Chapter 11 #2
Gideon squinted his eyes, as if he could see the answer in the distance. “Levoy,” he said. “Way up the Saskia River.”
Killian’s teeth worked the inside of his cheek. Lazarus was moving farther north.
“Was that helpful?” Gideon asked. He looked as troubled as Killian felt, torn between good news and bad.
“Yes—thank you,” Killian said. “You’re always a great help, Gideon.”
He extended his hand toward the baker, but Gideon swatted it away.
“Anything for the man who caught my brother’s killer.”
Shamefully, Killian glanced at Elyse, hoping to see a glimmer of admiration at Gideon’s words. Of course, there was none.
“Before you leave,” Gideon said, heading toward the counter, “let me get you a box of cream puffs. Your favorite, right?”
That provoked a sardonic huff from Elyse.
“A hundred ravens…” Manny repeated as Gideon ran off. He shook his head. “Can you imagine?”
“Sounds like a lot of bird shit,” Elyse grumbled.
Killian sighed, ignoring her indelicate comment. “Well, we know where we’re headed next. Has anyone been to Levoy?”
“No,” Sera said, “but I’ve been to Bernath. We can try to take a carriage from there.”
Killian nodded as Gideon returned, white box in hand.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed Killian the box of pastries and clapped him on the back. “Hey, are you competing in the Sammerhan Games this year?”
Killian blinked, a bit surprised at the question. “No, not this year.”
Gideon gave a shake of his head. “That’s a shame. I’d like an excuse to get up to Quinar for the tournament this year.”
Killian smiled. It felt fake, and probably looked faker. “Maybe next year. Thanks again,” he added, lifting the box in a farewell salute.
They’d barely made it out the front door when Manny nearly attacked Killian. “Give me one of those,” he demanded, wrenching the box open.
Killian laughed, even as he shook his head at his friend. “Help yourself.”
Manny snatched one cream puff for himself and another for Sera. Killian offered the box to Elyse, but she gave him a dry look. He shrugged and took one for himself. He nearly moaned at the rich, buttery flavor. Gideon was a fucking god.
“You were in the games?” Sera asked.
Killian tried not to sigh. He’d thought maybe no one had noticed Gideon’s comment. He chewed slowly, buying himself time to answer. He hated talking about the games.
He’d competed five years ago, having been selected to represent the Rhodan Royal Guard at the tournament.
It was a glorious achievement, and he’d been honored.
The whole competition itself had been exhilarating, one of the best experiences of his life.
But he despised the way people looked at him for it, like he was some sort of celebrity. He’d never been good with notoriety.
“He was in the sword tournament a few summers ago,” Manny answered for him, apparently too impatient to wait for Killian to swallow. “Nearly won the whole thing.”
“Really?” Sera asked, far too much awe in her expression for Killian’s liking.
Again, Killian found himself looking to Elyse for approval. His heart sank. She was busy using her dagger to pick something out from under her nails.
He turned back to Sera and nodded. “I lost to a mountain of a man from Evaria. He tore my shoulder out of its socket when he disarmed me.”
Sera’s eyes widened. “You haven’t competed since?”
Manny made a noise that sounded like pffft. “Tournament’s all pageantry now,” he said dolefully. “The year Killian competed, someone died in the joust. After that they added a bunch of regulations. Took all the fun out of it.”
Sera frowned. “Well, it can’t be that bad. Thousands of people still—”
“YOU!”
A bellow shattered their quiet conversation, rippling through the street.
Killian pivoted, looking behind him. A red-faced brute of a man surged toward them, his eyes blazing with undiluted hatred. His stubby finger was pointed directly at Elyse.
“You,” he sneered again. “You cut off—”
Elyse didn’t wait for him to reach her. Swift as a current, she shoved past Killian, knocking the last cream puff from his hand.
It fell to the ground in a sad little heap, but Killian was too focused on Elyse.
She grasped the man by his throat and used his momentum against him, hurling him against the wall, pinning him by his neck.
The man was twice her size, but she held him easily, her magic crackling around her.
“I what?” she spat at him. “Cut off your thumb? That’s right, I recognize you.
” She laughed, a heartless sound. With her free hand, she lifted the man’s wrist and cast an assessing glare at his thumb.
It was gnarled, a different color from the rest of his hand, an angry red line protruding from the skin like it had been sewn back on. “Looks like you found a new one.”
She let go of his hand, and he immediately grasped onto her wrist, trying to pry her grip from his throat. His face had gone from soft red to a deep vermilion as he spat and struggled to breathe. “You…” the man sputtered out.
“You keep saying that,” Elyse drawled. “Allow me to finish for you. I do not like people who steal from me. I do not care whether you live or die. I will squeeze the life out of you right here in this street and forget all about it by lunch. So what are you going to do about it?”
The man’s eyes flickered to Killian. Through gritted teeth, he snarled, “Control your woman.”
Killian’s brows lifted, and he raised his hands innocently. “Oh no,” he said, somewhat amused. “She doesn’t listen to me.”
The man’s face was turning so red, Killian thought blood was going to start spilling from his eyes. Elyse’s gaze remained locked on him, her brows pinched with hatred. Killian took a step toward them, unsure of how to diffuse the situation but desperate to try, when someone else hurried past him.
With sure strides, Sera marched up to Elyse. Elyse’s eyes flickered toward the seer for a split second before Sera reached a long arm out and touched Elyse’s shoulder.
“Sominus en rea,” she uttered in a guttural voice.
Elyse dropped to the ground in a heap—just like the cream puff had.
Killian stared, mouth ajar. He looked between Sera, Elyse, Manny, and the red-faced man, whose eyes were nearly bulging from his skull.
“You’re welcome,” Sera barked at the man. When he still didn’t move or speak, she spat, “Get out of here!”
The man shook his ruddy cheeks and scurried down the street.
Sera was already pulling at Elyse’s arm, trying to lift her up. “Come on, help me. We only have a few minutes,” she hissed at Killian and Manny.
Killian hurried forward and grabbed Elyse’s other arm. Together, they hoisted her up.
“Nothing to see here, folks,” Manny called to the few passersby who had stopped to gawk at them. “I’m a member of the Royal Guard, and I’ve got the situation under control,” he said, hands lifted in a placating manner.
He pivoted back to face Sera, pure panic on his face. “What the hell? She’s going to kill you when she wakes up!”
“No, she won’t,” Sera gritted out. “We’re going to take her to this alley over here, and when she wakes up, we’re going to tell her that you two were practicing your magic, and she took a rogue spell to the head.”
Obediently, Killian began dragging Elyse toward the alley. “Won’t she remember?”
“No,” Sera grunted. “The spell should knock out the last minute or so of her memory. Hopefully enough that she forgets the whole altercation.”
Once in the alley, they propped Elyse’s limp body against the wall. The last time he’d seen her catatonic like this, she’d fallen hundreds of feet, barely slowing herself from slamming into the ground. He tried not to think of how worried he’d been for her then.
“You can really do that?” Manny asked. He frowned. “Doesn’t exactly seem ethical.”
Sera shot him an exasperated look. “It’s a dirty spell, but it did the trick.” Her eyes softened as she took in Killian. “She would have slaughtered you for trying to interfere.”
It was probably true. Killian didn’t have much time to ponder it though, as Elyse began to stir. Her eyelashes fluttered half open.
“She’s coming round,” Manny announced.
Killian squatted, putting himself eye-level with Elyse. He schooled his face into a concerned expression, which wasn’t difficult. Though, his fear was more for himself than for her.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Elyse’s eyes opened all the way. She looked at each of them for a split second before bolting upright. “I’m fine,” she growled as they each took a step away from her. “Stop fussing over me.”
She swayed on her feet, and Killian instinctively reached a hand out to steady her. He pulled it back before she noticed.
“What’d you do to me?” she grumbled, bringing a hand to her temple.
“Technically it was Manny,” Killian said, earning a seething look from his friend. “His shield deflected my spell right at you.”
With Elyse’s back to him, Manny mouthed something along the lines of, “You’re so fucking dead!”
“What spell?” Elyse asked.
“Hmm? Oh, a stunning spell,” Killian answered quickly.
Elyse scowled. “A stunning spell doesn’t knock someone unconscious.”
“You hit your head pretty hard on the way down,” Sera said. Her brows were knitted together above lavender eyes that shone with exaggerated worry. “You really don’t remember? Maybe we should get you to Privya…”
“I’m fine,” Elyse repeated, this time with more aggression. Sera snapped her mouth shut. Elyse looked between the three of them for a long moment, as if debating how much she wanted to press the issue. Killian forced himself to hold her gaze.
Finally, she shrugged and stalked out of the alley.
Killian let out a long exhale and exchanged relieved glances with Sera and Manny.
They’d managed to subdue her—this time. But as they followed Elyse out of the alley, Killian couldn’t stop wondering how long they’d be able to keep her wicked impulses contained.