Quinn pulled her hand away. “I’d trashed my nails getting here, but what few I had, broke again working the train. Nails don’t grow that fast. The stain, I’m pretty sure, is from leather dye from the stables. Horse tack is rancid; I had no idea. I swear I’m bathing regularly. It’s just fading slowly.” She ducked. “Does it look that bad?”
My family did that. My choices. This woman from the past had stumbled into my castle, and I’d put her to work. I shouldn’t have told Morgen to admit her. I should’ve said: treat her like a goddess until I could sweep her off her feet.
“No. It’s barely noticeable.” I almost fell over myself to reassure her.
She hid her hands under her crossed legs, eyeing me with quiet suspicion.
“Really. I’ve been preparing for my Mixer, which involves a lot of details and planning, and some of my heightened observations slipped into our training. That’s it.”
“What’s your Mixer?” Quinn asked.
I circled my hands in the air and said, “It’s a multi-day festival opening with a big party. I want the world to witness a better path. My family stands with me by their own will, not because of any power I wield over their minds. That is the example I offer.” Our eyes locked;pride threaded my voice, arrogance brushing the edges, but every word was true. “It’s going to be a very special event this year.”
Quinn narrowed her eyes. “Why this year?”
I bit my lips shut and made a big show of zipping them up and throwing away the key.
Quinn laughed.
It was a big deal because of my plans to take The Mile, which was need-to-know only. And because Quinn would be there. The woman from the past.
I picked up a quartz stone. “Fill this with magic. I’m not giving you another precious stone until you can fill something less expensive without exploding it.”
Quinn stuck her tongue out at me, but got to work.
Her focus was better than mine.
My Mixer would be her first exposure to other families, unless I gave her the ever-growing stack of Intentions sitting in my office. I hadn’t opened them, but I knew what they promised: land, slaves, riches, and more—anything they could find to draw her away from me and into their family.
But me? I made her work, starved her, and now acted like training paid for her bed when all of it should have been free. Not just free. A gift to get into her good graces. I’d wanted her to understand the families before I overwhelmed her with options… but I’d messed that up as well. I wasn’t handling her much better than Ezra had while I slept.
She made a frustrated little grunt and batted the unchanged quartz away from her. “I hope your little secret for your Mixer has nothing to do with me, because I’m useless.”
I sighed and took her hands. “You’re learning, Quinn, and the opposite of useless. People want to meet you.”
And tempt you from my side. But I couldn’t say that because she wasn’t technically with me. Why hadn’t I filled her dorm with Morgen’s entire greenhouse? Or given her any number of gifts?
Because I was a mentalist. I didn’t ask for what I wanted. Everyone in my life needed toshow their work—free will, fully documented, including me.
“Join us tonight?” I squeezed her hands. “If nothing else, we can work on focusing on two things at once.”
Quinn’s cheeks blazed. I hadn’t intended the double entendre, but I wouldn’t take it back.
“I have training with Ezra,” she pointed out.
I needed my clever tongue. The one that turned enemies into allies. “Lucky for you, I’m best friends with the Architect, and partners with his first in command. I think I can get you off the hook.”
Quinn shifted her hips and chewed on her bottom lip. “YouandEzra tonight? You’re not keeping anything from your partner, right, Knowledge Daddy?”
I swore my dick ripped through the material of my pants. “Quinn, we’ve talked about this… that. Just. You shouldn’t use that nickname.”
Quinn grinned. “Sohardnot to, Knowledge Daddy.”
“Such a brat.” I pulled her fingers to my lips and kissed every one of her uneven nails.
It wasn’t the conversation I wanted, but she’d admitted her feelings. It was a start.
Chapter 25
