I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded to Hendry, who reluctantly removed his cuffs. It was risky. I had no idea what powers this guy had. But I knew that even if he attacked Hendry and me, there was no way he would make it out of this place alive.
He paused as Hendry removed his cuffs, then brought his arms to his sides, rotating his wrists. Focusing his gaze on me, those ice-colored eyes of his began to turn to smoky charcoal, nearly black. It made me retreat a few steps.
That’s fucking creepy.
“Now, look at her,” he said coldly. “And justthink.”
I raised my brow but did as he said. I examined her once more, again counting her breaths. My mind kept flashing back to her cottage all those years ago…walking through the charred house and seeing a burnt corpse in her room. The love of my life…my best friend…gone.
I exhaled and decided to think of something happy. The first moment I saw her, our flirty banter, the first time we kissed, the first time we made love…and all the times after.
I thought of how her face lit up when she showed me the Outer Ring—her home. How she had the mouth of a sailor and didn't hesitate to give me her middle finger when I would tease her.
How much I had truly loved her.
I flicked my eyes back to his with a tightened jaw, and he looked at me like I had just grown new limbs. He then narrowed his eyes. “Did you have any involvement with what happened to Lena?”
“No,” I growled.
“Did you know it was going to happen?”
“No.”
“Do you wish to harm her?”
I paused and looked back at her bruised body. The anger I felt towards her was nothing more than a small flicker in the back of my mind. I still felt betrayed, confused, hurt. But no, I never wished to harm her. And I would kill anyone who tried to.
“No.”
Merrick blinked, and the dark in his eyes faded away, the icy color returning. He turned to Elowen.
“I…” He went to continue, but his mouth remained open, no words escaping. Then he snapped it shut, sighing. “He’s telling the truth. He doesn’t desire to harm her. His intentions are pure.”
Elowen blinked a few times, then nodded. “I need these off,” she said as she lifted her cuffs.
“Of course.” I locked Merrick’s again first, and he watched me with a glare that said he was envisioning every way he could kill me. Then I unlocked Elowen, and she ran to Lena at once.
“You may leave us,” I directed Hendry. I tilted my head towards Merrick. “Bring this one back.”
“Silas—”
“No questions,” I said sternly. I knew the idea of leaving me alone unnerved him.
Hendry’s mismatched eyes narrowed, and then he nodded. As they left, Elowen immediately started using healing magic on Lena, a warm golden glow emitting from her palms.
“What exactly happened to her?” she whispered while she examined her beaten body.
“Four of my men. Not my orders,” I said bluntly.
She let out a dry laugh. “But witches are the evil ones.”
The remark didn’t faze me.
‘Will she be alright?“ I asked softly.
“If Ravaiana is on our side, yes,” she said after a beat. I hoped the Goddess of Life was on our side. If she was even real. "But this will take a while. And Edmund still needs a healer, too. I’ll have to alternate between them.”
I took notice of her dark under eyes and how drained she appeared.It had been days of constant work for her, with very little sleep.
