Focus, numb-nuts. If she passed this test, I’d allow myself to believe her. Or at leasttryto believe her.
“Drink with me.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
She paused, chewing the inside of her cheek. The anticipation was too much. I knocked the shot back and shoved the lime wedge between my teeth. Tarte juice exploded on my tongue. She followed my lead and downed hers too.
“That wasawful,” she whined, snatching her vodka soda and sucking the straw. Beside her, a drunk girl jumped up and down to the music, pushing Courtney into me. Her palm hit my chest, my arm circling her waist to steady her. Over her head, I glared at the wasted dancing girl, nudging her aside.
“Your eyes,” Courtney breathed, peering up at me with a mixture of confusion and awe. “How does no one notice?”
“I’m careful,” I admitted, enjoying her slight arch into me against better judgment. “I have to be. Even with you.”
Those doe eyes bore into me with an intensity I wasn’t used to- when people looked at me, I dipped into their minds, sampled their thoughts or steered them from things I didn’t want them to notice. With her, I was powerless.
It terrified me.It excited me.
“Why?” she asked, her voice barely audible over the noise.
My fingers tightened on the small of her back.
“You asked me earlier what monsters haunt me,” I said. “The one that haunts me the most is myself.”
I scrutinized her features for a hint of the thoughts behind her walled-off mind. All I saw was curiosity.
“I don’t understand.”
This was it. It was time for an insane move to gage her reaction. Crowding over her more to avoid the attention of drunk onlookers, I locked my gaze on the straw in her drink, eyes tingling and burning as I lifted it free to hover over the cup’s rim. Her mouth fell open, her drink started to slip. With a glance I caught it too, holding it mid-air for a millisecond before grabbing it with my hand.
Her eyes darted between me and the drink. Either she was a brilliant actress, or she truly didn’t know my capabilities. If she didn’t know the baseline of my power, how could she report on me? As much as I wanted to poke holes in her performance, it rang too genuine.
“That’s- that’s impossible.”
“Depends on your definition of impossible, though, I’m pretty sure I just proved it'sverypossible.”
Her brows knit as she mulled over what I revealed.
“Either you're a magician or you did that with your eyes.”
I took a long gulp of whiskey with plans to refill as soon as possible.
“How did I block that?” she asked cautiously.
“You didn’t.”
Her brows scrunched together. “Then what did I block?”
I set her drink on the bar top, allowing myself a second to chicken out. Unfortunately, it was too late, I was in too deep. I tugged her closer, her silky hair tickling my cheek as my mouth hovered beside the shell of her ear.
“I’m a universal key to billions of locks. Secrets can’t be kept from me, desires are transparent, thoughts are currency. Everyone’s mind is mine to invade,” I murmured, feeling her stiffen in my arms. “All exceptyours.”
She recoiled. “You think I’m blocking you on purpose?”
I nodded.
A small smile formed on her lips, stuttering my slamming heartbeat. Her reaction screamedfailure. Panic surged up my throat. She’d end me, call her contacts, knock me out somehow and drag me to whoever the fuck now owned Merit Institute-
