“And it’ll be excruciating for you.”
She stared up at Darien. His expression was a compelling one, but also a beleaguered one.
“What does it matter to you?” she asked in a soft voice. “You’re the king. I’m a commoner. A mere mortal. My people have been besieged by fear and famine and fatality, as much in the pre-war years as in the post-war ones. Your kind doesn’t suffer the same trials and tribulations as humans.”
His teeth ground together for a moment before he said, “We have our own crosses to bear. Demon life isn’t all roses and sunshine.”
The hard edge of his tone caused Jade to take his word on that.
“At any rate,” she said, getting back to the issue at hand rather than drowning in his glowing amber irises, “the gifts I showed you today are the ones I’ve always had. Nothing new here, other than a heightened sense of knowing when someone’s stalking me.”
Darien frowned. “This is definitely a new power I’m sensing. And it’s incredibly strong. But you’re right,” he contended. “I’m not getting that signal now.”
They both seemed to draw the same conclusion in the next instant.
“Damn it,” the king said as he pounded a fist on the desk. “I sense the power around you, but it’s not coming from you. It’s someone else who watches you, someone else who stays close to you. Someone I haven’t detected.”
Fear slithered down her spine. “If it’s not just you keeping tabs on me, then who?”
“A very determined demon. But what does he want from you?”
Chapter Four
Darien’s mind raced. Why would a demon stalk Jade? And was it one from his kingdom?
No. Their allegiance never faltered. Granted, the vampire who’d allowed Jinx to experiment on him had stepped beyond a reasonable boundary, but the accord had been made by mutual consent. Jinx had willingly taken the risk.
Something much bigger was at play when it came to Jade. And he had to find out what it was. If neither he nor Morgan had discovered what followed her, but had sensed the evil around her, that would likely make the stalker another wraith.
He raked a hand through his hair. Poltergeists were the hardest demons to track. One of the reasons Morgan made such a brilliant general and military strategist. Although Darien did not lack tactical skills himself.
“You’ll be safest at the castle while I search for the demon hunting you.”
She shook her head, panic clearly gripping her again. “The slayers would never stand for it. Nor would I willingly put myself in that sort of compromising position. You have vampires in your alliance, after all.”
“Who do not prey on humans,” he said between clenched teeth.
“Regardless, I wouldn’t feel the least bit comfortable there. Or safe.”
He fought the anger that welled within him over the fact she actually thought he’d let someone harm her. His gaze narrowed on her. “Have I not given you a good enough idea of my feelings for you?”
Her cheeks flushed. “What happened last night…that was only a dream.”
“Really?”
She moved away from the fireplace, as though the heat were suddenly unbearable. “I can’t explain why it was so powerful.”
“Are you going to conveniently say I manipulated your senses?”
She spun back to face him, looking indignant. “Of course not. That would suggest I have absolutely no control over my own thoughts or body. I assure you, I do.”
Although the admission contradicted her point about it only being a dream that had transpired between them.
His brow jerked. “You didn’t exactly demand I leave your bed or your body after I’d mentally removed Michael from both.”
The flush spread down her neck. “This really isn’t something we should discuss.”
“Hard to deny how we responded to each other.”