12. Amber

Chapter twelve

Amber

I didn’t say anything after Eldrin’s warning. Not about the king, not about Eldrin comparing this court to a den of rabid bloodthirsty bears. Nothing.

My head pounded. Something was wrong with this place, so very wrong. I was right not to want anything to do with the elves, or anything from those other worlds. If not for Eldrin, I would have dreamed about trying to run away by now—who cared what happened to me after? I couldn’t stay here. This place seemed too dangerous for me, even without the poison. Siliana and Eldrin were the only ones who didn’t make me feel like a stupid toy, something to be tested and broken. Or to be desired and then destroyed.

And during the audience, Eldrin stayed close to me, his presence a precious anchor as I was whipped from one elf to another, pressed and prodded in a way I could never have imagined. Everyone wanted to meet me, and no one was happy about the fact that they had to. It was merely a matter of how upset they were. Their dislike was no secret, even if their false words were hidden behind smiles.

But Eldrin wasn’t upset that I was there. I didn’t know if he thought of me as a friend, but his words didn’t have that superficial ring to them, and his looks never had that condescending sneer. And his budding laugh—it was such a hard-won sound, but entirely worth it. I had to admit it to myself—if I left, I would miss Eldrin, too.

Silently, I followed Eldrin back to my room, through the macabre winding halls that were just starting to be familiar to me. The spaces were silent, with most courtiers likely still with the king, or so I assumed. Any servants were probably done with the bulk of their tasks for the night, or were occupied with the gathering. The isolation was welcome after the crowds, where I constantly had to wonder how my behavior would affect me in the future. Maybe I should have been more careful.

When we came to my door, Eldrin stepped aside, waiting while I fumbled with the thin metal key Siliana gave me. It clicked open easily enough.

I stepped inside the doorway, and just when I turned around to say goodnight to Eldrin, a skeletal hand grabbed my face and dug into my skin, pulling me backwards and into the dark .

I tried to scream. I couldn’t. My voice was caught under my attacker’s grip, my beautiful dress smashed against this foreign body.

But before I could think to try anything—as if I could do anything other than thrash—there was a blur of movement, the sting of fire against my arm, and then a loud crack. The attacker let me go and then dropped to the floor. I whipped around and found the man—an elf—laying there with his neck broken, staring wide-eyed at nothing. A dagger laid on the ground next to him, stained with thick red liquid. Blood.

My blood?

Eldrin stood over him, hands in a fist, and other than the blatant wrath in his gaze it was as if nothing had happened. He had killed someone—and likely saved my life—with as little effort as it took to breathe.

He saved me.

I collapsed on the ground, shaking, covering my mouth with my hand.

Oh my god. Oh my god.

It wasn’t until the third time that I realized I was saying that out loud. That elf just tried to kill me. Why? Why me? I had been warned about the dangers of the Darkening Woods and this court, and they were real. Real.

The next thing I knew, Eldrin was kneeling next to me, rubbing an ointment on my arm that soothed the pain I barely registered. Yes, that was my blood on the knife. The fucker had cut me. Not deep, but enough that it dripped fresh fluid over my arm, ruining what was left of my dress. A knife cut—what a lovely thing to go with my spider bite.

I blinked hard. Somehow, Eldrin already had bandages on his lap, ready to stop the bleeding.

“Can I look?” He asked.

I nodded, holding out my arm and letting him bind the wound, his hands deftly wrapping the bandage around my skin, stopping once in awhile to place some other ointment between the layers. While he worked, my heart settled and my stomach calmed, his mere presence doing more than a million words could ever do.

Eldrin…he was focused entirely on me and on his task, his eyes narrowed and lips pursed. An unexpected pleasure trilled through me at having him so close and dedicated to such a small part of me. What would it be like if he were focused on other things, things that were far more pleasurable? I leaned into his touch as much as I could, even with his skeleton hand dancing over my skin. It didn’t matter what part of him touched me, so long as it belonged to him. Was he being extra mindful not to let the bones touch my skin, using them only as necessary? He was taking care of me. He didn’t have to, but he was.

He killed that elf to save me.

He saved me.

“Where is he?” I asked, blinking hard and looking for the dead elf. The room was empty, besides the two of us and the blood stains on the floor. Just how long was I sitting there in shock?

“Outside,” Eldrin said. “He can be dealt with later. Are you alright?”

“I…yes.” I abruptly shook my head. “I’m just…that was worse than the time I opened the AC filter at my first apartment and found mice skeletons.”

He stopped wrapping my arm and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing.” I took a long breath. “Not the same thing. Not even close.”

Methodically he wrapped my arm, and the rest of me ached for touch. I needed a hug. Bad. But I didn’t think the elf would be up for that. Not with the way his eyes were narrowed and mumbled curses rolled out of his lips in a stream. His eyes focused on my injury, a growing fury lurking within them much like a gathering storm.

“Why me?” I asked. “Why did he do this? Was I too rude at the party?”

Eldrin huffed. “Hardly. Elves can and do much worse to each other all the time.” He reached for another bandage, using it to secure the others around my arm in place. “I don’t know why he was here.” From the way his brow was furrowed, I guessed that he was trying to figure it out himself. “You are under the king’s protection—notoriously, I might add. Our attacker was young and inexperienced. And foolish. Anyone who had known anything about you knows that you are accompanied at all times. So, either he or the person who hired him were fools, or it was meant as a message to me.”

“You?”

His eyes went downcast. “My brother has the crown, but there are many who resent the fact that I am here at all.”

What would killing me have to do with Eldrin? If they hated that he was here, why would hurting me be used to hurt him ? I was nothing to him—right?

“What is the other option?”

Eldrin lifted my arm and moved it, checking to see how it responded under the bandages. “Well, not everyone is pleased with the idea of strengthening the barrier. There are some who think that we should let it fall and assimilate with the rest of the mortals.” Figured. Of course, elves wouldn’t be a monolith in that regard, if they were anything like humans. Some people thought that low-fat mayo was a perfectly acceptable substitute for the real thing. Sometimes people were very very wrong.

“If it’s me,” I said slowly, “I’m not safe here, am I? You told me—I have to be careful.” I wiped my eyes, careful not to smear my cosmetics, or what was left of them.

“You are,” he said with an intensity that shocked me. “I told you the things that I did so that you would be careful. I had no idea that…” He shook his head, as if even he couldn’t believe what had happened. “I’m not letting anything happen to you, Amber. Do not worry. ”

I locked eyes with him. His hand was still on my arm, and who cared that the other one didn’t have flesh? I hadn’t had a chance to look at him so closely before, to be close enough to smell him, that woodland scent mixed with a faint note of apples. His lips parted a tiny bit as he stared at mine, and that earlier fire surged to a familiar yearning that worked its way through me, urging me forward. To him. There was nothing but him and his silvery gaze, drawing me in and refusing to let me go.

“What now?” I mouthed, barely above a whisper.

He blinked hard, the moment suddenly broken. A coldness from the unwelcome world rushed over me, right as I remembered that my question was about more than just us. “I will make enquiries,” he said.

I had to stop thinking like that. There was no us . It was the shock. It had to be.

“You’re going? Now?” My stomach twisted. The thought of him being pulled from me, leaving me alone here after that was too much.

His gaze softened. “I will have to, but not yet. I will not leave you alone until Siliana comes. Do not worry, Amber. You will be safe tonight. I promise.”