I blinked. “What am I?”
“Species. What is your magic?”
“Um—” We still didn’t know exactly what I was. “I can read people and objects. A bit like a seer.”
He nodded. “Can you determine whether I have a mate?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” His lip twisted with distaste.
“Not everything will show itself to me. But I can try.” Internally, I cringed at the idea of touching him. “You couldn’t ask this seer?”
“I have. Like all seers, she cannot see everything.”
“Then you certainly can’t expect me to.”
He nodded. “You are right. But if you will try, then I will arrange a meeting with the seer.”
I could suck it up and touch him for that prize. But what would he do if he didn’t get the answer he wanted? Should I lie to him to get him to help us?
I hated lying about something so important.
My gaze flicked to Grey. For him, though…
This could be our only chance.
I was definitely willing to lie to the scary vampire if I had to. I could always find a way to tell him the truth later, once we’d got what we wanted.
“Do not even think of lying,” Silviu said, his gaze hard.
I blinked at him again, trying to shape my features into innocent lines. “Of course not.”
Damn. He’d probably be able to tell if I lied. He’d lived so long that he’d surely learned how to read people.
“Do you want me to start now?” I asked.
He inclined his head. “Yes.”
I looked at Grey, who nodded.
I shifted to push my chair back, but his hand landed on my leg, gently pressing me down. He looked at Silviu. “Lay your arm on the table.”
Grey didn’t want me any closer to Silviu than I needed to be, and I appreciated it. I gave him a slight nod as Silviu stretched out his arm, palm down.
His dark dinner jacket was stark against his pale skin, and I raised my hand to rest my fingertips against the back of his hand. As my flesh neared his, a spark of energy passed between us.
It shocked me to my bones, a visceral lightning strike that made my eyes water. Grey gripped my thigh under that table, and I focused on his touch, grounding myself.
Slowly, I drew in a bracing breath, then rested my fingertips on the back of Silviu’s hand. Another electric shock pulsed into me, and I flinched. Grey growled low in his throat, but I ignored it. Instead, I focused on Silviu, not breaking contact despite the icy cold electricity that emitted from his skin.
Do you have a mate?
I directed my magic toward that one question, hoping to find the answer he wanted. I dreaded telling him no.
At first, there was nothing. His magic seemed to create a barrier between my power and his truth.
“You need to drop your shields,” I said. “I can’t see past them.”