The Elf Witch |Book 1|

Chapter 44

With her mind made up, a cold, determined fury replaced the white-hot anger as she prepared to throw herself at the mercy of the Ilithana princes.

It didn't matter which one—whoever she found first, she'd attempt to bargain with him. If they disagreed, she'd unleash her darkness.

No matter how she spun it, this option, however awful, still gave her the best chance at survival. She knew both would likely kill her if she attacked, either by Saevel's shifting or Kiran's magic, but maybe they would be cowed enough to agree or at least curious enough to keep her alive for longer.

If she died by their hand, at least she had some semblance of control over her life and death.

Jai showed her to a bedroom, and instead of breezing coolly inside with a mask of indifference as she'd planned, she found herself standing awkwardly, blinking in surprise, caught immensely off guard.

There was no sign of Saevel, but Kiran lounged naked on the bed under a green-haired pixie, also naked with her wings spread wide and mouth around his cock.

Suddenly in the tangle of arms and legs, another pixie crawled up his body, leisurely kissing up his throat.

Questions about the nature of his relationship with Esa barreled through her mind. Hate churned inside her. But it wasn't just for Esa—Imani hated everyone in the room equally, including herself.

At her wit's end, the surprise was quickly replaced with rage. A sudden, shocking urge to tear out every blue strand of hair from Esa's head rose up in Imani again. Her magic urged her on. Kill. Kill. Kill—

Air in the room seemed to be disappearing, choking her, and she panicked.

Unbound and wild, shadows clouded her vision, and the light in the room flickered in and out for a few seconds. But fighting the magic to stay inside, she clamped down on it with considerable effort and stood frozen, staring daggers at the bed.

The other female began kissing Kiran's mouth, which turned up in that infuriating smirk. Imani stifled a low snarl that threatened her chest.

Snapping his gaze to her at the sound, his unnatural eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. He tilted his head to the side while they watched each other for another moment.

Turning on her heel, she wanted to take her chances with Saevel. Any binding Kiran cast on him had been lifted when the Assessments ended so that she could touch him now. Have sex with him, even.

"Leave us." Kiran's soft command stopped Imani halfway to the door.

With a slow turn, her eyes narrowed to slits watching the pixies gather their belongings. Imani felt her friend watching her, too, but they silently brushed past her and left.

The two elves were alone.

Imani managed to mask her emotions with a delicate arch of a brow at Kiran. She took in his shadow of facial hair coming in and the sharp but subtle points of his ears. Kiran's normally cliffed cheekbones were brutally jagged like he hadn't eaten or slept properly in weeks. Being a conniving bastard was hard work, it seemed.

Standing before him in her robe and soft white nightgown, she hadn't bothered with her looks beyond bathing. Both garments covered her down to the floor, but her breasts were on display, and the thin material clung to the outline of her body. The only glamour she wore was simple illusions to cover her brands; the rest of her was bare. Pale elven skin, magic signature, feeding draw, black marking—all of it was showing.

Kiran's eyes roamed hungrily over her as he eased his pants back on, somehow making the movement look graceful. Most of the illusion magic he cast over himself was gone, too. Without it, Kiran looked more like an elf than he ever had before, and shirtless, watching her, his undeniable beauty sent her adrenaline surging.