Page 22 of Magick and Lead (Dragons and Aces #2)

ESSA

C harlie’s lips found mine at the same time I plunged the dagger into his chest. For a second, I felt frozen. It was like falling from dragon back, a moment of suspension. His kiss somehow stole my breath, rustled my soul, and curled my toes even though, in the same moment…

Even though…

I pulled away from our kiss and looked down at my dagger blade to find it was not buried in him as it should have been. The point had hit something.

Kit—Charlie—gave me a stunned look, then pulled his buttoned shirt front apart. He wore a chain necklace with his dragon stone on it. My dagger point had hit the stone, so the blade had not pierced his flesh—yet.

“Essa. What are you—?” he breathed.

I cocked back and struck him in the side of the head with the hilt of the dagger. He staggered back, blood already starting to drizzle from his forehead where I’d hit him.

With a growl, I swung my dagger, aiming for his neck, but he caught my arm and, in one smooth, violent motion, slung me to the floor.

I hit with a thud that knocked the breath from my lungs.

My wrist screamed with pain as he twisted my hand, making me release the dagger, and I found myself pinned beneath him.

It reminded me that Charlie was no mere reporter, not the sweet wordsmith he’d pretended to be. He was a renowned warrior. An ace.

A killer.

The reminder brought my hatred for him to a boil.

And yet, pinned beneath him like this, his powerful body against mine, I felt something else, too?—

Something between my legs, pressing against me…

“Are you hard?” I demanded.

He glared at me. “Essa. What are you doing here?” His eyes ticked to my lips, then back to my eyes. “Besides trying to kill me?”

I snarled, trying to break free of his grip. But he was far stronger than I’d imagined. “Let me go!” I shouted.

“No!” he said. “Not until you listen to me. I’m sorry.”

I spat in his face. He recoiled, blinking, but didn’t loosen his grip on my wrist.

“I will burn your apology along with your corpse,” I said. “You killed my mother!”

“I…?” he gaped at me, then some revelation seemed to wash over him. He shook his head emphatically. “Essa, no. I wasn’t flying the Silver Wraith the day of the attack. I was in the other plane. The one that rammed him. I tried to stop him.”

“You lie!” I snarled.

“Essa, I swear!”

He seemed sincere. But I was by no means softened.

“And the rest?” I said. “Are you truly the Silver Wraith? Did you kill my sister?”

He blinked, hesitating. “Essa…”

I pressed on, holding back tears. “Were you feeding your intelligence agency information the whole time you were with me? Did you help me win the challenge and become Irska because you thought I was weak, and making me the leader would weaken all the Skrathan?”

“Essa…”

“Answer me!” I commanded.

The breath seemed to fall out of him. “Yes,” he said in a low voice. “All that’s true. But you have to know that?—”

“There’s nothing more to know!” I shouted.

I thrust my hips against him, feeling him still hard against me. The force made him wince.

“Do what you will with me,” I said. “But know I will fight you every second.”

He shook his head. “Essa. I would rather die than hurt you.”

“You will die,” I said. “I will not leave this place until my dagger has drunk its fill of your blood.”

He blinked at me.

Then, he laughed. Then laughed harder.

I felt blood rising to my face as my anger mounted. “Oh, you think I’m joking?”

I writhed against him, trying to break free of his grip. I even bucked upward, trying to get my teeth onto his face, but he pulled back just out of my reach, still holding me fast.

“God, Essa. Did you honestly come here to kill me?”

“Why else?” I demanded.

“Well, I thought… perhaps…”

If he thought I came because I was in love with him—I’d kill him twice.

“You thought what ?” I demanded.

“I thought you were here for Kortoi.”

At this, I suddenly stopped fighting him. Those were the last words I’d expected to hear.

“Wait. Kortoi is here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I saw him at the presidential mansion today. He’s supposedly part of some peace envoy here to parlay with President Ramos.”

“Impossible. Only the queen could broker peace.”

He shrugged. “I’m just telling you what I know.”

I looked away from Charlie. There was only one person I needed dead more than him—only one person more urgently deserving of my revenge—and that was Prelate Kortoi.

My mind raced as I thought of the possibilities.

Kortoi would never expect me to know he was here in Admar.

And he’d never guess that I was here, too.

There would never be a better chance to catch him unawares than this.

If I could find Kortoi, take him by surprise, and kill him, the rebellion back home would crumble.

Charlie seemed to sense what I was thinking.

“Kortoi was the one behind the coup back in Maethalia, wasn’t he?” Charlie said. “The creepy bastard. I never trusted that guy. You know, I could help you. We could find him together.”

My eyes snapped back to his.

“I came here to kill you. Now you want to help me?” I demanded. “Are you a fool?”

A smile curled on his lips. “For you? Always,” he said.