Page 72 of Wicked Court

I thought I couldn’t wait to get her alone again. But now that she’s not naked and tied down, I’m … fuck, I’m nervous.

“So you do this all the time, huh?” Elara gamely takes a wide step over a cluster of stones as we continue our descent.

“Thornhaven Manor is deliberately impossible to find unless you know exactly where to step.”

There. That’s a much better response.

“But didn’t we arrive by car?”

“Yes.”

She pauses in our careful strides for long enough that I realize I’m supposed to say more.

“The Sovereigns might not honor any implicit agreement to leave you unharmed. I’m taking you back on foot to avoid detection because we suspect the Sovereigns might have the manor and its surroundings under surveillance, especially the more obvious routes like the road used for vehicles.”

Her brows jump. “Oh. Okay. You know, for a second there, I thought I was being escorted through the woods by Axe 3000—the latest in woodland navigation and technology.”

I stare at her.

Then she lets out the most miraculous, dazzling laugh I’ve ever heard.

How can she laugh that way after meeting the Court? Enduring the four of us? How is that possible? No one finds lightness in us. Ever.

Elara’s joy quickly cuts off, like I’ve choked it out of her once she realizes my answering expression isn’t changing.

Her smile falls. “It’s … it was a joke.”

Her words strike a chord in me, and I find that her laughter, so unexpected and radiant, sends warmth across my body, like a campfire’s heat on a snowy night.

My lips twitch into a smile at the fact that Elara seems capable of finding mirth in grim reality.

But the moment is fleeting.

“No more jokes,” I say with a frown.

The knit between her brows tells me she expected that response.

The descent becomes steeper as we journey further from the manor. The cloak trailing behind Elara snags on a protruding root. I pull her back just in time before she trips over it.

“Careful,” I warn, but there’s no fear in her eyes, just fortitude and something else that I can’t fathom.

“If you weren’t tied to the Court, what would you be doing right now?” she suddenly asks.

My grip spasms against her elbow, the width of it fitting in my entire hand. “Huh?”

“Your Sovereigns like to dictate and rule over you, right? So if you could, what would you be doing instead?”

“That’s a pointless question.”

She doesn’t falter. “Then, what’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the chance?”

I frown. “That’s the same question, just phrased differently.”

“Fine. Is there a place you feel most at peace?”

Pulling at her arm, I force her to a stop. “What are you doing right now?”

Elara meets my unflinching glare. “Passing the time.”

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