Page 64 of Kiss of Death

LILY

I sat on the boulder in front of the rock, my knees pulled to my chest, the bonfire burning between Zehemoth and me.

He lay in the grass with his chin resting on his talons, his dark eyes reflecting the flames like mirrors as he looked at me.

My eyes got lost in the flames…lost in the grief.

I hurt when you hurt.

My eyes lifted to Zehemoth’s, his appearance the same as always since he couldn’t show an expression. His words and the plume of smoke from his nostrils were the two main ways he could convey the intensity of his feelings. “I don’t want you to hurt, Zehemoth.”

It kills me to see you like this, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“There’s nothing anyone can do about it. Well, except my father…who chooses to do nothing.”

He still loves you, Lily.

“That’s not enough for me. The love of my life is trapped, and he does nothing.”

It’s hard to risk everything for a stranger.

“But he’s not a stranger, not to me. And that’s all that should matter.”

His eyes dropped down to the fire again, and he watched the flames for a while.

I’d run out of ideas to save Callum, but I still hadn’t given up. I just didn’t have a direction or an objective. Petitioning Riviana again seemed like a waste of time. I might be able to convince Aunt Eldinar to speak on my behalf, but she would share whatever stance my father had, so she wasn’t reliable.

My father said he was not worth the risk.

Riviana said he was not worth the risk.

But…I would be worth the risk.

My whole body flushed with heat before it turned ice-cold right after. It was a sinister idea that could go wrong…and have eternal consequences. But in that moment, I knew it was the only option I had.

“Zehemoth.”

His eyes flicked back to me.

“I need you to do something for me.”

His orange eyes remained on me for several seconds before he lifted his chin above the fire, looking at me head on where I sat on the boulder. It must have been something in my expressionor my tone of words, but he understood the boon I would ask of him would be the greatest any person could ask of someone else.

“Can I trust you?”

He considered the question without asking for the details of the task, just somehow knew how heavy a burden I was about to place on his shoulders. Finally, he gave a nod.Without question,Sunieth.

We left Riviana Star and flew west over the sea—back to the place my father had wanted me to avoid like a lethal disease. By the time we arrived, it was an hour past sunrise, the sun still low on the horizon and bright in our eyes.

We landed on the same beach as before, the tide low now that the moon had passed with the night. The waves were nearly nonexistent on the shore, like even the water didn’t touch this landmass the way it touched the others.

I hopped down and looked into the forest I’d traversed previously in the darkness.

In the daylight, it didn’t look so bad.

Anything could change, if you just changed your perception.

I left my bag behind because I wouldn’t need it on this journey. I walked out of the water and stopped on the dry sand.