I slipped my hands from beneath his, tangling my fingers in my lap. “I am nothing but a copperoyistashined and ready for use, my lord. Such things are never kept for very long.”
He came closer, his tentative hand sweeping an errant curl off my shoulder. “You are nothing of the sort. You are precious, like a jewel.”
My stomach twisted at the words and I wondered if the disgust was as plain on my features. He read each furrow of my brow, each twitch of my jaw. I looked away from him in favor of the garden through the glass doors, the night-darkened flowers and tinkling fountains calling to me. A knot twisted in my stomach so tight my eyes burned.
“Adrienne,” he breathed.
I turned my face toward his as if pulled on a string. He leaned down, one hand braced on the pianoforte and the other rising to cup my cheek. My name on his lips only tightened the knot, even as warmth pooled in my core. So gently, his thumb brushed my jaw, fingers sliding across my throat. I tilted my head in the show of submission I’d fabricated so often, but was now instinct rather than an act.
“I am only as good as what I can provide,” I whispered. The words were acid on my tongue and I swore I could hear my mother’s voice as she had repeated them throughout the years.
Lord Azad shook his head and I found myself straightening my spine even as he dipped lower. “No, little bird. That is not true.”
I closed my eyes. Looking at his facehurt—the warmth and tenderness there was a knife slipped between my ribs. His hand tightened around my hair, drawing my head back.
“Look at me.”
He was close enough now I could count the specks of swirling gold in his irises, see each individual lash. The scent ofhim was heavy on the air and I wanted to breathe it in, use it to erase the burn inside my chest.
“You are not athingto be bought or sold. You are the light itself that shines at dawn, that grows the flowers and the grass.” Lord Azad was close enough now that his lips brushed mine with his final words. “So incredibly vital.”
Those citrine eyes gazed into mine, asking for permission, begging for it even. I parted my lips, my lids fluttered closed and?—
Bernard, Lord Azad’s head of house, cleared his throat.
I jerked away, the bench scraping loudly across the stones as I stood and faced the glass doors to the garden, my arms wrapped tightly around my middle.
“Yes, Bernard,” the lord rasped, an uncharacteristic bite in his words.
“Apologies, Eamon, but Madame Searah is in need of Mademoiselle Valois. It appears her… Lord Montag has been searching for her.”
Any warmth I’d felt died, frosted over as if a winter storm had struck. I turned and curtsied low, pressing three fingers to my lips. “Thank you for showing me the music room, my lord.”
I was practiced enough that the words held no tremor, no hint that I wanted to claw my way into his arms and beg him not to let me go. He reached out, circling the pianoforte while I all but ran toward the door.
“Adrienne—”
But I was gone before he could speak another word.
Chapter Twelve
“Ihave something to ask you,” Gerald said, my hand tucked into the crook of his arm as we walked the perimeter of the room.
Jules had caught me as I’d turned the corner back to the main hall. Her sharp gaze had run over my face and she’d forced me to take a few breaths before walking me back into the ballroom. It was strange to see her in those moments where she looked so much like her mother, down to the smooth way she delivered me to Gerald with some excuse about myneeding fresh air.
“Of course, my lord, how may I be of service?” After my conversation with Lord Azad, the words felt stilted.
You are not athingto be bought or sold.
“I’d like for you to join me at my estate next week, along with Madame Searah and Monsieur Baldé. I am hosting a small get-together of immortals for our biannual hunt and I would be very pleased for you to be one of the prey.”
Vampire hunts were different than human ones, down to their quarry. I rolled my lips together and he stopped our progress, turning me to face him. “I told Madame Searah that I would pay twelve hundred and fiftyoyistafor the honor. More even, if it pleases her.” For a moment I softened at therealization that he was giving me a choice. “She told me I must ask you and she would give no answer on your behalf.”
Oh.
Twelve hundred and fiftyoyistawas practically unheard of for a giver like me, despite what people whispered about my beauty. I’d heard of more seasoned givers who’d found favor within the high society of immortals in other countries bringing in that number or more, but it was usually for multiple days and those givers were masters of their craft. I rocked back on my heels as Lord Azad strode back into the room. His attention was a brand on my skin, even from this distance.
“I will need to discuss it with my mistress,” I answered carefully.
