Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
The two men looked away, their cheeks flushing.
“I…” Dante sat down. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You,”—Casteel cleared his throat—“you don’t have to say anything. You, all of you, just need to accept that this is real.”
Real.
Alastir leaned back, his gaze heavy and somber.
It was Jasper who spoke, with a faint lift of his lips. “If you’ve chosen her, then how can we not do the same?”
Hatred.
That was what I tasted in the back of my throat, what I inhaled with every breath as I sat at the table. It came from different directions at different times, pinging around the room even though most of the tension had left once it didn’t appear as if Casteel would tear out the hearts of Alastir or Dante. Most returned to their dinners and conversation. Except for Casteel, who watched me, and the silver-haired wolven who also studied me as if I were some sort of puzzle.
But several others in the room didn’t stare and remained silent. People who hadn’t projected their emotions before but did so now.
Their anger coated every drink I took or piece of food I swallowed with a bitter taste. It took no leap of logic to realize that they weren’t happy with what Casteel or Jasper had said. Nor anything I’d said had changed what they believed of me. It wasn’t all of them, thank the gods, but it was enough for me to know that I was still not welcome here.
Restlessness hummed through me, an almost nervous sort of energy as I tried and failed to shut off the emotions of others. I didn’t know why I couldn’t when reading the emotions only when I wanted to had become so much easier throughout the day. Was it because I was tired? Maybe it was what happened with Beckett or possibly even what I’d done in the cavern with Casteel.
Or perhaps it was learning that Casteel had kept yet another thing from me?
It was probably all of those things that played a role in my sudden failure to shut down my abilities.
I looked at my plate of mostly untouched food, and I…I simply did not want to sit here any longer.
And I was tired of doing things I didn’t want to do.
“Excuse me,” I said to no one in particular, rising from my seat.
Jasper watched me but said nothing as I stepped around the chair. I walked past the tables, aware of conversations halting as I passed. I kept my chin high, wishing I’d had the forethought to go through the clothing Vonetta had brought over. Nothing took the dignity out of one’s exit like wearing clothing several sizes too large.
But I doubted being dressed in pretty tunics or even the richest of gowns would’ve changed a damn thing.
I pushed open one of the doors and stepped outside, dragging in deep breaths clean of others’ emotions. Stars had already started to glimmer in the deepening sky, and I stared upward. I was finally able to close myself off.
Turning, I spotted Delano and Naill sitting on the crumbling wall that led to the Bay. I didn’t try to read them, and it worked. Their emotions weren’t forced onto me.
“You look like you could use a drink.” Delano offered the bottle of brown liquid he held. “It’s whiskey.”
I walked over, taking the bottle by the neck. “Thank you,” I said, lifting it. The woody aroma was powerful.
“Tastes like horse piss,” Naill said. “Fair warning.”
I nodded, tipping the bottle to my mouth and taking a long swallow. The liquor burned my throat and eyes. Coughing, I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth as I handed the bottle to Delano. “I don’t know what horse piss tastes like, but I’m sure that’s a good comparison.”
Naill chuckled.
“We were getting ready to head in there.” Delano stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles. “But we figured we’d wait until the air cleared a bit.”
“Good choice,” I muttered.
“Looks like the room is airing out now.” Naill’s gaze flicked over my shoulder.
The muscles in the back of my neck tightened. “Please tell me that’s not him.”
“Well, I suppose it depends on who him is,” Delano drawled.
I turned to see Casteel coming down the steps and across the short distance that separated us, his gaze locked onto mine.
“I have a feeling the air is going to get a bit thick out here.” Naill hopped off the wall. “I think it’s time we head inside.”
“Wise call,” Casteel remarked, his gaze, nearly feral, never leaving mine.
Delano pushed off the wall. “Please, no stabbing. All of that makes me anxious.”
I crossed my arms. “No promises.”
Casteel smirked but said nothing as Naill and Delano made their way back into the fort. He stared at me.
I stared at him. “Do you need something?”
“That’s a loaded question.”
“I was hoping it was a rhetorical one with the answer being: obviously, no,” I said.