Chills burst along the edges of my skin. Had he read my mind? Could he read my mind? “Of course, not,” I tried to lie. “I’m grateful for the meal and the dress—”
“And yet you looked more excited when I showed you my library of dusty books,” he cut me off.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. “Books excite me,” I admitted. “They always have. And those dusty books are the only thing keeping me from setting this place on fire,” I said, an eyebrow raised.
The corner of his mouth ticked up, his gaze flaring with amusement.
“Is that so?” he challenged, and the burning look in his eyes made my breath catch.
Of course it wasn’t so. I wouldn’t stand a chance against one of these vampires, let alone all of them. And the idea of bringing any of them harm...sickened me. Churned the contents of my stomach and threatened to make an appearance all over the royal table.
“Were your family readers?” he asked as if he sensed my twist in thoughts.
I shook my head, releasing a breath. “No. I mean, maybe.”
He tilted his head.
“I never knew my biological parents,” I said, shrugging. “I moved from foster home to foster home until I was eighteen.”
His dark brows furrowed. “Why?”
I shrugged, my eyes finding the hands in my lap. “No one wanted me, I guess.”
A low growl rumbled from his chest.
“It’s fine,” I hurried to add. “Honestly, I made peace with that a long time ago. I’m perfectly content taking care of myself.” I rubbed at that tingling spot on my wrist. “Though, I’m a tad out of my element here, in a room full of immortals.” I tried to joke, but it fell flat.
Alek stared at me, his gaze like a brand, and for a moment I worried he’d be like all the others who learned about my history and that he’d push me on it. Pity me. See me as damaged—
“Come,” he said, his voice pure command as he pushed from the table. I took his offered hand without a blink, and followed him through the staring crowd and out the double doors into the quiet of the corridor. “We’re fine,” he said without looking over his shoulder.
Hawke, who’d followed us silently, stopped in the open doorway. He looked very much like he’d argue, but he kept his lips sealed. Alek led us down more twists and turns until we walked through another set of doors, these leading outside where a stone fountain resided in the middle of an even larger stone courtyard. Lush green hedges bordered the space, creating a private slice of paradise under the moonlight.
“Thank you,” I said, breathing in the night air.
“For?”
I spun, my dress swishing around my ankles. “I needed air,” I said. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”
“I can’t read your mind, Lyric,” he said, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Just control it.”
Another shiver raced along my skin, but it had nothing to do with the bite in the air. “You think so?”
He furrowed his brow. “I know so.”
I stepped up to him, arching my neck to meet his eyes. My heart was in my throat as I said, “Show me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I would not…violate you like that.”
I tilted my head, studying his gaze. There, behind the powerful and the terrifying king, laid a hint of burden. I blew out a slow breath, suddenly wondering what it would be like to have a power such as his. One that could easily be abused in the wrong hands. But his weren’t the wrong hands, I felt that in my blood. Or perhaps that was his blood willing mine into submission.
“I’m asking you to show me.”
“Why?” His voice was rough, warning.
“Because I want to understand you better.”
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “You’re not afraid.” Not a question. No doubt he’d smell my fear if I had a lick of it. Which I didn’t. Not here, with him. Everything inside me settled, relaxed, and yet twisted up with a kind of need I couldn’t explain.
“You said you were going to wipe my memory anyway, so what does it matter?” My heart sank a bit, and I decidedly ignored it. “Do your worst,” I challenged him with a smile on my lips.
His gaze slid over my body, and I did my best not to tremble. He ran his hand just above my arm, not touching but close enough for me to feel his heat. “That dress,” he said, his tone raspy. “Is delicious on you.”
I smiled, my cheeks flushing, and something else pressed at the center of my mind, like a knock on a door.
“I’d love to see how it moves,” he continued, and that pressure in my mind intensified. “Dance for me.”
I felt the primal tenor in the command, felt it heat and sizzle along my bones. My entire body wanted to respond to it. Wanted to dance for him and do anything that kept him looking at me like that, but I remained still, content to gaze into those eyes that increased with confusion with each second that passed.