Page 117 of Owned By the Fae
Fury rises as I force myself to give Skith a polite smile as I hand him the paper, pretending I haven’t even looked at it and that I don’t know him as I turn away to finish my pint. He puts it back in the box and walks off slowly in the direction of the keep, probably to the healers’ rooms.
I make my way there and slip in through the door quietly. I watch him at the table with his back to me. The box is open again as if he just couldn’t help himself, and he’s studying the crude drawings of human females with questionable intensity.
‘Yes,’ he murmurs to himself, holding it up with the harness and glancing at the picture. ‘This must go around the thighs and then the waist here tightly to keep it in place.’ He snorts a laugh at my female’s expense.
My hand is over his mouth, and my knife is sliding between his ribs before he even feels the first touch. I haven’t killed like this since our time in Alcana when I worked for the head scholar of the academy.
The healer gurgles a moment and then slumps down to the floor, his eyes rolling back, and I give his corpse a cold smile. Never again will he touch Lia.
I drag him to one of the beds and put him in it, weaving some conjures over the body and the bed so that no one notices or smells him for a few days. I make sure there’s no blood left anywhere to give the game away, and then I leave, whistling a tone as I walk back up to the keep.
I head straight to Lia’s, not sure what I plan to do, but knowing I can’t just leave things how they are. I ignore the guard on the door as I grasp the latch, but then I turn back to him, wondering if there’s anything or anyoneelse I’ve missed in my haze of the past weeks.
‘Tell me who has been to visit the Harbinger since she was brought up from the dungeons,’ I demand.
The guard looks to the side and seems hesitant. ‘The healer comes every day,’ he grinds out. ‘My Lady Fiana had been once or twice, Rikoth, the servants, and you, my lord.’
‘Has Fiana come with the healer?’
‘No, the healer only goes in by himself.’
I force myself not to react to his lies, but I decide he won’t be lasting very long either.
I go into the room, careful not to open the door too wide so the guard can’t see inside. I watch Lia’s head swivel toward me, looking fearful until she realizes who it is.
I see relief in her eyes and it makes me hope. Perhaps not all is lost with her.
‘What did you learn?’ I ask.
Grey and Kal glance at each other, and I sit down. ‘You were right. It was all a trick,’ I murmur, hating that they’ll know how easily Fiana made me into her willing lapdog.
‘And now you feel better?’ Kal asks, looking suspicious.
‘I’ve purged myself of all the magick that was on me. Some was Fiana’s and,’ I hesitate, ‘some was Varrik’s.’
I don’t let the pain show, but Lia walks to me. She doesn’t touch me, but she does look sympathetic and, under the circumstances, it’s more than I hoped for.
‘It’ll take time for you to heal from Varrik’s wounds,’ she murmurs, ‘but you will just as we did.’
My shoulders slump numbly, knowing that it’s not quite the same. No one else in this room was as loyal as I was. I peer up at Lia. Except for Lia, I realize. She killed for him a thousand times before she realized the truth. I nod slowly, and she gives me a tight smile before moving away.
My body immediately calls out to hers, wanting her near, her skin against mine, but I steel myself to the pain of her absence. The things I’ve done will require time and effort to put right.
‘Fiana and Vern do have a way of getting to the Light Realm,’ Kallum says. ‘They intend to leave as soon as Lia is bred. We must not let Skith?—’
‘Skith is no longer a problem,’ I bite out, and both Kal and Grey smirk.
Lia’s eyes narrow even as her cheeks pinken. ‘You’ve been watching.’
‘Yes,’ I admit. ‘I suspected that things weren’t as I thought. I’ve been trying to get the spying conjure to work for days so that I could make sure you were safe. I was only successful today.’ My jaw works. ‘I saw and heard Fiana ... and the healer as well. I’ve ensured the Skith won’t return. I’ll deal with Fiana soon enough.’
Lia regards me, her face blank, and I can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking. Is she glad I killed him, or would she have rather I waited? I can’t tell, but I wish I knew.
‘So we need this Breach necklace?’ Grey rumbles. ‘Where is it?’
‘I know where it is,’ Kal murmurs.
He disappears with a wink, and Grey and I both let out matching sighs.
