunlight trickling in through the window made her head pound. Worse than all of that, though, was the realization that she had failed.
Her memory was blurry, but she recalled enough. She remembered how Ymaritis had reveled in the havoc he reaped. She remembered the woman’s screams as she plummeted to her death. And she remembered Ymaritis stealing the rose from her pocket as she lay there, helpless.
She had always known that there was someone out there, stronger and more powerful than her, but she had never imagined she would face that person with such dire consequences.
Killian finally hurried into the room, his eyes darting straight to Elyse. They were stunning, his amber irises glimmering as his warrior frame crowded the doorway. His clothes—the same clothes he’d worn the day before—were wrinkled and blood stained. Her blood, likely. Had he helped care for her? Had he been too distraught to change his clothes? The thought made her heart swell painfully against her ribs.
She remembered him calling her name as she lay in the street, waiting for death to take her. His callused hands had lifted her from the ground and held her in a safe yet gentle embrace. Was it so hard to think that he actually might have been worried for her?
Killian smiled, but only for an instant as concern overtook his expression. “How do you feel?”
Elyse leveled a gaze on him that said, “Did you really just ask me that?”
“I’m sorry,” Sera said, smiling weakly. “I tried my best.”
Elyse tried moving her hand to wave away Sera’s apology, but a sharp pain in her wrist changed her mind. “I’m sure I’d be hurting a lot more if it weren’t for you,” she decided to stay instead.
“I’m glad you’re awake,” Killian said, staring directly at Elyse with an intensity that made her cheeks heat. It was nothing like the fervor he’d shown two nights ago in Privya’s kitchen, all simmering hatred mingled with lust. He looked… Well, he looked incongruously happy given the circumstances. “I have an idea to run by you,” he announced as he stepped toward the bed.
The room filled with hope and skepticism as all eyes eagerly turned to Killian, everyone awaiting his next words.
“So we know that Ymaritis has the rose, and that he’s most likely the one going to conduct the ritual at sundown tomorrow,” Killian posited. “And we know that the ritual requires both the rose and angel’s blood. Exactly how rare is angel’s blood?”
Jaime shrugged while Sera deferred to Elyse.
“It’s pretty rare,” Elyse said, wondering what he was implying.
“Do you know how we can acquire some?” he asked.
Elyse nodded, grimacing at the pain. “I do, but it’s a bit of a hike.”
Killian’s face lit up, his hope seeming to flourish. “So if we acquired some angel’s blood, would you be able to make us a compass, like you did for Corin? Or better yet—a map?”
Elyse’s own face now mirrored Killian’s excitement as she realized his plan. Before she could speak, though, Manny cut in.
“Wait, what compass? What’s all this?”
Killian turned to his friend, something like pride in his expression. “Remember Corin, from Privya’s clinic? She left to go find more hot springs like the one in the caves by the clinic so they can heal people all across the kingdom.” He flashed a quick grin at Elyse. “Elyse took a sample of the spring water and bottled it up, then made a magic compass that would point them in the direction of the nearest source of that water.”
“That’s bloody brilliant,” Manny uttered.
