instead of forcing pills down my throat, I went through every type of test imaginable: blood, physical, psychological, x-rays, brain waves, fae woo-woo stuff. And in that time, Killian had been by my side. I stopped questioning it after the third day; his constant presence was the only thing giving me comfort. He only left when business came up, but he returned the moment he could. Because I was doing what he wanted without a fight, his threat to punish me if I didn’t drifted away with each passing day. But I was no fool. I understood it could all shift in a blink, and he could easily kill me.
I expected the tests to start bordering on cruelty. But besides a basic physical examination, I got to lie there and eat cookies later. In my book, that was a holiday.
“You look a little pale today.” Killian peeled off a monitor attached to my temple. “Might benefit from some fresh air. A walk, maybe. Would you join me?”
My head jerked to him.
“Actually, I have a little surprise for you.”
My brow crinkled. His kindness bypassed every one of my defenses. I doubted his intentions and my own judgment of character.
Killian was nothing like I imagined or what I had been told. He didn’t have human slaves bringing him trays of food while he tortured, killed, and raped our kind. He was compassionate toward me. Attentive. I found myself laughing and teasing with him the longer we spent together. It disturbed me.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” He gently tugged out the needle in my arm.
“Why are you here?” I watched him do everything himself instead of a lab specialist. He had all week. If he was by my side, then he dismissed the technicians and took care of me himself.
“What do you mean, why am I here?” His brow furrowed, grabbing a cotton swab to pat the drip of blood from the puncture hole. “This is my lab. My palace.”
“Exactly. Yours. You have dozens of staff at your will who could be here instead.”
He didn’t respond, still putting pressure on the wound.
“Don’t you have other obligations? You are the leader. Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, running your side of the country instead of being my nurse?”
“My focus is precisely where it should be.” His eyes met mine. “And I enjoy being your nurse.”
I sucked in, his gaze heavy on me. “Why?”
He stepped back, tossing the swabs into the wastebasket.
“Come,” he ordered, advancing for the door, ignoring my question.
Blowing out my breath, I slid off the bed, following him out. Nyx waited at the elevators for us, her glower darkening the moment she saw me.
“Lord.” She dipped her head, pulling out a set of handcuffs. “Should I take the prisoner back to her room… smother her with a pillow?”
He chuckled, shaking his head as he stepped into the lift. “Not tonight. I will be escorting Ms. Kovacs myself. You can take the rest of the night off.”
“Sir?” She blinked at him in horror, the handcuffs in her hands. “Shouldn’t I at least bind the captive?”
“No need.” His regard slid to me as I moved into the elevator with him, then back to Nyx. “I think I can handle her.”
“My lord…” Nyx shook her head. “Yes, she is a weak, disgusting, vile human. But I’m concerned you are not seeing clearly.”
“Are you second-guessing me, lieutenant?”
“No, sir.” She bowed her head deeper. “It’s my job to keep you safe. To see all threats.”
“I hardly think a human is any threat to me.” He pushed the button on the elevator. “Good night, Nyx.”
Nyx’s mouth remained open, her eyes wide as the doors shut, taking us up.
“I think she’s really beginning to like me.” I peered over at Killian, his regard meeting mine, a smile hinting on his mouth. I had seen more and more of this side of him in the last week.
“I daresay she is,” he replied, his stare not wavering, forcing me to look away as tension billowed in the tiny space.
The doors opened, finally breaking Killian’s attention from me as he stepped out into a large room. A gasp caught in my lungs as I followed him out, twisting around to take in all the grandeur and the opulence reminding me of home.
He had brought me up to his palace. His home.
The huge gallery was laid with marble flooring and rich red carpet. Excruciating detail was sculpted into the arched ceilings far above our heads. Exquisitely carved statues of fae lined the