lily harper 04.5 - the bladesmith Read Free Page A

past. Intimate friends.
    “Say my name!” she demanded as I ascended to the brink.
    “Persephone!” I yelled, and exploded into her mouth.

 
    TWO
    “How nice to make your acquaintance … again,” she said, scorn dripping from every word. Her smile was self-impressed, even authoritative, as she pulled away from me and stood up. Meanwhile, my entire soul deflated as the gravity of what just happened fully registered.
    Ye have nae control! I berated myself as I shook my head and cursed my basic weakness. Ye are nae better than ah pubescent schoolboy!
    As soon as the thought cleared my head, I sensed the rumblings of Donnchadh rising within me. Donnchadh’s essence felt like a sudden angry force, swelling inside me, coloring my thoughts and my disposition with his vehemence and darkness.
    Ye took whit was yers tae take, his voice sounded in my head, and shock ricocheted through me because this was a rare occurrence. It meant his power was growing, that his control was eating away at mine. Whit was ours tae take. His tone was admonishing and indulgent. An’ ye will take her again, as it pleases ye. Every woman is ours fer the takin’.
    Nae, I retorted as I struggled to repress him. I had to force him back into hibernation so he could be manageable once again. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, slamming his existence into nothing, forbidding his voice and banishing his thoughts from entering my head, or daring to use my body as if it were his own.
    Thankfully, I was temporarily successful in controlling Donnchadh, but the situation was fast becoming more dire. Donnchadh’s strength grew inside me, multiplying exponentially as the days went by. Having not bled myself for far too long, now I had to pay the price. It became increasingly difficult to silence his voice, never mind his authority. It was a small wonder that he hadn’t made an appearance during the brief time I’d lost myself to pleasure.
    What a fool I was …
    “The bladesmith,” Persephone said, forcing my attention back to her face, to Lily’s face. I couldn’t help examining the beauty I saw there, feeling suddenly and indescribably saddened that this woman was as far removed from Lily as possible.
    “How is it that ye are here, talkin’ tae meh?” I demanded, fresh anger infiltrating my thoughts as I remembered the horrible situation at hand.
    She shrugged and appeared unconcerned. “Why act so surprised?” she started, tapping her index finger against her lips before a broad smile overtook them. “Ah, could it be because the last thing you remember was when you killed me?” She glared at me for a few seconds, but didn’t allow me to speak. “Or, perhaps I should say, you thought you killed me.”
    “Aye,” I agreed, nodding, because she was correct. The last time I’d seen her I was slitting her throat. “Boot apparently, Ah wasnae good enoof at it.”
    “Apparently not,” she concurred as she stood above me. She crossed her arms over her chest while she studied me. “You surprise me, bladesmith,” she started, her voice growing softer.
    “Ah dinnae know why,” I grumbled, no longer interested in anything she had to say. The truth was that I was exhausted. The culmination of everything I’d borne in the last week finally crashed down on me like an avalanche.
    “Together we were so strong, so powerful,” she announced, her jaw growing tighter.
    “Aye, an’ ye allowed that power tae go tae yer head. Ye allowed it tae corroopt ye an’ ye lost yer way,” I rebuked her with no amount of apology or concern. I was not afraid of her. I’d known torture on numerous occasions throughout my indescribably long life, so whatever else she had in store for me was no more than child’s play. Nothing this woman could do would ever break me.
    “So you decided to do away with me,” she continued, shaking her head as her jaw tightened. It looked as if her face were hollowing out right before my eyes.
    “Ye left meh nae other