Seething, Lilac looked up. Garin’s hands had remained in his lap. He was still transfixed on Yanna and Isabel fussing about and tidying the room; part of her suspected they were reluctant to leave her alone with him. Part of her knew they were eager to soak in every last juicy detail of their interaction.
Despite her best efforts, the sound of his voice was clear as the night outside.
They're hawthorn, of all things. At least, that’s what I suspect. Not fire, nor silver, but shrubbery. Can you imagine? I’m being murdered from the inside out by an aggressive sort of landscaping.
Lilac froze. It was no wonder he wasn’t healing. “But how are you conscious?”
Believe me, I wish I weren’t.
“Did you say something?” asked Yanna, jolting her from her thoughts.
Lilac glanced around the room, fanning herself. “Where did Rupert go?”
Yanna and Isabel exchanged nervous glances and placed the pillows they’d been fluffing.
“He just left,” Isabel answered. “He said Marguerite was curious about the commotion on the second floor. He’s dealing with them now.”
This pain—gods, it’s exquisite. I’ve never felt anything like it.Garin wheezed a laugh.Come. Closer.
She could feel herself breaking into a cold sweat. Lilac wiped at her brow and took an involuntary step toward him, wobbling when she tried to stop herself.
“Are you all right?” Yanna approached, hesitant. “You look like you’re going to faint.”
“Please leave.”
Isabel skittered toward the door instead. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
“What? No, we can’t just leave her.”
I’m going to die like this, stretched thin between torment and desire.Garin’s voice turned cunning.That’s what you want, isn’t it? To watch me break?
In silent indignation, Lilac stood her ground.She’d need to get within dangerous proximity in order to remove the bullets; she supposed she was safe with his mouth and hands secured. Still, something warned her to wait until she was alone to?—
Eleanor Trecésson, if you don’t remove this godforsaken muzzle from my mouth, you’ll regret the next time I get my hands on you. You’ll beg to be bled. I’ll lap it up from you in places you’ve never dared imagine?—
Lilac’s body lurched forward, but she used the momentum to stride past Garin and march over to the opposite side of her bed, while Yanna and Isabel watched from the doorway with their mouths open. She yanked her bedside table drawer open and plucked out the long bundle Piper had earlier deposited there, just when Garin’s power took hold of her once more. She skittered back, just catching herself on the bedpost.
The key stilled in her right hand; she leaned over and stuck it into the tiny padlock on his wrists. The moment his hands were free, he made to stand, but Lilac shoved him back into the chair, put her foot on his chest—andkicked. Garin and the chair went skidding across the room. She flung the handful of Myrddin’s chains toward him; he snapped back to the chair, his wrists bound to the armrests.
His snarls were drowned out by Yanna and Isabel’s shrieks.
“What is going on up there?” her mother could be heard saying, followed by Rupert’s rushed explanation. They heard Myrddin’s voice too,followed by Emma’s. She sounded shockingly calm for a mother who probably just discovered her son’s Daemon transformation.
“Go,” said Lilac, placing the bundled stake on the vanity next to her supplies. “And don’t wait outside.”
“Didn’t plan to.” Yanna glared at Garin and took Isabel by the wrist. “If you hurt her, I’ll light you on fire myself.” The door slammed shut.
It was silent as soon as they were alone. He worked to slow his breathing, the cut of his jaw tight as he took in her soot-covered body. His blood covering her skin, the gashes and burned holes in her clothing.
Lilac cautiously closed the space between them; there was no use pretending she wasn’t afraid when he could hear every sound her body made. Tonight, her desire consumed her fear whole.
“How did you speak to me with your mind?” No response, but the skin at her throat heated. “How did you know you could do that?”
Garin merely blinked up at her, as if he did not know the answer himself.
“What else can you do with your Sanguine magic?”
His brows knitted in confusion.
