She glanced up, and her eyes flared slightly when she saw his proximity. He shifted backward. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of her knowing the direction of his thoughts. This was a new experience for him after so many centuries, and he wasn’t yet able to control his reactions as he normally could.
“Murmur?”
“Hm?”
“I just asked you what these sketches mean.”
He shook his head and forced his attention to the book. He saw the messy drawings of unnamed faces and remembered why he’d tried to turn the page.
“It’s nothing of concern.”
He reached over and tried once more, but she flattened her palm on it. “Why? These drawings are incredible. I want to know what they are.”
“They’re unrelated to the subject matter.”
“Then why’d you put them in the book?”
He shot her a glare. He didn’t want to discuss this, but Suyin had already proven to be annoyingly tenacious when she wanted something. The fastest way to get past this was to just tell her.
“When I have visions, I sometimes write or draw things. I’m not aware of what I’m doing at the time, and I can’t control it. Sometimes it strikes in the middle of working or writing, which was the case here. It has nothing to do with the subject of this book.”
She frowned at him. “Does it happen a lot?”
“Somewhat.”
“That sounds like it sucks.”
He nodded. An understatement.
She looked down at the page. “Do you know what these drawings mean?”
“Not these ones, no.”
“These are incredible though. The faces are so detailed. Aren’t you curious about who they are?”
“No. My visions aren’t always useful to me. Many I simply ignore. Sometimes I see the fates of people I don’t know or care about and would never make an effort to meet even if I could. It’s a waste of time, really.”
She snorted. “Only you would say that having visions of the future is a waste of time.”
“It crowds my already overfilled head with images I can’t place.” Leaning back against the sofa, he looked toward the fire. Before he could think too much about it, he found himself speaking his mind.
“Sometimes I don’t know if I’m remembering my ownmemories or recalling old visions that had nothing to do with me. Sometimes I can’t tell if the voices in my head are my bound souls crying for mercy or from visions I have yet to experience or have forgotten. Sometimes when I try to sleep, the voices get louder and louder until all I hear is a cacophony of screaming …”
He was suddenly aware of Suyin’s stare. When he glanced at her, he found her eyes were soft. Suyin with soft eyes seemed paradoxical.
He scowled. “Don’t look at me like that.”
She shook her head and the expression vanished. “Murmur, that’s messed up.”
“I never claimed to be sane. Now, enough about me. Turn the page or I’ll send you back to your room.”
She glared at him. “I am not a child.”
“Then don’t act like one.”
Her scowl deepened. And for some reason, the sight lessened his own discomfort, and he felt his good humor returning.
“You’re an asshole,” she said when he started to smile.
