ArcKnight (The ArcKnight Chronicles #1)

Chapter Twenty-seven

Lilliana

I pressed my forehead against the cool window. The rain left large diamond drops sprayed across the glass. The clouds covered the sun, and the dismal gray light it let through wasn't enough to lighten the world's misery. It was fitting. This place was so often melancholy, it fit my current mood and state.

Pressing my hands together, I began wringing them until a creeping numbness crawled up my arms. What was wrong with me? There was something going on, and I could feel it fluttering in my veins. That man... Grayson. Who and what was he? He had cursed me or worse, infected my blood with some sort of manipulating poison. I couldn't breathe as I stood there watching the city awaken. There was nothing I could do to get rid of whatever he'd done, and there was only one thing left to do.

Waiting for Ephrem to return had been torturous. Even when he had finally arrived, I'd been nothing but silent as the hours passed. He'd rested, but sleep would not come for me.

I had to return to the park and seek Grayson out, discover what he wanted so I could rid myself of this dark magic. There was no one else who could help me, not even Ephrem. Even the pull to get him to come along wasn't enough for me to ask him to go with me.

I'd never risk him. Even though I should have told him what happened. No, it wouldn't have solved anything. It would have put him in danger. That was a certainty. Jumping to my feet, I paced the room until I swore I was wearing out a path on the wooden floor. I hated this feeling of helplessness.

"I have to go," I mumbled to myself. Ephrem had left again early. I swore the man never slept much. It made me miss him terribly. My body ached to feel his embrace, warm and tender. There'd been no one else who'd ever made me feel that way. The way his words whispered into my ear in the middle of the night when the need was strongest and our bodies craved each other's touch crept across my skin and dulled the crawling curse that now inhabited it. I hugged myself, the longing for his touch keeping me in place.

But he wasn't returning. I knew something big was happening out there that kept him so busy, and it made me wonder if it had anything to do with the KelHan pack. Maybe it did. Maybe he was already taking care of this mess and I didn't even know it.

Even so, I had to get back to the park and fix this now. I couldn't be a vessel for anyone's malicious intents. Grayson was going to pay for trying to use me to get to Ephrem. I'd rather die than give up my love. Grayson and his people meant nothing to me. They were not my family. They were barely human. I could feel the lack of spirit when I looked upon him. Whatever had happened to his people had left them empty, hollow, perverted. If they wanted Ephrem, they'd have to get him some other way, and I'd still be standing in their path.

I quickly showered and then forced down a dry breakfast of toast with jam. I was determined to get out into the city and find Grayson before Ephrem did. I strapped on my weapons and threw one last glance at my reflection in the bedroom mirror. The woman staring back at me had paled to a grey-white complexion, no longer looking human either. Gone was the soft humming pink underneath my cheeks and across my lips. I was now a faded version of Lily, and I hated it.

He had done this to me. Grayson. And only he could fix it. Whatever poison he'd managed to slip into me had to be purged, and I would beat him down until he removed it.

Grayson KelHan didn't know what wrath he'd incurred by messing with me.

***

The park was busy. People weaved in and out of it with screaming children despite the early morning rain. I guess the moisture didn't deter anyone, for rarely was it ever dry in the city of Temple. I wanted to laugh when I eyed the ever-present clouds high above the towers. Where was the sunshine, the life-giving light? How did these people live here and not notice what they were missing? It truly baffled me.