Lost in You by Alix Rickloff

her by the skirts in beside him. Then reality hit, and he felt sick all over again.
    “It’s better for traveling,” he answered lamely. “A lot of buttons, though.”
    Her expression showed exactly what she thought of his answer. “You’re just grouchy because I won’t let you get out of bed until you’ve had a day to rest.”
    “If you hadn’t forgotten, we’re being hunted.” She settled at the edge of his bed. “I haven’t, but thank you for reminding me. We won’t be any better off if you fall ill again on the road. At least here, we have a roof over our heads.”
    “You take great stock in ceilings,” he commented.
    “Try living without one.”
    Her eyes stole to the window. When they met his again, the earlier light in them was gone. Hesitation and worry clouded their depths.
    “Do you remember last night?”
    Oh God, what had he done? What had he said? Had he tried groping her in his sleep? Or stolen a kiss? Did he snore? By the look in her eye, it was much worse. He had a moment’s panic that she’d found out the reliquary’s secret, but no. She would have been long gone if she’d made that discovery. “Very little,” he answered, vying for time. “I expect you’re about to fill me in on the gruesome details.”
    She twisted her hands in her lap, shifted about on the bed. Sighed. She was vying for time too, it seemed. Finally, she spoke. “I’ve been thinking since you woke how to speak with you, what words to use to ask the questions.”
    “I hadn’t considered you the timid type.”
    “I’m not. Straight forward and bull-headed, that’s me. But that’s when I’m dealing with the world I know. You’re from an entirely different world where different rules apply. You tell me to trust you. You tell me I can’t understand. But damn it. I want to understand. I deserve to be trusted in return.”
    Clanging anvils filled his head, he felt like something scraped off a boot heel, and now Ellery was carping at him. He closed his eyes.
    “Don’t you get sick on me again, Conor Bligh. I want to—” The force of her thought pushed through the pain. “A Heller ,” he spoke over her, not allowing her to finish.
    “That’s what you wanted to know, isn’t it? I’m what they call a Heller .”

Chapter Eleven
     
    How had she found that out? He’d been careful not to betray himself with any hint of that side of him. She’d been accepting of so much already. “It’s an Other with the ability to call on the powers of his or her fetch animal. Even to take on some of the characteristics of that animal. But how—”
    It was her turn to cut him off. “You attacked the landlord.” The men. Ysbel’s ring.
    His stomach lurched as he remembered. He’d assumed it was just another dream. His hand found his pocket.
    “Are you looking for these?” Ellery handed him the pearl and the ring.
    Thanks to Asher, the wolf-head ring was all he had left of his sister. When the time came, revenge would be sweet and very painful. He shoved both deep into his pocket.
    “I thought I could pay for a doctor,” Ellery said.
    “He would have been useless.”
    “So I was told.” She picked at the bedcovers, obviously uneasy. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
    She jerked to her feet, paced restlessly, confusion clouding her face.
    “The pearl was yours,” he said, hoping to break through the tense silence. “It was the one I nicked from Mr. Porter. I wonder if he’s noticed yet.”
    She shot him a sharp look. “You’re supposed to be indestructible. What happened?”
    No more questions about the change? Could he be so lucky? Or had she come so far that nothing ruffled her anymore. Either way, he wouldn’t argue.
    “I wish I knew,” he answered. “The Keun Marow ’s poison affects fey power. Disrupts it. Can even kill if enough of it gets in your system. When I took on your wounds, I took on the poison. I knew that would happen and was prepared. But not for the severity of the