Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
“That is enough for today.” Killian’s silky voice caused my lashes to flutter open, and I took in his familiar build strolling up to the bed I was lying on. He clicked off the machines surrounding me with their rhythmic beeps and hums, which had lulled me into dozing. “How are you feeling?”
“Better if I had a cookie.” I tried to hold back my grin.
“I’m sure I could find you something sweet.” His violet eyes lifted to mine with a playful smile, making my chest clench. I turned my attention back to my hands. What the hell, Brex? He’s the enemy.
It was getting harder to remember that.
It had been more than a week and a half since he first brought me down here.
Every day I returned, but instead of forcing pills down my throat, I went through every type of test imaginable: blood, physical, psychological, x-rays, brain waves, fae woo-woo stuff.
And in that time, Killian had been by my side.
I stopped questioning it after the third day; his constant presence was the only thing giving me comfort.
He only left when business came up, but he returned the moment he could.
Because I was doing what he wanted without a fight, his threat to punish me if I didn’t drifted away with each passing day.
But I was no fool. I understood it could all shift in a blink, and he could easily kill me.
I expected the tests to start bordering on cruelty. But besides a basic physical examination, I got to lie there and eat cookies later. In my book, that was a holiday.
“You look a little pale today.” Killian peeled off a monitor attached to my temple. “Might benefit from some fresh air. A walk, maybe. Would you join me?”
My head jerked to him.
“Actually, I have a little surprise for you.”
My brow crinkled. His kindness bypassed every one of my defenses. I doubted his intentions and my own judgment of character.
Killian was nothing like I imagined or what I had been told. He didn’t have human slaves bringing him trays of food while he tortured, killed, and raped our kind. He was compassionate toward me. Attentive. I found myself laughing and teasing with him the longer we spent together. It disturbed me.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” He gently tugged out the needle in my arm.
“Why are you here?” I watched him do everything himself instead of a lab specialist. He had all week. If he was by my side, then he dismissed the technicians and took care of me himself.
“What do you mean, why am I here?” His brow furrowed, grabbing a cotton swab to pat the drip of blood from the puncture hole. “This is my lab. My palace.”
“Exactly. Yours. You have dozens of staff at your will who could be here instead.”
He didn’t respond, still putting pressure on the wound.
“Don’t you have other obligations? You are the leader. Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, running your side of the country instead of being my nurse?”
“My focus is precisely where it should be.” His eyes met mine. “And I enjoy being your nurse.”
I sucked in, his gaze heavy on me. “Why?”
He stepped back, tossing the swabs into the wastebasket.
“Come,” he ordered, advancing for the door, ignoring my question.
Blowing out my breath, I slid off the bed, following him out. Nyx waited at the elevators for us, her glower darkening the moment she saw me.
“Lord.” She dipped her head, pulling out a set of handcuffs. “Should I take the prisoner back to her room . . . smother her with a pillow?”
He chuckled, shaking his head as he stepped into the lift. “Not tonight. I will be escorting Ms. Kovacs myself. You can take the rest of the night off.”
“Sir?” She blinked at him in horror, the handcuffs in her hands. “Shouldn’t I at least bind the captive?”
“No need.” His regard slid to me as I moved into the elevator with him, then back to Nyx. “I think I can handle her.”
“My lord . . .” Nyx shook her head. “Yes, she is a weak, disgusting, vile human. But I’m concerned you are not seeing clearly.”
“Are you second-guessing me, lieutenant?”
“No, sir.” She bowed her head deeper. “It’s my job to keep you safe. To see all threats.”
“I hardly think a human is any threat to me.” He pushed the button on the elevator. “Good night, Nyx.”
Nyx’s mouth remained open, her eyes wide as the doors shut, taking us up.
“I think she’s really beginning to like me.” I peered over at Killian, his regard meeting mine, a smile hinting on his mouth. I had seen more and more of this side of him in the last week.
“I daresay she is,” he replied, his stare not wavering, forcing me to look away as tension billowed in the tiny space.
The doors opened, finally breaking Killian’s attention from me as he stepped out into a large room. A gasp caught in my lungs as I followed him out, twisting around to take in all the grandeur and the opulence reminding me of home.
He had brought me up to his palace. His home.
The huge gallery was laid with marble flooring and rich red carpet.
Excruciating detail was sculpted into the arched ceilings far above our heads.
Exquisitely carved statues of fae lined the room, invaluable murals painted on the ceilings and walls.
Every space dripped with crystal and pure gold chandeliers, ornate rugs, oversized fireplaces, and excessive riches beyond anyone’s imagination.
I recognized it; it was very similar to HDF. Here, the fat cats lapped at the cream, while most others starved and begged in the street for crumbs.
When I was at HDF, I used to stare at this castle from across the river. I knew the building’s shell was left intact, but from old pictures, it was clear Killian had the interior updated, removing the human influence of its previous owners.
It was now more modern, clean, but oozed decadence and money.
Paintings of fae mythology replaced portraits of human leaders, and Killian’s insignia was everywhere: two intertwined, detailed circles with a sword cutting through the middle, the blade and handle encrusted with Celtic symbols and blazing with light.
It symbolized the Sword of Nuada, an old-world treasure said to have been destroyed around the time of the Fae War twenty years ago.
Though, some still believed it had made it out, hidden somewhere in the world.
The time alone with Killian almost made me forget who he really was. Seeing this was like a punch to the face. He was the fae leader. My enemy.
My soft slipper-type shoes skated over the cool floors.
My skin prickled, and my lungs sucked in the fresh air blowing through the open windows, where sheer drapes billowed like sails on the open sea.
The early evening set deep purples and blues along the horizon and cast the room in shadows.
Warm buttery light spilled from the chandeliers and sconces.
Killian strolled out onto the balcony, glancing over his shoulder at me.
Stepping beside him, I took a deep breath, tears prickling at my eyes.
The scent of the Danube rolled over me, smelling familiar and comfortable.
My breath shuddered as I took in the glowing city across the river.
The lights of the Human Defense Force twinkled at me like an old friend, beckoning me over.
I bit down on my lip, longing and sorrow stabbing my heart. Home.
I could feel Killian’s weighted gaze on me, but I couldn’t look at him, lost in the view.
The hint of fall kissed the air. It had only been a handful of months since my capture on the bridge below, but standing here next to a Seelie fae, the lord of Hungary, staring at my old home from his castle, alive and unscathed, I realized how much had changed for me.
I lived lifetimes in those months, experienced things I never imagined.
The girl who used to sit up on the roof of HDF staring at this palace would not recognize the girl who looked back now.
“You won’t let me go, will you?” I asked, my voice unemotional.
Killian glided his hands into his pockets. “Is that really what you want?”
I glanced over at him, perplexed by his question.
“Could you imagine yourself returning to what you were doing before?” He flicked his head toward HDF, the lights from the gardens glinting off his dark hair and reflecting in his stunning eyes.
“Training to kill fae, listening to them repeat over and over what monsters we are.” He curved toward me.
“Could you go back? Back to wanting to kill fae . . . to kill me?”
“How do you know I don’t want to now?” My voice wobbled more than I expected, my throat coiling on itself, trying to ignore how stunning he was.
“Do you?” He stepped up to me, his body only a breath away, his face far too close to mine. “You want me dead, Brexley?”
I inhaled abruptly as though he’d shot a bullet straight through my chest. The potency and intimacy of my name on his lips pulsed through my stomach and down between my thighs.
“Power of a name,” he muttered, leaning farther into me.
Was this what it was like when I said his first name? Then I could understand his anger at the time. Holy shit . . .
“Normal humans do not feel the intense weight of a name as we do.” He tipped his head to the side, studying me. “But there is nothing normal about you, is there?”
I swallowed, trying not to move or breathe.
“I think Nyx may be right about you.”
“That I should be smothered by my pillow?” I croaked.
He huffed out a laugh, his head wagging.
“No.” His hands came up to my face, sliding over my cheeks, my lungs hitching.
He cupped my face, his gaze dropping down to my mouth.
“That you are a threat to me. I cannot see clearly when it comes to you. I cannot explain it, but you make me feel alive. You are a force I’m drawn to, and I can’t seem to help but want to follow. ”