“Lift your arms.”
She tilted her head upward, wondering what I had in mind until I pointed to the dress. There was a flicker of hesitation inher gaze, but something seemed to soften in her like she put enough trust into me to realize I wasn’t going to take advantage of her.
And part of me hoped I wouldn’t too. Nothing was as unreliable as someone from my kind. We were the best liars in the world, and not only that, but we even benefited from lying. It was part of our dual nature. The animal who only followed its primal instincts and the manipulator who used its charms to gain blood or secrets. Looking at her, I wanted both and so much more. I’d never been greedier than right now.
I slid the dress over her arms, my knuckles grazing her soft skin, the gentle curve of her back, the warmth of her ribs. Every inch of her was a temptation wrapped in heat and heartbeat. She wasn’t ready yet. Not yet.
My eyes were focused on adjusting her dress carefully. Not because I saw her as weak. But because I was dangerous. And when she looked at me, it was like she tried searching for the redness in my eyes again. She was so close to me. All I could breathe in was her intoxicating scent. It made me question why my eyes hadn’t been red the entire time.
I closed my eyes, pushing back the beast to the depths of my soul, where it belonged.
She had no idea what she was doing to me.
May the ancient gods and goddesses help me if she ever found out.
Chapter 6
I still couldn’t believe that I had been sitting half-naked on his bed while Xavier dressed me. Something in his eyes made me forget how to breathe properly—the way he stroked me, his fingertips brushing against my ribs, caused a spark on my skin.
He guided me out of his bedroom into a shadowy corridor, where the faint glow of wall lanterns, shaped like delicate flowers, provided the only light around.
The hall we entered resembled the shape of a circus tent, but was made of glass panels colored in every shade of the rainbow. The panels were transparent enough that you could recognize the bright twinkle of stars and the crescent moon shimmering in the sky. The sight was mesmerizing, almost like stepping into a dream I’d never known I’d been chasing. It was exactly how I’d always imagined my own twisted little Wonderland would look… if it had ever truly existed.
“You stand in the heart of my realm,” he said.
I tilted my head, Maverick shifting on Xavier’s shoulder with a quiet caw. They were both staring at me. Again.
For a moment, I just stood there, my eyes sweeping across the turrets of glass shimmering in hues of lavender, gold, andsapphire.
“It looks like a rainbow…” I accidentally said aloud, barely realizing the words had slipped out.
Xavier turned his head toward me, his lips curving into a smile.
“I’d never thought of giving my castle a name,” he replied. “But indeed, it is fitting… it shall be the Rainbow Castle,” he said, amused, before he had opened the door to something resembling a saloon.
“Welcome to the Rainbow Castle of Carnivalland then, my love.”
Carnivalland.The name unfurled like a secret whispered in my mind.
“Carnivalland?” I repeated, my voice caught between awe and uncertainty. “That’s what it’s called?” He nodded once, slow and certain.
“Why?” I asked, searching his expression. “Why name it something so…” I didn’t even know how to describe it.
“Strange?” he ended my question, amused. “What else would you call a land made for people to live in weirdness and madness?” The edge of his lips curved into a grin. He took a step closer, his gaze narrowing at me. “Isn’t that what you fear most, my love? That you’re not escaping madness… but slowly drowning in it?”
His words struck something deep inside me. Maybe the shadows that were following me weren’t part of this world… but part ofme.
“You don’t know me…” I stuttered the last words. Why was he making me so nervous with every single word he said?
“Idoknowyou.”
Why did I feel this sort of utterly deep longing after someone… a man I knew no more than a day? How could this be anything else if not a dream?
“You are insecure about your appearance despite the beautyyou were born with. Your mother didn’t care about the feelings of her daughter as she should, giving you the blame for your father’s disappearance. She used you for wealth and power by forcing you to marry a disgusting man, despite knowing you did not love him. You feel so deeply because you’re forced to experience the anger and emotions your mother didn’t heal from. And I know you always dreamt of a place like this, didn’t you?”
My eyes widened, processing every single bit of information he was revealing about me. I wasn’t aware that he knew about my love for circuses and carnivals, always being a dream to live in a place characterized by magic and colors.
Xavier was still a stranger to me, and yet seemed to pay more attention to my feelings than my own mother.
