Page 53 of The Elven Spymaster's Thief

“Don’t move closer.” Lynan’s gaze flicked between me and the doorway. “Do it, Loriena. Then we can leave.”

My cousin snorted. “Why hurry?” She flicked the nail covers again, and this time fluid sprayed the floor.

“What do you seek?” I asked.

She laughed bitterly. “Revenge. You took from me, and now I will take from you.” She turned to Lynan, “Lift her chin.”

The knife pressed against her skin. A trickle of blood dripped from the tip.

“Strange,” Loriena muttered.

“What is strange?” I asked. Casimir was coming. I could feel him moving toward us. I just had to keep the mad elf talking.

Avril swallowed. Each breath I took ached. Just one slip, and she would die.

“How vulnerable humans are. Weak and stupid, they aren’t worth the air they breathe. You have never had a human pet before. What is so special about this one?” Loriena grabbed a handful of Avril’s hair and yanked her head back. The shadow elf scrambled to move out of the way of Loriena’s poisoned fingers, but he didn’t move fast enough. She hissed at him before caressing Avril’s jaw.

Avril whimpered. I took an involuntary step toward her, but then Loriena rested the sharp metal tips against Avril’s throat. “Stay there or I claw her throat now!”

“I love her.” A sharp sensation in my chest dulled into an ache. “I love her and can’t bear to be away from her.”

“Fool!” Loriena hissed.

At that moment, Casimir arrived. A dark shadow of vengeance, he tore through the room, knocking the Loriena away from Avril, twisting our cousin’s hand around so that the claw hovered inches from her own face. I dove for Lynan, driving him into the far wall. The satisfying crack of something breaking was my only reward, though. Lynan disappeared into a shadow before I could do anything more.

Avril collapsed forward, and I dove to catch her. Pulling her against me, I slipped my hand around her neck, tracing her jaw as I spread a healing spell over her skin. The nick from the knife beneath her jaw closed over almost instantly. Her pulse fluttered against my fingertips.

“Illeron?” she whispered hoarsely as she burrowed against me.

“I am here. She can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Can I kill her?” Casimir asked. His sleep-mussed hair gave him a half-crazed appearance as he dangled Loriena by the throat, a binding spell clamping the prisoner’s arms to her side. The claws she had attempted to poison Avril with lay scattered on the rug at my brother’s feet.

“It depends.” I glanced over where my new assistant knelt next to Odon’s prone form. “How is Odon?”

Avril lifted her head from my chest as she craned to see where her bodyguard had fallen.

“He is in pain, but he will live,” Chislon reported.

“Then no death.” Casimir’s eyes lightened and widened as a nasty grin crossed his face. “But I can make you wish you were dead.” Suddenly, they were no longer there. Loriena’s scream echoed through the grounds before cutting off abruptly.

Chislon helped Odon to his feet. “Where might we find a healer?”

“Waldorf is our best healer on the premises at the moment. If the damage is too extensive, he can send for another.”

Odon nodded. Then the two of them walked into the closest shadow and disappeared. Only Avril and I remained.

Avril leaned more heavily against me, her forehead touching my shoulder. “Is Odon really going to recover? Lynan hurt him badly. So much blood and?” She took a deep breath. “I am sorry. Lynan took my necklace, ripped it from my neck, and laughed that such a thing was supposed to protect me.”

“It was meant to be a warning bell, a way for you to summon help.”

“I know.” She closed her eyes and sighed softly. “Did you mean what you said?”

It took me a moment to follow her chaotic thought pattern. “About loving you?”

She leaned back to study my features. “I know you only said it to keep your cousin talking—”

I kissed her. Pouring all my feelings into that one gesture, I drowned in the sensation of her responsive mouth on mine. Some moments later, we drew apart, but only far enough to catch our breath. She immediately hid her face against my shoulder.

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