Page 58 of Slay Me

“She said she didn’t kill them. I asked,” I add. “But, she did admit to poisoning me. So, one mystery solved.”

Dante’s jaw tightens, and he gets to his feet. “Do not leave this room. You will stay here until you are healed. I am sending someone in to help you bathe.” He leaves before I have the chance to respond, disappearing out into the main room.

I turn my head to the left and right, studying the room I’ve found myself in. Inhaling deeply, I breathe in the scent of leather and citrus. I’m in his room. It has to be his room, doesn’t it? Blood-red sheets made of silk. A dresser with an ornate mirror attached—

“Hello, Liv.”

I turn my head to the left as a woman steps into the room. She’s dainty and wears dark jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Her hair is dark, her eyes bright and kind.The water fae.“I saw you here the other day. You’re the water fae who helped put out the fire.”

“Adaya.” She smiles. “It’s nice to meet you.” She crosses the room toward me and stops beside the bed. “I understand you had quite a day yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” I choke out. “What—how long have I been in here?”

“The Ringmaster brought you in yesterday evening. He has been feeding you healing potions every couple of hours. Thanks to your fury blood, you burned them off pretty quickly, so it took longer than normal for them to work.”

“Great. So my power is useless, but my metabolism is excellent.”

Adaya laughs. “You are also part fae, correct?”

I nod. “My father was a fae. Mother a harpy.”

“Quite the combination.”

“They certainly thought so. Which was super disappointing when their only daughter can barely conjure a light breeze.”

“Power works in strange ways,” she replies. “Sometimes, there is more than can be seen.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She shrugs. “Nothing yet. Now, he closed the circus for the time being, but we need to get you back on your fe—”

“He closed it? For the night or—”

“Until further notice,” Adaya replies.

“Seriously?”

She grins. “That or there’s a lot of pissed-off supernaturals who misunderstood the posted signs.”

Until further notice.Closing down is something that has only ever happened once—when the place nearly burned to the ground. He didn’t even close the doors when Thomas and Jenny were killed. “How…how bad was I?”

She arches a brow then crosses her arms. “About three minutes from bleeding out internally.”

Valentina nearly killed me. Would have if Dante hadn’t shown up when he did, all because she was so fucking jealous even when there was nothing to be jealous over. Is this what obsession does to people? Then again, why the hell do I need an answer to that question? It was Ernesto’s obsession with me that led to Dante finding me in that alleyway twelve years ago.

“Let’s get you up and in the bath,” Adaya cuts off my thoughts, ripping me from a past better left buried.

When the cool air hits my skin, I realize with complete and utter horror that I am butt-ass naked. I reach for the covers again, the jarring movement sending fresh pain through my body.

“Easy. You are hardly the first naked woman I’ve seen,” she says as she helps me sit up.

“Who else saw me naked?”

“I made D leave before I pulled your clothes all the way off,” she tells me.

For fuck’s sake. I know it’s foolish to feel embarrassed. After all, he’s seen me naked, thanks to the private show I gave him only a couple of days ago. But seeing me bare when I’m feeling powerful is a hell of a lot different than witnessing me bruised and broken.

“Let’s get you to the tub, all right? Then you can ask me all the questions you want.”

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