Chapter Forty-Three
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
Ilaria took one look at the demon looming over her, and her heart skipped a beat.
“You’re here,” she breathed as the sight of Lute struck her like a tide, stealing her breath and nearly toppling her over with relief.
Her hands were trembling as she pressed them to her lips, stifling the whimper that rose from her throat.
“Light, where have you been? I’ve been so worried ever since—”
Her gaze lowered to the place where Lute’s tail should have curled.
“Since you shot at me?” Lute dropped from the trees with feline grace, her teasing expression instantly changing. The demon’s crimson eyes softened, her posture gentler as she closed the space between them to cup Ilaria’s face in her hands. “A single knight was never going to stop me.”
Ilaria stiffened as Lute took in her marred face. She tried to jerk back, anger and embarrassment tangling beneath her skin. These were scars she more than deserved to carry with her forever, but still her hand raced to cover them.
Lute caught that hand, lowering it back down to her side.
“Don’t do that.” Her thumb brushed over the edge of Ilaria’s scars. “Don’t hide from me.”
Ilaria stood numb, because surely this was when Lute would turn away. This was when she’d avoid looking at her, or say something ridiculous about how the scars weren’t really so bad.
“You look like you lost a fight with a bear.”
The breath Ilaria had been holding came sputtering out of her. She nearly choked on surprised laughter, her eyes burning hot.
“Be kind to me, I’ve been injured.”
Lute flicked out the stump of her tail. “Get in line.”
Before Ilaria could say anything more, Lute took hold of her chin, and warmth spread from her head to her toes as the demon forced their eyes to meet. “Battle scars look good on you.”
Surely she didn’t mean it. Lute was only saying it to ease the ache within her.
Still, Ilaria’s breath hitched.
“You don’t have to lie to me,” she said. “I don’t need your pity.”
“Pity?” Lute’s brows creased. “It’s true that I look upon your face and it makes me angry to know that I couldn’t protect you from this.
But you’re beautiful, Ilaria. More so now than the day I met you.
Surely you didn’t think I’d mind a few scars.
” She pressed forward, her lips catching Ilaria’s in a kiss that set her whole body aflame.
Ilaria whimpered softly, happily, as one of Lute’s hands cradled her jaw, the other threading into her hair.
Ilaria yielded to the touch, her own hands squeezing around Lute’s cloak as if closeness alone might quiet the ache that had hollowed her out.
She returned the kiss with all she had in her, giving the demon every ounce of her relief. Every last piece of her longing. Lute’s fingers curled around the back of her neck, and the kiss grounded Ilaria in a way nothing had in a long, long while.
She yearned to remain like this forever, curled and happy in Lute’s arms. But far sooner than she’d have liked, Ilaria eased away, forced to break the kiss.
Because that was the way of their relationship—stolen moments and eager, hungry kisses while the rest of the world slept. She would have given anything to be with Lute freely, but that simply was not the reality of their world.
“I’m glad you’re safe.” Ilaria let her hand drop to squeeze Lute’s. “And I’m sorry for shooting at you.”
“I saw your shadows. I know you missed on purpose.”
Good. She’d hoped that would be the case.
“I don’t have much time,” she said, regret making her voice tight. “I need you to tell me what happened. Who was that other demon you were with, and why did you attack my people?”
The demon’s ears flattened, and she was silent for a long moment before a breath passed through her lips.
“That demon was no friend of mine. They’re something we’ve been calling hybrids, a newer type of demon who aren’t born from just one of the sins. They don’t need bonds to access the full use of their magic.”
Her stomach went cold. “When were you going to tell me about this?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. I wasn’t after your people, I swear. I was hunting the beast when he attacked your party.”
Ilaria didn’t answer right away, digesting this information. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands, then drifted in the direction of Rhovar.
It would have been so easy to lean into Lute’s touch and let the rest of the world fall away, but a pressure was building in her chest, and there were words she needed to get out while she still had time. Her fingers curled around Lute’s, and she forced herself to meet the demon’s eyes.
“I’m getting married.”
Lute ground her teeth, but she didn’t look away. “I know. Our guild is providing the wine.”
The realization that this wasn’t news made some of Ilaria’s tension ease. Of course the guild had known about it. She should have realized.
“I’ll be leaving Rhovar for at least a while,” she continued, trying to put as little emotion into her words as possible.
“So I’ve heard.” Lute’s gaze narrowed on her face, searching her expression. “My offer still stands, you know.”
Ilaria’s fingers drifted to her scars once again, brushing across the edges. “And I would love nothing more than to take it. But I can’t, Lute. Not right now. If things keep getting worse, I need to be in a position to protect my people.”
“I know.” Lute reached up, smoothing a hand through Ilaria’s hair before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Whatever happens, we’ll get through it.
Wherever they send you, I’ll find you. I’m not going anywhere, princess.
” That familiar thread of mischief lingered in her voice, but it was softer now, warming into a promise that settled deep in Ilaria’s chest.
She didn’t want to keep Lute a secret, or have her as some sort of midnight concubine. But for now, what other choice did they have?
“I would never.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she held Lute close.
Light, she’d missed her bonded. Missed the comfort of her touch, and how much easier it was to breathe whenever they were together.
Dawn pressed in around them, and the swaying branches groaned as if warning of the sun’s ascent.
There wasn’t long before she’d need to hurry back to Rhovar, trusting the last scraps of shadows to keep her concealed.
But for now, Lute’s body was warm and solid beneath her, steady in a way nothing else had felt in weeks.
For the first time in ages, Ilaria let herself relax.
She slid onto Lute’s lap, arms wrapping around the demon’s neck as she buried herself in the warmth of her. The envyborn’s hands found her waist, pulling her close. One arm cradled her back, the other curling gently around her hair.
She closed her eyes, her forehead resting against Lute’s.
And for a moment, everything else faded. The guilt. The fear. The weight of all the horrible things she’d done.
She wanted to sink into this feeling. If this was a dream, she’d gladly surrender to it. Because for the first time in days, she was happy.
Her heart fluttered, her blood sang, and in her bliss, she did not hear the sound of footsteps until it was too late.
A twig snapped behind her, and the hair on the back of her neck rose. She let her shadows surge around them, protective, and Lute’s grip tightened around her.
Ilaria turned, pulse racing, and her stomach fell.
Aurelie stood not ten feet away, burning with fury. Light, was that a Luminel on her shoulder? The tiny creature was glaring at Ilaria as though she were little more than scum beneath muddied boots.
“Ilaria?” Aurelie hissed, and the name struck like a blade between them. She looked between Ilaria and the demon, taking in their closeness and the guilt that burned scarlet upon the princess’s face.
When she spoke again, the words were so bitter that the entire forest went cold.
“Someone better start explaining.”
Her fury was overwhelming. Still, Ilaria stood and reached for her friend, only to flinch as Aurelie recoiled from her touch.
“How long?” she demanded. There was rage in her voice, yes, but something else, too. A pain that grated at Ilaria’s heart, making her feel sick.
“I wanted to tell you when it first started—”
“How long, Ilaria? How long has this been going on?”
Lute remained silent, but there was tension coiled beneath the demon’s skin. Ilaria gave a small shake of her head, practically begging her not to start a fight.
There was so much that she had to answer for. She deserved Aurelie’s anger.
And so she looked her friend in the eye and quietly admitted, “I’ve known Lute for about a year. We’ve been bonded for half that.”
It was Aurelie who looked away first, stepping back as though struck. She raked a hand down her hair, trying to make sense of it.
“I told you my greatest secret,” she said. “I told you I hadn’t killed a demon. I didn’t even keep that secret from you for a full day, and you kept this from me for a year?”
“Would you have understood?” Ilaria’s voice cracked, sorrow creeping into the words. “There was no one I wanted to tell more. But you would have told my father, or insisted on finding Lute yourself—”
“I would never have hurt her if I knew the two of you were bonded.”
“Then you would have captured her! You would have locked Lute away in the hold, where I’d never get to see her. You’d keep her alive, for my sake, but no one would ever consider my feelings in any of it. All of you would believe me soft in the head.”
“How are you so sure that you’re not?” Aurelie snapped. “How do you know this isn’t all some ploy?”
There was something wrong with her face. Redness was seeping into the white of her right eye, spreading with each angry word. When a demon came bounding after her through the trees a moment later, Ilaria realized why.
“I could ask the same of you,” she said coolly. “I’m not the only one here who’s bonded to a demon, am I?”
Aurelie whirled to face Severin, shoving him in the chest. “You bastard! You knew about this, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did.” Severin caught her hand and held tight. “But it’s not my secret to tell. Now calm down before you do something you’ll regret. You’re letting your wrath get the better of you.”
“My wrath.” She laughed as though this were all some joke.
The forest around her was getting colder, dangerous.
Darkness wound around Ilaria’s heels, ready to whisk her away.
“My bond is nothing like yours, Ilaria. I made mine to save my father and protect our people, not because I was swayed by some pretty words whispered on a demon’s tongue.
I did this because I saw the makings of a cure with my own eyes, and I needed to see it finished.
What reason did you have but for your own selfishness? ”
Ilaria had never had a taste for confrontation.
Even now her hands balled into fists at her sides, face turning red as she struggled to get the words she so desperately wanted to say out of her mouth.
But there was so much fear. So much guilt that weighed her down.
And suddenly Lute was there before her, the demon’s fingers curling around hers.
“Mind your tongue, human,” Lute warned, shadows writhing at her heels. “Don’t speak to her that way.”
“Am I supposed to believe that you actually care for her?” The red in Aurelie’s eye was getting darker. She was speaking through her teeth now, and was it Ilaria’s imagination, or were those teeth growing sharper? Even Severin looked concerned, moving closer.
“Maybe you have Ilaria fooled, but I’ve bested you before, demon. And I’ll do it again.” Aurelie went for her dagger, but Severin’s hand found her wrist before she could unsheathe the blade.
“That’s enough I warned you what would happen if you harmed another one of my horde. Drop the blade.”
“What are you going to do? Kill me?” She laughed, turning to face the demon fully. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Oh? I can change that.”
Tension burned through them, turning the air hot. Ilaria drew a step away, rubbing her hands down her arms to try to quell her nervous gooseflesh.
She needed to steal back Aurelie’s attention. Needed a way to push this conversation forward, and for everyone to stop arguing.
And so she told her friend one more truth.
“Varen’s in trouble.” The words were quiet, but they had the response she’d hoped for. Aurelie stiffened, her neck twisting to look upon Ilaria.
“Keep talking.”
“My father’s keeping him alive until the wedding so that he can use Azriel to pretend all is well in front of the Frienen.
But after that, the velari are going to begin experimenting on him.
The king won’t risk anything happening before the wedding, but once it’s through, Azriel and your father are in danger unless we can figure out a way to help them. ”
And it’s all my fault, she thought to herself. Though Ilaria didn’t dare voice that aloud.
Not yet.
Lute looked to Severin, a silent conversation passing between them as she asked, “Can you have the cure complete before then?”
He dropped his hold on Aurelie, drawing back. “That’s the plan.”
“Then save the bickering for after we get this done. That’s what you want, too. Isn’t it, knightling?”
Aurelie turned away, her teeth gritted. “Of course it is.”
“Wonderful.” Lute’s smile was a vicious marvel. “Then let’s get moving.”
Ilaria, too, needed to return to the castle before anyone realized she was missing—assuming they hadn’t already.
Yet the thought of leaving Aurelie with this tension still hanging between them caused a horrible aching in her chest. She wanted to squeeze her friend.
To help her, and promise her that all would be well.
But the wedding would take place in just a few short days, and if things were to go as she hoped, then this would have to wait.
“Light be with you, Aurelie,” she said, tugging on the hood of her cloak. “I’ll find a way to send word if I hear anything.”
Aurelie didn’t answer. Her silence was colder than any words might’ve been, and it followed Ilaria like one of her shadows as she drew back into the trees.
She shouldn’t expect her friend’s forgiveness. Light knew she didn’t deserve it. Still, her eyes burned hot.
“Careful out there,” Lute said, taking her by the hand. “I’ll see you soon.”
Ilaria nodded, not trusting herself to speak without breaking. Instead, she pressed one final kiss upon Lute’s lips, turned on her heel, and let the forest swallow her whole.