Abruptly, he pulled away, but I tried to wrench him back.
Fuck him.
Now.
A snarl tore from my lips.
His eyebrows slammed together. “Primelle?” His nostrils flared, and his attention shifted over my face, my chest, my arms, everywhere. He pushed me away, holding me at arm’s length, even though I struggled against him. My uncle’s command not to reveal my strength was the only thing that kept me from ripping his clothes off. “What’s happened to you?”
His question was like being dipped into the Brashier Sea.
As fast as the fog had started, it disappeared.
My eyes widened, and horror washed through me that he was beginning to suspect that I wasn’tfaeanymore.
Just as fast as I’d attacked him, I was off his body and striding across the room. “Nothing. It’s fine. I’m sorry. I lost control. It’s just that...” I began to pace by the fire, my body so tight with vampiric need, desire,want, that I was about to scream, but I pushed down my new urges as hard as I could. “I’ve missed you. That’s all. It’s been a strange few days without you, and something came over me.”
That statement didn’t even begin to grasp all that I’d endured, but panic was filling me, because if I didn’t do something to sway him from his concern, especially if he’d felt my fangs, then I would have to manipulate him, and I didn’t want to do that. Not now. Not ever.
“And perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I’m sick. I’ve been very cold lately, but I feel fine, so I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” I added, my tone too fast to sound normal, so I forced my words to slow. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you, but I’m okay. Truly.”
The warrior still sat on my bed, watching me. His blank mask fell into place, and I cringed to think of the thoughts shifting through his mind.
“How long have you been feeling this way?” he finally asked.
The question was vague enough that my uncle’s command didn’t stop my answer. “A day or two.”
“Have you seen a healer?”
“No. Like I said, I feel fine. I’m just cold.”
He pushed to a stand and walked steadily toward me. His erection still strained against his breeches, and I quickly snapped my attention away from him, but his aura was pounding, and his steps were purposeful. It was impossiblenotto feel him.
Cautiously, I darted a glance at his face.
As before, his expression gave away nothing. He looked so much like the Kole I’d known before he’d opened himself up to me that it felt like my heart was cracking. My dead heart. My unbeating heart. Myvampireheart.
When he stood in front of me, he stopped, and his gaze traveled over my face once more. He inhaled, his nostrils flaring, and no doubt his weak scent-sensory affinity was activating too.
“You still smell like you, but you’re different.” His tone was calm, yet a storm brewed behind his eyes. He cocked his head, and I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. “That’s what it is. That’s what’s different. You smell the same, but that’s it. I can’t scent your emotions anymore. You only have one fragrance now. It wasn’t like that before.”
Oh gods.
A sob tightened my chest, and I wrapped my arms around my waist. A word bubbled up inside me. I wanted to voice it. Wanted to tell him that he was detecting my uncle’s potion, which concealed everything beyond my unique essence, but even trying to sayyeselicited my uncle’s magic.
Swirling away, I faced the windows and realized that Callahan was stationed at the other side of the courtyard, out of earshot, and likely there because he’d known Kole had arrived, and he was respecting our privacy now that word was out that Kole and I were mates.
“I’m fine,” I seethed, my tone wooden. “I wish you’d stop questioning it.” And I did. I desperately wanted him to stop his line of thought, because if he didn’t, he would begin reaching conclusions that I couldn’t bear to face.
He sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve been on edge lately, and it’s obviously taken a toll on me. But if you’re still like this in a few days, you should see a healer, just to be safe. It’s abnormal not to be able to scent you.”
Abnormal. I scoffed internally. What he should have said wasmonstrous. I closed my eyes, and the impossibility of our situation hit me like a thunderclap once more. But there was no running from this. It was only a matter of time. Sooner or later, Kole wouldknow.
Which meant I had to find answers. I had to find a way out of this.
My throat rolled again, and venom coated my fangs anew. And maybe Kole was right too. Maybe I should go to a healer just to stall the inevitable.
And a healer would also be a source of fresh blood, blood that I can drink unsuspectingly as long as I compel the healer beforehand.
