A Kiss at Midnight

Chapter Sixteen

"In the village of Elio where the dragon took his dying breath. The spilling of his blood and the ensuing tragedies upon the land allowed the Lily to bloom."

Ilona stumbled back, one hand clutching at her chest. Anguish seeping through her from the piercing blow of Carrick's words. Eyes widening as lips struggled to say, "Alexander."

Her grandfather's death was the reason Carrick was here. To retrieve the flower which grew the moment a drop of Alexander's blood splashed onto the earth. Her grandmother's tears watering it and the further tragedies befalling his eldest daughter nourishing those pearlescent petals. Mother.

Savagely attacked by werewolves to the point where Danika thought she would be cradling the most precious piece of her heart in her arms as the life faded from Anna's eyes.
She survived only to be married off to a nobleman who despised her and the power she possessed.
Ambition darkening the gazes of those who once swore to protect her only to turn around and stab her.
Her role as a pawn swept off the board as the council took everything.
Her kingdom.
Her firstborn.

Shallow pants beneath the gnarly branches of a forest, Annalise desperately clung to life. A cloak of arrows upon her back. A musket ball, the final shot. The hunters buried her in silver and thought it was the end. It was only the beginning. For her necromancy abilities kept her in a death-like slumber until the day the silver was taken away and Anna awoke. Revenge consuming her, twisting her in the monster she once fought so hard not to be.

A tear slid down her cheek and Carrick felt her pain stab his chest. The words tumbled from his lips, desperate to staunch the wound. "I did not want to tell you because I know how much it hurts you."

"No," Ilona said, a hollowness in her voice. "Instead, you sought to steal the Morana Lily without me knowing the real reason for being here. All the while, seducing me with words I have longed to hear to ensure my continued performance."

Carrick stilled. Seduction wasn't some part of his grand scheme. No, he was seducing her because he loved her. Because the thought of another man, that dolt in fine silk holding her in his arms drove him to the edge of his sanity. How the night at the inn, the feel of her smooth skin beneath his fingers had him fighting everything not to kiss her. How she looked at him as if he wasn't a beast to hide in the shadows but a man to step into the moonlight with her. How her smile was the warmest of caresses across his skin. Ink smudged fingers as he read her letters over and over, committing them to memory.

He reached for her and she hugged her arms to herself causing his hand to hover in the air. The thought of his touch stung.
"Your letters made me believe that I could have the things I have always wanted. Love. A child," Ilona continued, her voice trembling.
"But to you, I am nothing more than a pawn and the way to gain my compliance was to dangle Danika's stolen ring in front of me."

"Ilona. I didn't steal the ring, I paid for it. By the gods, I didn't even know it belonged to Danika Seares until Mack showed me a scandal sheet from the time, describing that very ring. I intended to give it to you as a gift until I saw you at the ball with him. You looked at Henry, Ilona the way you once looked at me," Carrick said, his voice raw.

"I may care for him but my heart is yours, Carrick!" A ragged breath. "It had always been you but all I received in return was silence."

Her gaze dropping to the ground, unable to bear the agony of those beautiful features of him being within arm's reach but she couldn't touch.

Her words, a cannonball to his chest.
She loved him.
Not Henry or that mysterious red haired suitor. Him.
Then to his horror, Ilona turned from him. Her fingers gripping the edges of her gown, lifting the skirt up as she ran. Her name barely a whisper on his lips.