Page 96 of The Devil In Blue
Ihadbeen there.
The woman didn’t even look at her. Whether it was shame or disregard, she didn’t turn her eyes from Father Eli. Instead, she handed him a roll of parchment tied closed with a thin, black ribbon.
“Instructions on how to use her,” she said.
My mimic laughed, her tone laced with disbelief.
“Use me? What is this?” she said, trying to approach the hooded figure. The woman swiped her gloved hand over my mimic’s face and in an instant, she fell to the ground in a heap of silk fabric and curly blond hair.
“Bleed her,” the hooded woman continued to instruct. “But not too fast. She’s pure fae from the Glyn, but Rune bonded with her, so she’s strong. She can still die, though. Her blood will add years, but kill her and it will cease to help you.”
“And, if she tries to escape?” Father Eli said, not an ounce of remorse or second thought in his words.
“Clip her wings,” the woman sighed. “And then do what you do best.”
“What I do best?” he jeered, cocking a brow.
“You run an asylum, I understand. One where youhelppeople.”
The word sounded so venomous on her tongue.
“I do,” Father Eli said, crouching down beside the body on the ground.
He twirled his finger through a thin strand like he was handling a doll.
“Then condition her,” the woman said. “Make her behave. Make her forget. Do whatever you need—whatever youwant—to get her to comply.”
A sinister smile spread across Father Eli’s thin lips. “It’s doable,” he said, standing to face the woman again. “But how do I know the king won’t find out and destroy me?”
“Oh, if he finds out, he’ll do worse than destroy you. But he won’t know a thing.”
“And, what is it you want in return?”
Finally, the woman removed her hood, revealing a head of silky black hair pulled tightly into a neat bun. I knew that pale skin and those sharp eyes anywhere. I’d endured the way they cut into me since I saw her at the masquerade.
Elanor.
Raising her sharp chin, she said, “In return, you’ll keep her away from my king. That is all I ask.” She stepped closer to Father Eli, looking down her sharp nose at him. “Take her far away from here. If she dies, she will just end up in his Labyrinth and he’ll find her again. Break her. You’re a man. You should be quite good at it. Make her unrecognizable. Use her as you wish, but I want nothing of this pitiful flower to remain. I want nothing left of her for my king to love.”
Another demonic smile crossed Father Eli’s lips. “Ahh. You want him for yourself.”
Elanor winced at that, but otherwise kept her composure, her face as dangerous and straight as a viper’s.
“He just needs time to realize he loves me,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically small. “I’ve been there for him. He…”
She trailed off and Father Eli, bending to scoop up the limp body at his feet, chuckled.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” he said. “I suppose, if this works, we might cross paths again. A century from now, perhaps,” he laughed, draping the unconscious body over his shoulder like a corpse.
“Hopefully not,” Elanor said. “But no matter what, as soon as I leave here, you will never recognize my face.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. You’ll know you acquired a fae girl, but you will not remember how and you will not try to find out. Take care of her.”
Fury, sadness, hate, and confusion stormed the gates of my heart and I felt like a volcano on the verge of erupting. I balled my fists tightly against my sides as Elanor turned to face me, eyes fixed past me into the fog as she lifted her hood.
“Rune,” I whispered.
