The walk from Laketown's shores was tough, and it put a strain on all of them. Nobody had the strength to really go fast yet their hearts were tight with fear for their family, possibly dead in the rubble of the mountain. The mountain was immense, and every hour of walking brought it higher and higher above their heads.
Entering Erebor itself was rather frightening, if Elya was honest with herself. The broken doorway made a jagged scar in the mountain and it echoed something awful. Everywhere you looked there was broken rubble, cracks and stones that crawled up the sides of the walls.
It stunk in the stale way that old things do, with a heavy oil overtop that Elya could only think of being part of Smaug's wrath. It was a heavy feeling, one that ratcheted their fear and worry up a thousand fold.
"Hello?!" Bofur called, voice a piping spear in the silence of Erebor's halls. "Hello!" He echoed.
Elya gaped at the depth of the halls, how the walkways intersected and floated above such empty space, such incredible stonework.
"Wait!" A small voice cried, getting louder. "Wait!"
"Bilbo!" they all cried, Elya rushing forward to clasp him in a hug so tight he squeaked.
"We feared you eaten, my friend!" Bofur said cheerfully, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Are the others this way?"
Bilbo stopped him, looking uncommonly serious, "No don't go down there. There's something wrong with them, with Thorin, you can't-!" But Fili had brushed by him, eyes fixed on a soft glow coming from a large doorway, down several floors. Kili followed quickly behind, and Bofur after that.
"Fili!" Bilbo cried, almost desperately. "Fili, wait! Don't go down there!"
"Bilbo, what is it? What's wrong?" Elya whispered to him as they trailed after the rushing princes.
Bilbo watched her, eyes hollowed and changed. She swallowed, unnerved, and worried for the hobbit. The mountain didn't agree with him.
"There's a terrible sickness on that gold. Smaug had hoarded it for so long, he said, he said…" He bit his lip. "He said Thorin would go mad."
"Mad? Like...like Thror was?"
Bilbo nodded, "Aye, and Lord Elrond had the same worries."
Elya swallowed again, their feet taking them up to the door and then they were at the top of the stairs, looking down on an ocean of gold. Elya gasped, kneeling because she suddenly felt dizzy, clutching the edge of the stone walkway. It was endless, a roving mile of gold hills. A figure was moving, walking slowly across their gaze. He turned and suddenly it was Thorin, but crowned and robed like a king.
"Gold…" He whispered, to himself it seemed. "Gold beyond measure." A sick love was in his voice, dulled like in a dream. He seemed to realize they were there with a few blinks, and he did not rush to greet them, happy they were alive. He drew back and chucked a large ball-size ruby at them, Fili catching it with a troubled frown.
"Welcome, my sister's sons, to the great kingdom," Thorin widened his arms, looking nearly delirious with happiness, "of Erebor." His sigh echoed and rang off every coin and beautiful thing that resided in this hall.
"That doesn't look like Thorin." Elya whispered, eyes locked on the figure draped in wealthy robes, rings, and jewels.
Kili shook his head slightly, still dumbfounded, and Fili had a great frown on his face.
They found the others in a side chamber, Bofur rushing in to beam and hold his arms open.
"Balin!" He said, "Dwalin! Nori! Dori!" Dwalin hugged him first, and Fili and Kili laughed while they clutched at their friends. Elya sighed in relief, running to Bifur, who mumbled at her with an eye-creasing grin.
"Bombur!" Bofur laughed, and then Elya was caught in a three way hug of the Ur brothers. She couldn't help but laugh even though she could barely breathe.
"Come, lads," Dwalin beamed, clapping a hand to Kili's back. Thankfully, Kili didn't stumble, but he did grunt. "Come see the inheritance you deserve." And then they were shown to the same treasure hall they found Thorin, who had disappeared. The dwarves dispersed, and Elya went slowly behind them, not really drawn to the sparkle of the gold or the gems. It was beautiful, that's for sure, but there was a smell in the air that reminded her of a grease fire, of Smaug's rage.
The dwarves, however, seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Kili would pick up a piece of jewelry and then turn and squint at her.
"What are you doing?" Elya asked, snorting a bit when he tried to look like he hadn't been giving her the strangest look, scratching his head.
"I'm trying to find you something pretty." Kili's ears were slightly pink.
Elya humored him, waving him off. He scampered like a puppy, stopping now and then to tug something out of the treasure and lift it up to look at. Sometimes he would thread it onto his wrist to see, other times he would throw it behind him negligently, like it was worth nothing.
Elya just hoped she would stand up to the wealthy standards of Erebor.
He ran back, slipping on the heaps now and then and in one comical moment, falling completely on his face. Elya laughed, failing to stifle herself and missing how the other dwarves looked up at the ringing, bright sound echoing through the hall. Even Thorin had an indulgent smirk on his face from where he stood, surveying them all.
"Alright, here we go." Kili returned to her, arms laden with gleaming gems and pockets bulging.
"Goodness, Kili, I don't need any of this!" Elya snickered, letting him slip the necklaces around her neck, the tiaras on her head, the bracelets on her wrist, rings on her fingers, and hooking earrings on the top of her ears since her lobes weren't pierced.
After he had placed when felt like several pounds worth of metal on her, Kili stepped back and eyed it all, thumbing his chin.
Fili snorted from nearby. "You can't be serious."
Kili was affronted. "What? I'm seeing which metals are the best, what stones bring out her eyes, whether her wrists are bold enough for a bracelet! I'm not gonna leave all of it on!"
"And you can't see how none of it works?"
"Give me time!"
"Honestly, gentlemen." Elya sighed and lifted a weighted wrist, everything clanking as it fell back to her elbow.
Fili drew her to her feet and brought her over to where a large circular disk of gold stood on its edge against a pillar. She realized that it was a mirror, made completely out of gold and polished until she could see all their likeness in it with only minor warbling. Blinking, because she couldn't remember the last time she had seen herself, Elya took in her sooty and dirtied dress and the loose braided mess of her hair.
The amount of jewelry on her body though, made it hard to see herself at all.
"Uhm." She hesitated to say anything, as both Kili and Fili were frowning at her, eyes raking in her form. Fili was rubbing his beard, fingers following his moustache braids. Kili's head was turned sideways, almost like a puppy's, and she flushed when she found his gaze locked on the curve of her hips, accentuated by a golden chain wrapped around her waist.
"Hmm." Kili huffed. "You're right."
"Told you." Fili smirked, before going about relieving her of the jewelry.
"What?" She sighed.
"None of it suits you, Elya. You're far too beautiful." Fili grinned at her, snickering when she rolled her eyes.
"Come on, now."
"No, it's true!" Fili turned to Kili, who had a thoughtful look in his eye. "Tell her."
Fili was now the one wearing most of the jewelry, and laughingly Elya plopped the silver tiara onto his head. He preened, flexing and posing just to make her laugh.
"Far too beautiful." Kili murmured, almost too low to hear. He was fiddling with something in his pocket, eyes dark and contemplative. But he seemed to shake it off rather soon, and the three made a game of finding as many pieces of jewelry or clothing as possible and piling it onto Fili until he could barely walk.
Their laughter rang loudly in the hall. Eventually, the glamor and newness of the treasure hoard grew stale, and they all grew very hungry.
After dinner, there was little else to do but go back to the treasure room, as every other dwarf in the company was still basking in it. Thorin especially was attempting to survey every corner that he could.
Time seemed to extend in here, in the shadows of the mountain hall. Nothing felt real except the gold, not even their past. The journey it took to get here seemed gather and father away every minute, every second passing in an Age. As much as she could see it happening to the dwarves, their blissful smiles and hazy eyes evidence of at least some form of dream, she fell prey to it too. The outside world was so far away….why did they have to worry about it?
Elya was distracted at one point by something long, thin and wooden sticking up out of the hills, looking slightly out of place in an entire room filled with metal. It turned out to be a bow meant for musical instruments, and she spent the next few minutes hunting down the accompanying fiddle, finding it half buried.
Elya laughed victoriously when she managed to fight the fiddle free, looking at it a second and appreciating the polished wood, smooth lines of gold inlay, and the craftsmanship of the strings. Even decades after the fall of Erebor, it looked in working condition. Dwarven craftsmanship was something to be in awe of.
She ran back to Kili, who sat on the stair staring out at the massive gold piles. Elya approached him and handed him the fiddle and bow, smiling at him encouragingly. He blinked back at her, looking down at the fiddle then back up, a small smile curling his lips.
"I remember you playing in Bag End, but I didn't get to appreciate it."
He took it from her, and plucked at a few of the strings. It rang in the emptiness of the hall, and Elya sat herself down to enjoy.
"Treasure beyond measure." Kili said to her, setting the fiddle under his chin. He had a loopy smile on his face, his eyes sparkling.
Elya grinned, putting her own chin in her hands, elbows on her knees.
He played for her, and she enjoyed how he hammed it up, winking at her and stomping to his own beat. Within minutes of the music floated through the great hall, Bofur came running, practically surfing down a golden hill to reach them, a flute in his fist.
Their first night went happily, cheer and fun ringing through the air, amidst the shine and sparkle of their golden reward. The company gathered around the music players, and they ate and laughed and stayed up late through the night. Thorin was a marked absence.
The morning was not so cheerful, as Thorin called for them to suddenly build up the gate again into an impenetrable wall. Elya was shocked to find the refugees already climbing the hills towards them, wasn't the dragon's rage so far away now? It must have been ages ago. She had almost forgotten them. That realization sickened her, even as she watched the dwarves lug stone after stone towards the gate, stacking them with that canny sense of order that all dwarves possessed.
Thorin refused to give entry to Lake Town's refugees, all ragged and fire burnt, who were streaming into Dale in search of shelter and warmth. The fog of the gold lifting, this didn't sit well with Elya, who felt a terrible twist within her stomach every time she met the eyes of the dwarves. None could maintain eye contact but also couldn't refuse their king's orders. They couldn't out of loyalty, and love.
"The dragon burnt their home. We woke the dragon." Elya spoke lowly to Kili in an undertone, worried. "Women, children, starving men? It's not right."
"No." Kili grunted, pulling along on a wagon, frowning thunderously much like his uncle does. "It's not."
He confronted Thorin when they reached the gate, Fili a silent presence at their back. Elya couldn't life the rocks, but she could bring their water skins around for the dwarves to drink.
"They have nothing, they have lost everything." Kili spoke plainly, confused to find Thorin uncaring.
"Do not tell me of their suffering." Thorin said, coldly, "I know it well. They should rejoice! Those who survive dragon fire have much to be grateful for." His tone made Elya shiver, and she exchanged an uncomfortable look with Bilbo.
"Much to be grateful for?" Kili copied, but his uncle and king was already leaving.
"More stone!" Thorin boomed, stomping away.
"Come on, brother." Fili said, smile a little weak around the edges. Kili grunted, and helped, but his expression of disapproval did not change.
Come the next morning, when they had all risen with empty bellies and emptier hopes, Thorin's darkness had deepened. The elves of Mirkwood had arrived, seeking their "fair share".
Thorin was not kind to Bard, who had come to treat with them.
"He promised." Kili said quietly, as Thorin turned his back on the company and on Bard. "He promised them gold."
"Nobody can eat gold." Elya quoted Bard's parting remarks, and squeezed his hand.
She sighed and watched Bard disappear back to Dale, where the shining armor of the elves made it clear they weren't going anywhere. The dwarves slowly left, going about their business. She sighed again and left, hoping to find a comb and maybe manage to do her hair, it still stunk like a grease fire.
Elya didn't think about it. It was such a normal activity, such a normal time. She had secluded herself away for a small wash and now sat combing out her hair. Bifur and Bofur were busy looking for the Arkenstone, Kili was somewhere at the front of the mountain trying to shoot down passing birds and she completely thought she was alone.
She ran across the glowing bead in her hair, and pulled it around to lie on her chest. Her hair had grown longer on the journey, and the bead now took more effort to hide. It was habit now, as she didn't really understand why Gandalf and Elrond had all told her to hide the bead. Now as she looked at it she wondered if it was brighter.
Humming, she shrugged and went about combing and braiding her hair, leaving the bead for last. It wouldn't be as good as Bifur could do, but she expected him to sit her down and fix it the first time she went out in public with her pitiful attempts at hair doing.
What she wasn't expecting, was Thorin to come looking for Kili and finding her with the bead shining brightly against her collarbone.
"What is this." His dark voice shook, startling her.
"Oh-What Thorin!" She turned her upper body, still sitting on the ground and her hands occupied with her hair. "What's what?"
"You claim to have no interest and yet you lie to my face." His eyes were heavy beneath the weight of his crown, and the rage in his voice gave her pause. He took an intimidating step forward.
She was immediately reminded that they were alone.
"Sorry?" Elya frowned, "What are you talking about Thorin?" and dropped her hands. In the movement, the bead rolled along her chest and she froze, suddenly understanding.
"The bead." Thorin snarled, stomping towards her. Elya scrambled back, trying to get to her feet but not being fast enough. Thorin seized her by her hair, rough and cruel, and she cried out in shock. Whatever anger Thorin felt, whatever rage he held against her, he'd never before been physical.
"This is part of the Arkenstone." His voice trembled as he tugged her up painfully to look closer at the bead. "Did you steal it? Hide it?! Destroyed it for your own perverse use?!"" He roared, tightening his grip and lifting her high by the hair.
Tears sprung to Elya's eyes at the sharp pain of her scalp, forcing her to cry out. She clutched at his fist to take her weight off her hair, but he still gripped her so firmly the pain was constant. This was an uncomfortable reminder of the Goblin King, and Elya swore she smelled his rancid odor.
"I didn't, this is old, I've had this since I woke up in the Shire, I don't have the stone!" She squealed, frightened. Her feet scrambled against the stone ineffectually.
"Lies." He hissed, "Someone of your kind does not deserve the wealth that Erebor holds."
"I'm not lying! I swear!"
"Remove yourself from my sight and never again darken this mountain's shadow." He boomed, disdainful and full of contempt for her. "A wizard's creature is nothing to a dwarf."
And in a move so quick she couldn't follow it, Thorin took out a knife, carved it through her hair and let her drop harshly on the ground. Stunned, Elya glanced up to see him look down at her a few moments, dropping her hair to the floor but keeping the bead. He turned and walked out, his footsteps receding with long echoes, his head bent to look at the shine and glimmer of the bead she had carried for months.
Elya shuddered, feeling the cold of the stone pierce up to her skin, and stared horrified at the pile of hair in front of her.
It happened so fast, so quickly, Elya felt blindsided, shocked at the sudden turn to Thorin's personality. She breathed shakily, and after a minute or two realized she was on the verge of tears. Deep, body wracking sobs soon followed and she wrapped her arms around herself.
What now? She was ordered by the king to leave Erebor. Maybe the people of Laketown? Bard would possibly take her in, but that meant, that meant.
That meant leaving the dwarves, leaving Bofur and Bifur and Bombur, Bilbo, and Fili and Kili, and everything within her refused.
Sometime later, she couldn't tell how long, Elya realized she had been crying for a long time and someone would start looking for her if she didn't show up. Rubbing her face, Elya took a deep fortifying breath, climbing to her feet. She hiccupped and sniffed, and tried to rub the redness out of her face. A scuff at the door made her freeze.
Luck had decided to leave her, as Kili stood at the mouth of the bathing room and his dark eyes were fixed on the small pile of hair, the braid lying there innocently. Elya's voice dried up, absurdly she felt ashamed.
"Elya… who?" He started, confused and alarmed, but something made him pause. There was a feeling in the air that he recognized as the weight of the dragon, that odd, smoky kind of oil that hung heavily on their souls.
Elya opened her mouth, but still nothing would come out. She turned her head away to hide the damage, tears surging up once more to twist her face into an ugly mess.
"Elya." He said again, firmer, and yet when he approached, stopping to a crouch just at the braid between them, his hands were gentle in their urging.
She sobbed, hands covering her face. He pet her head, moving it so he could see the frayed end result of Thorin's attack, a chunk of hair, unevenly cut, and an empty space where before the braid and the bead had sat. Kili breathed in sharply, shocked.
"Elya," he breathed, voice shaking, "Was this Thorin?"
She didn't want to speak, she didn't want to tell him that it had been Thorin, that it had been his beloved uncle, she couldn't do that, not to Kili. Kili loved Thorin, utterly, how could she tell him that he was going mad?
Kili stepped closer, took her hands away from her face and replaced them with his. "Elya." He touched their foreheads together in the way she sometimes saw the dwarves do. It was a gesture of family, of love, and a gentleness that Elya knew few realized about the usually rough and tumble dwarves.
Elya could see it in his eyes. He knew it. Shakily, she nodded, hating herself for how his expression broke open and revealed the pain behind him. She wrapped her arms around him, and he set his chin atop her head. They both looked down to where the braid lay. Stooping, Elya hesitated but eventually took it up in her hand. It lay limp and dull, no longer as beautiful as it once was.
She, without speaking, opened Kili's tunic at the front and slipped the braid into his inner pocket. She smoothed it down on his chest and took a deep breathe.
"Come on." She croaked.
Kili took a minute to do her hair back up into a bun, the cut portion stark and obvious against her neck. Then, he leaned forward and kissed her, gently. His sweetness was a startling difference to his uncle's roughness, and it awed her how he could still be so loving, even in the midst of their turmoil.
The rest of the company had slowly removed themselves from the treasury, choosing instead to gather in a side chamber filled with books, blankets, and rows upon rows of empty jars. As their dinners slowed and became thinner and thinner, they had started sticking closer together, always exchanging worried glances between them, out of Thorin's sight.
Kili entered and was immediately set upon by Dori and Nori.
"Where's Thorin?"
"I don't know." Kili shook his head, eyes darkening in anger at the thought of his uncle. "Fili?"
"Not here." Nori showed him something Elya couldn't see. "This is all that's left. What do we do?" Food then, the last of the supplies from Laketown, which wasn't very much in the first place.
Elya couldn't hear what Kili said because all of a sudden, Bifur was right beside her and making frantic, heartbroken noises. She grimaced when it became clear he was reaching for her hair.
She didn't know what to say, so instead she drew the quiet dwarf into her arms and buried her face in his shoulder. Bifur squeezed her tight before walking her over to Bofur, who looked stunned at the sight of her hair.
"Oh, little sister." Bofur sighed, hugging her as well. Elya sniffled and cursed herself for crying some more after her afternoon of tears.
Bifur said something angrily in Khuzdul, and it caused a tense silence in the room. Everyone was looking at Kili. He ran a jerky hand over his hair, teeth gritting hard enough that his jaw flickered in the torchlight.
"There's not much to do. Not with the door blocked." He didn't say that they were the ones to block it in the first place. "Dain's coming within the next twenty four hours, but even when he does arrive, there will be a fight on our doorstep. If….if worse comes to worse…" Kili grimaced, looking pained. "We'll have to leave the mountain." He swallowed thickly around it, because it was essentially an act of treason to circumvent Thorin's decree.
There was a beat of silence, then Dori nodded. "As you say, my prince." And then a chorus of agreement followed him, even though Kili hadn't made any kind of order. They all dispersed, Bombur going to his watch and the others either bunking down to sleep, or to talk around the fire. Kili stood, deciding, before he slumped and went, beckoning to Elya.
She hugged Bifur one last time, and reached out to touch Bilbo's hand on her way by. Being underground didn't agree with the hobbit, he only looked worse and worse as the days went by.
Elya caught up to Kili and took his hand then too, almost feeling his turmoil from beside him. They passed by an opening, and found Fili there. The blonde was thinking deeply, a hand covering his mouth and his eyebrows betraying his own turmoil. Deep lines were inscribed on his face, making him seem much older than he was.
"Fili." Kili said, almost relieved to find him out of the treasure room, away from Thorin. Fili jerked, and looked about to say something, a tired smile flicking around his eyes, but then Thorin's voice called from deeper within. The throne room.
"Fili, enter."
Elya twitched and flinched behind Kili, absurdly thinking that Thorin could possibly see her through the doors. Kili's hand clenched on hers.
Fili offered them an apologetic smile, but turned away and entered the throne room at his uncle's call. Not once did he speak.
Kili seemed to be made of stone, and the lost, hurt look on his face practically punched Elya in the gut. She tugged, and he went, trailing after her forlornly without his brother or uncle around to tell him what to do, to show him how to be.
They found an antechamber, one that had no disturbed dust, and sat quietly together. Elya's hand kept going to her hair, before she would realize and clench it in her lap.
Kili was grim, one hand covering his mouth and his other arm wrapped around himself, as if it was holding him together.
"I don't know what to do, Elya." His eyes were tortured. She reached for him and he came, crawling to her side and letting his head rest limply against her chest. She put her arms around him and felt wholly incapable of comfort, but she ran her fingers through his hair and rocked him a little, cuddling him close.
"Thorin's gone mad, Fili is drowning, and the Company is fracturing in front of us. I'm not suited to command or to take charge, I've not been trained and I would do an even worse job than a mad king." He swallowed, hands clutching at her hips and skirt.
Elya's heart was near beating out of her chest, "You are doing all you can, Kili, there's not much else you can do. You are of Durin, and a prince, and you are strong besides."
"But I'm not, I'm not really Durin's son, nor a prince." He laughed bitterly, "While Fili was in council, or in training, I was goofing off, making a mess of myself and bringing shame on my mother."
"Kili, Kili no," She cried, bending her head to try to catch his eyes but he had buried them in the fabric of her dress. "Thorin loves you, Fili loves you, I bet your mother loves you more than life, and whatever you do, you are their family."
His shoulders shook, and he drew back, sitting back and turning so he leaned against the wall. Elya followed him, tugged sideways into his lap and pressed as much of herself as she could against him. His eyes were wet, but he didn't cry.
"The King, the Heir, and the Spare." Kili said, clearly, like a mantra. Elya swallowed at the resignation in his face. "I always knew it, especially when Thorin would come for Fili and insist I stay behind. Especially when all the dwarf lords and dwarrow warriors would look at me and see someone so unsuited to royalty, so flippant and weak." His lips twisted. "I am not for the throne, and honestly I never wanted it. I'm the spare, the just in case. All I wanted was to carry my own share of the weight, make it easier on Fili, or Uncle. But I can't even handle that, when they're...they're..." When they're ill with dragon sickness and utterly incapable of making rational decisions.
A strange cross between angry and saddened, Elya took his face in her hands and kissed him suddenly, pushing harder and harder until his head hit the wall and their lips felt bruised. They kissed roughly, him seizing her tightly and she putting both hands in his hair to grip and pull. They broke apart, breathing roughly, and Elya was thrilled at the sight of his gaze centered on her.
"If you're the spare, then you're my spare." She told him, frowning aggressively and yanking on his hair when it seemed he was about to glance away. "You're mine, and I'm yours. Isn't that what you said? I was put here on this earth for Durin's line and I damn well get to decide which Durin I belong to." She softened, kissing him again but lightly, savoring the feeling of roughed up lips and dragging slowly, across the stubble of his cheek.
Kili relaxed at the feeling, his hold on her tighter than ever. Elya continued, desperate to get that helpless look out of his eye.
"You are not trained for ruling, nor for command." She told him, eyes furious and alight. "But you are a warrior, you have survived goblins and orcs and wargs and trolls and spiders and elves and dragon fire." He grinned a little at the listing, thumbs moving idly against the boniness of her hip. "You have travelled with these dwarves for months, they know you and you know them. You aren't ruling them forever, you're not the king, but you are a prince and you are their prince."
Kili was silent, watching her. Elya smiled at him. "You're my prince." He closed his eyes.
"The Company respects you and honours you, you just have to believe in them." Elya smoothed his hair down, brushing her fingertips along his neck and his collarbone. "And," She sighed, "And in your Uncle and your brother. They will come back." She pressed a light kiss to his knuckles.
Kili glanced down for an instant, looking through her, before he straightened suddenly, taking her up into his arms and standing, lifting her high above his head. She laughed, surprised, and clung to his shoulders as he stared up at her.
"Where would I be without you?" He asked, teeth gleaming white in the low light.
"Here, but without me!" Elya laughed again.
He grinned when he dropped her to rest against his chest, making her squeal. They spun slowly, Elya still caught up in his arms and their faces close together. Kili ran a hand up her back and into her hair, unerringly finding the ruined spot where the braid and the bead had rested. He cupped her head there, tightening his grip until she was breathless and immobilized.
He rested their foreheads together, eyes dark and piercing. "I love you, Elya." Kili said solemnly, simply, "You know that, right?"
Elya's eyes couldn't help but water, her mouth breaking into the sweetest, most sincere smile. "I love you, Kili. Of course I know." He brought their mouths together and they swayed a moment, caught up in themselves. Then, she wiggled till her feet were on the floor and beamed at him, drawing back.
"Let's go?" She asked him, and he gave her a flourishing bow, back to his usual self. There was a determination in his spine though, a drive that Elya privately thought she had helped put there. The thought made something dark and warm settle in her stomach, an odd mix of pride, possessiveness, love, and desire that made her purr. She tingled still from when he had gripped her hair so tightly, and if they survived all of this, Elya swore she was going to find him and pin him to a wall somewhere private.
He glanced at her, and the equally dark look in his eyes told her that maybe he was thinking the very same thing.