Page 14 of Daughter of the Ninth Line: Part Two

I slurped it down, and the air on my wrist pulled my hand back down, back to my bowl. I scooped up more, and this time, it merely steadied my hand as I ate my soup. Who had that kind of precision—and would give a damn—if I could eat my soup without making a mess?

There was only one person I knew for a fact who had that skill. My eyes wandered across the room, but Vox Vylan wasn’t paying attention to me. The spoon tapped gently against my lips, and I opened them almost on instinct. It had to be him, right? No one else was that powerful.

Again and again, he fed me, or at least aided me in feeding myself. It was oddly caring, and what the hell did I make of that?

Vox continued to carry on conversation with the others at his table, and I noticed Shay, his second-in-command, watching me closely. Maybe it wasn’t Vox doing it, but Shay? However, judging by the way her lips tightened as she turned away, probably not.

Finally, the soup was done, and the air around my wrist loosened, sliding down my arm and off the tips of my fingers in almost a sucking motion. I gasped in a breath as the sensation went straight to my core. My eyes flew back across the room, and this time, they clashed with Vox’s icy blue ones.

But they weren’t so icy right now. No, they were filled with heat, like he could sense my thoughts, or taste the desire that had shot through my veins. I was trapped in the snare of his gaze, helpless to escape.

Not when the sucking air trailed down my throat like hungry kisses. Not when it slipped below the billowing V of my shirt and between my breasts. Not when it brushed across the curve of my flesh, wrapped around my nipple, and sucked.

“Fuck!” I squawked loudly, making everyone in the room turn in my direction. My cheeks flushed hot and red as I dragged my gaze up to the ceiling. If I wasn’t looking at him, he wouldn’t be able to see the sheerneedin my expression. I scrambled from my table, not even bussing my tray as I hightailed it out of the room.

But not before I met Vox’s blue eyes once more, finding them filled with molten desire, the small smirk on his face promising access to untold secrets, untold pleasure. My feet tripped over themselves, but I kept going, out of the dining hall, across the courtyard, down to the beach.

I need to climb into the waves and cool down my overheated skin. Needed the water to wash away the visions of Vox Vylandoing even more depraved things to me with his elemental abilities.

I was all the way to the shoreline when I realized I wasn’t alone on the beach. Hayle Taeme was sitting on a large, flat stone, his hounds at his feet, his intense gaze watching me as I stood with the waves splashing up to my knees.

The last thing I wanted was to be in the path of another powerful man who made me feel things I didn’t understand. Turning, I sprinted back up the rocky path toward the walls of Boellium, but the hounds blocked my way.

“Stay,” Hayle commanded, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or the hounds, at least until he tacked on, “Please.”

I turned slowly, my heart thundering in my chest, and tried not to feel as if I was walking to my doom as my feet moved toward Hayle.

Ten

Hayle

Ididn’t know what I was doing. Braxus heaved an annoyed sigh and lay down at my feet, but I ignored him and his insinuation that I found Avalon Halhed to be a tempting rutting partner. Alucius had snapped her teeth at him about it, but I didn’t understand that either. Some of their conversations were just for them, not meant for human understanding.

Avalon walked over to me slowly, almost like she was worried I’d tear her throat out. Had I given her any reason to believe that was something I wanted?

I shuffled over on the flat rock, inviting her to sit beside me. She perched right on the edge, like she was ready to sprint at any moment. She should know better than to run from a hunter. It just invited us to chase.

A mouse peeked out from her collar, and I found myself smiling as I put out my hand and he launched himself off her shoulder, into my palm.

“Such a traitor,” Avalon mumbled, and the mouse’s whiskers twitched. He bombarded me with images of everything that had happened since I’d last seen him, including the taste of magic while she’d been trying to eat earlier. Vox was more than interested in her; that was becoming obvious. In all the years I’dknown him, he’d never shown softness toward anyone, except maybe his cousin, Shay.

I stroked the mouse’s head in thanks and fed him one of the nuts I kept in my pocket for Quarry. “It’s not his fault. It’s nice to be seen, especially when you’re so small,” I told her softly. Once the nut was clenched firmly between his teeth, I lifted him back up to Avalon’s shoulder, where he returned to his place under her collar. “Besides, he likes you. I relieved him of his duties days ago, and he chooses to stay with you.”

She gave me a crooked grin. “I have a way with rodents, I guess.”

“Must be why Vox Vylan is so enamored with you then.”

She slid her eyes to me, but said nothing. I watched the waves again, the seabirds swirling, sending me images of a great school of fish just off the shore.

“I’ve been looking into you and your family,” I said casually, and I didn’t imagine the way her body froze. I wanted to know her secrets. “There’s a lot of literature about them in the library.”

“Oh?” she asked with forced lightness. “Must have been a pretty boring read. Besides, you don’t really strike me as the studious library type.”

I gave her a toothy grin. “Are you saying I look stupid?”

Her cheeks flushed pink, and she shook her head so vigorously, it was a wonder she didn’t knock off the mouse in her collar. “No? I mean, definitely not.”

Probing a little more, I tuned into her scent. She smelled… stressed.Interesting.Was she a spy? There was always a chance here, and I had no doubt that more than one of the Lines had installed people in Boellium just to see the way the winds of power were turning.

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