Page 25 of The Serpent Prince
Shoving the feeling away, she consulted her handmade map again.
Still, it persisted until, finally, without any other better options, she decided to follow her instincts. They were stronger in the darkness of this place. Her shadows liked it here.
Her magic led her to a sweeping staircase that appeared to head to the north tower. She slowly made her way up, but at the top, a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
At the corner, she peeked around at the sound of his voice, startled to find Kiran.
Pressing her back against the wall, she debated for a moment what to do. Before she could think about it further, however, she tiptoed into the hallway after him.
Invisible, she followed beside him, fascinated by everything about him. From the way the muscles in his back flexed as he walked to the way servants pressed themselves flush against the walls to let him pass. Despite the salacious talk and the demeaning treatment he endured regularly from his family, everything about him exuded power.
Unfettered desire ripped through Imani.
A horrible thought—one she never dared say out loud—was that even after the cruel blackmail, dangerous taunts, and physical violence, she still couldn’t bring herself to stay away. The inner workings of Kiran’s mind were still a rare chest of treasure to her that she desperately wanted the key to unlock. It was that morbid curiosity that drew her deeper into his swirling pool of darkness, and she wondered if she might someday drown in it.
A small part of her even respected him, enjoyed their sparring. It made her feel less alone.
Not that she was forgiving him any time soon, but she could admit the truth about her feelings to herself.
Besides, this was a chance to unravel more of those secrets.
Kiran walked down a small nook with one door, not even big enough for the two of them. She stayed hidden around the corner with her head craned around to watch.
Fisting his hand, he knocked on the door.
Unbidden, a flash of him bedding someone crossed her mind in strikingly vivid detail. A divination vision? She saw perfectly filed nails digging into his back; long, creamy legs wrapping around his hips; soft groans of pleasure escaping as he rhythmically thrust. A dark feeling slithered through her at the thought. Real or not, Imani ground her teeth together.
A woman emerged from the room. For a beat or two, Imani couldn’t catch her breath.
A Norn elf. She was beautiful, like all elves, her hair elegantly coiled around her head, and she wore a lovely gossamer gown that highlighted her blue eyes.
Eyes that looked like Imani’s.
Icy fear doused her from head to foot, and numbness took her fingers. Shadows pushed at her mind, edging her vision, making her thoughts cloud.
Still, the elf had some imperfections. Her nose wasn’t quite symmetrical, her lips not quite as full, nor her lashes as long and thick. Her eyes were a duller shade of blue and not large. All Imani could feel was a soul draw, and a fairly modest one at that, but no magic.
This was a common-bred Norn elf.
It was a small comfort.
“Kiran,” the Norn elf greeted.
“Ayla,” he replied.
Imani studied her intently. Did this elf’s breath catch in her throat? Did she lean forward like she wanted to come to him?
No, these imaginings are in my head. Imani pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose.
They stood chest to chest, the woman’s head bent back so that she could meet his gaze.
For a myriad of reasons—none of which she wanted to examine—the scene kept her rooted to the floor.
Imani felt full of something she couldn’t explain, some unknown emotion that wavered between murderous and painful. It wasn’t like seeing Esa with Kiran. It was far worse.
Lifting his chin and glancing out at the hallway, Kiran narrowed his eyes. Imani covered her mouth with her hand and froze herself in place and out of sight. Her emotions had gotten the best of her, and her invisibility illusion must have fallen. Shadows immediately ensconced her body, covering her in the corner’s darkness. Was it enough?
“What are you looking for?” Ayla asked.
