Ice settled in my bones. Not only did she know my true face, she knew my true feckin’ name.“I see you learned my name,” I ground out. “Who gave it to you?”
The carriage bounced and jerked, flying up the road like a banshee escaped from the underworld.
“Why does it matter?”
“I need to know who to kill.”
The obstinate woman refused to tell me. Just what I needed today. More shite.
“I can think of a few delightful ways to change your mind.” I could chain her up back in the shed and have her on her knees begging for mercy before the storm subsided.
“You said you’d leave me be. You promised.”
“Did I?”Humans. Never listening. “I recall swearing on my mother’s life to stay away from your sister. Not from you. But I should probably warn you that I despise my mother,” I added, leaning close enough to smell the rose oil on her flawless skin. “Now, let’s try this again. Who gave you my name?”
“I’m . . . not . . . telling . . . you.”
Who was she protecting? If a human knew my name, Eava’s spell wouldn’t have picked up on it. It had to have been a witch. Why would Aveen care what happened to one of us?“All right, then.” I shifted my ceremonial dagger, its cold weight familiar in my hand. “A different question. Why were you inquiring after me?”
She bit her lip, as if that would keep her secrets inside if I decided to pry them out.
“This was a gift from my father,” I said, giving her a good, long look at my dagger. “I like to keep it very sharp. Can you imagine what it would do to your throat?” I pressed the tip against my finger, drawing a single drop of blood.
Aveen had a lovely throat, long and smooth, smelling of sweet, sweet roses.
“Killing humans is illegal,” she whispered.
Killinghumans.
Killing any living being should have been illegal, but it wasn’t. Not in this forsaken place. The humans could kill us again and again as long as they had a “good reason.” Lucky for me, I was above Airren law.Instead of saying any of that, I let the silence speak for me.
Her lips pursed as she seemed to come to a decision. “I cannot get you out of my head,” she said in a quiet whisper.
I searched the air for the lie, tasting only truth. Knowing I plagued her thoughts made me a little less murderous. “What did you plan on doing with the information you gleaned?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to know who you were. I swear it.”
I inhaled her words deeply. Another truth that made me send the dagger away.
Her hair reminded me of the golden thread used in my favorite waistcoat. I couldn’t stop my hand from reaching for one silky curl to wrap around my finger. How glorious it would be to grab the whole feckin’ lot, drag her head back, and devour every inch of skin along that lovely, lovely throat. My chest tightened, making it difficult to focus on the task at hand. “I’m afraid I must beg another favor.”
Her tongue nipped out to wet soft pink lips. The way she’d felt beneath my mouth would forever live in my memory. “Are you going to stab me if I don’t kiss you?” She made it sound as if the idea of kissing me was the worst in the whole entire world.
Women had fallen at my feet. Begged to come to my bed. And this human thought she was better than me? “I don’t want a feckin’ kiss. I want you to break my curse.”
Find your soul’s one true mate
For she will save you from your fate
I wasn’t sure how, but this weak human was meant to save me from the most powerful witch in Airren. If I’d had any doubt before, now I knew for certain.
For the only way to save him. . .
Aveen snorted.“Very funny.”
She thought the notion of me being cursed was funny, did she? Only the strongest witches who practiced black magic had the power to curse. All it took was one look at a witch’s eyes to know if darkness lurked. Their magic became tainted. Very few on this island had resisted the call of dark power.
My brother had sunk into darkness, searching for a way to break Fiadh’s curse, and I’d fallen prey to its call in my quest for vengeance.