My skin crawled at his touch, revulsion twisting my stomach, threatening to have me vomit. And if that happened, I doubted I would turn in any direction other than his. That thought alone brought me a tiny speck of pleasure.
Soren trailed us silently, keeping a respectable distance, though never straying.
“You will be free to explore my home and my city. I will make myself available to you whenever you desire. The only thing I require is for you to break your fast with me in the mornings and to accompany me to dinner every evening.” He informed me as we walked at a leisurely pace.
We moved through the expansive hallways, and I could not even focus on the artistry of the walls, ceiling, and floors. Not when Clause’s touch nearly had me stumbling over myself. Hisfree hand slid over mine while I held onto his arm. His thumb found my wrist and pressed into it.
“Why does your heart race so?” He turned towards me as we strode down the hall. “There is no need to fear me. You will not be harmed here.”
I released a breath. “It is the possibility ofmycontrol slipping that I fear.” I gave him a partial truth. A healthy dose of dread indeed ran through me when it came to the Sidhe King, but I refused to announce that.
“You do not have good control of your conjuring?” He inquired, not quite grasping precisely what I meant.
“No. I fear that my sanity may slip, and I may find myself with my hands around your neck. If my conjuring cannot take your breath, I would find another way to do it. But you can see how with yourgifts,touching you like that would not be suitable.” We would soon learn just how gracious a King he was, whether he was truthful when stating that I had nothing to fear. My comment tested boundaries. It also served to remind him that I did not welcome his touch or his control.
A smile curled his lips once more, not at all offended. His feet stilled, halting me beside him. “You harbor such passions for me.”
Disgusted, I released his arm, pulling my hand free. He allowed it, and suddenly I could finally gain a bit of space between us.
“You killed my best friend,” I hissed between clenched teeth. I never planned to bring it up, at least not so soon. But life seemed to have other plans.
His smile faltered then. “You are upset that I freed you from someone who was holding you back?”
Heat burned through my chest at his unapologetic reply. At the indifference in the way Clause spoke of him. “You do not getto make that decision. Landin never held me back. He helped me in every aspect of my life.”
Clause shook his head as though he didn’t believe me. “No. Your love has blinded you, shadowed what that man was to you. He did not help you up. He held you down.”
My body stiffened. “You do not get to make that decision.”
“That boy made his own decisions, which landed him with consequences. I will not be threatened.” Gray eyes held mine, unwavering.
“Didn’t I just threaten you?” I bit out.
He took a deliberate step towards me and paused. “You wish for me to punish you?” The slight upward pull of his lips did nothing to soften the edge of his voice.
I think I stopped breathing.
For whatever reason, the Sidhe King found interest in me. Even though I hated having his eye, the use of holding it shouldn’t be something overlooked. I needed to find the Sidhe’s weaknesses, Clause’s weaknesses, if we were ever going to have hope of freeing the stolen Bavadrins and Lysians. I needed to use him, not push him away, not nudge him towards forcing his hand against me.
Clause reached out, fingertips brushing a strand of my hair. “Your words may threaten, but they will soften with time when you finally see that I am not your enemy here. You have yet to stand against me physically, but I suppose a warning would serve you well. If you ever draw a weapon against me, you will regret it. I did not bring you here to hurt you, Ariana. I wish for us to learn from one another.”
Learn from one another? He came off as though he believed himself to be the Spirit’s gift to the world. As though there was nothing left for him to possibly learn.
“What can someone like you hope to learn from me?” Iasked, for I did not believe he truly expected anything like that. Instead, they were words used to likely try and appease me. But I wouldn’t be so easily controlled or manipulated.
Clause withdrew his hand, hiding it within his pocket. And suddenly, my lungs moved more freely, drawing breath.
“I think there is quite a lot for the both of us to learn. As for your friend, I apologize if the consequences of his actions hurt you. That was not my intent.” He viewed me with a casualness that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. “I hope that we can be friends.”
My breath nearly left me. Friends? The King was truly mad. “I would caution you of your desires. For it appears my friends have a risk of winding up dead.” My words were meant as another threat, though he simply found amusement in them.
He chuckled. “You have a fearlessly sharp mind.”
“Should I not speak freely?”
“No. By all means, continue. I love hearing what you are thinking. It has been too long since I have had access to such wonderfully unfiltered thoughts.” He then inclined his head towards the hall. “Shall we continue?” He did not try to retake my arm. Instead, he kept his hands in his pockets.
That minor act caused the tension in my shoulders to relax a bit.
