A Sprinkle of Stardust

Chapter 28 - Shadows

The feeble afternoon sunlight glimmered off the dark glass apartment door. Lyrani smiled to herself as she unlocked it.

Even though she had bid Nash farewell for the day, his kiss still burned on her mouth. She could feel his hands on her body and hear her name on his lips. The way he had touched her, so gentle and hesitant, only made her want more as much as she knew she shouldn't.

Lyrani had known he was trouble from the beginning, with his thoughtful honey eyes and his kind concern, but this was a different sort of trouble than what she had expected.

Nash was difficult not to care for, which made him difficult to kill.

Lyrani's hand froze on the doorknob. She had lost herself in Nash's company today, which was nothing new. What was new was her losing sight of her objective.

How did Nash do this to her? She was supposed to get information from him, then kill him if the opportunity arose, not flirt with him.

Lyrani doubted Nash had told anyone he was going to be with her. They had been alone. If he had disappeared, nobody would've suspected her. It had been the perfect chance to complete her mission, and she had wasted it kissing him instead.

The worst part was that she didn't regret it. Even if she had doomed the realm for a kiss from a king, she wouldn't have done anything differently if she could do it again. She couldn't have pushed him away, broken the caress of his lips on hers.

Lyrani bit her lip at the memory of Nash slipping the cornflower into her hair. He had looked at her as if even with the view of the stars, she was the only thing he saw.

Lyrani couldn't kill Nash. Not after everything that had happened between them.

She knew many things that she hadn't when she accepted the task to assassinate Nash. Everything about the mission had changed, but the problem to be solved still remained.

Queen Rayn had a hold on Nash, and he couldn't stand against her will. Whatever she commanded, he had to do, even if it was the last thing he wanted. She was the one who had to be removed, not Nash. But how?

The first thing Lyrani had to do was tell Trelle everything that had happened since the night Nash found her in his room.

Her mouth went dry at the thought. She fully expected another lecture from the senior agent, perhaps even an entire rant, but she would have to brave it. A change of plan was in order.

There had to be another way to complete this mission—a way that didn't involve killing King Nash.

He had tried to tell Lyrani the truth behind his strange, unstable behaviour, but something had stopped him. An entity powerful enough to keep the king of Elvenland from speaking and order attacks through him was a force to be reckoned with. If Lyrani was going to fight it, she needed Trelle to be with her.

Taking a breath to steel her nerves, Lyrani pushed the apartment door open.

Trelle was sitting on her luxurious bed, but she had company. Her hands were tangled in the other elf's dark hair as their mouths crushed together.

Lyrani's cheeks burned. She took a silent step backwards, pulling the door closed in front of her, but Trelle was quicker than she was.

"Lyrani?" Trelle broke away and turned to the door, smiling an easy smile, not the kind given to a person one had barely spoken to in days.

It was so simple, so pure, almost happy, that Lyrani didn't trust it for a second.

Beside Trelle, Isarea smoothed her mussed brown hair. A blush rose on her cheeks when she met Lyrani's eyes. She lowered her gaze down to where Trelle's hand rested in hers.