Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“Food is fuel” was the cool response that betrayed nothing of the tension yet in his body. “Taste doesn’t matter.”
“So I should find you a place that does mushroom tarts, then?” Laughing at his icy look, she tugged him toward the restaurant, her cat rubbing up against her skin, playful and delighted by him.
It was busy inside, but not jam-packed. “Too many people?”
“No. I grew up in a city.”
Her heart hitched. Because he hadn’t only grown up in a city, he’d literally lived on the streets, a boy with no real identity. A boy whose mother had erased him so he’d fit into her chosen life. Overwhelmed by a surge of protectiveness, she took them to a table at the back where he’d have the most personal space.
After they were seated, with Ivan choosing the seat that put his back to a wall, she took charge of ordering, sticking to simple items with the highest energy values. The staff member who took her order was a polite and efficient woman; she also couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Ivan.
Soleil even caught her biting down on her lower lip.
Her cat smirked. Yes, he was delicious. He was also hers. The other woman could look all she liked, but try to touch and she’d be dealing with a shredded hand.
“That’s it,” she said after completing the large order, because though she’d had a good breakfast, she was hungry, too. Which told her that she’d spent more energy pulling him back from the island than she’d realized. “Thank you.”
The waitress left with one last quick glance at Ivan.
He didn’t reciprocate. When his eyes fixed on a point just beyond her left shoulder, she said, “What is it?” Her cat hissed at the same instant.
“Krychek,” he said. “He decided to respond to my message in person.”
Chapter 39
It’s rumored that Krychek is a dual cardinal. Anyone have any actual intel on that? It would definitely explain the level of his power. I’m fairly certain the man could flatten a city without breaking a sweat.
—Anonymous poster on an online bulletin board
A COLD WIND at Soleil’s back, the force of Kaleb Krychek’s power a dark wave akin to a storm. The entire restaurant had fallen silent at his entry, stayed that way as he walked toward them. It was as if the diners were all holding their breath—but it wasn’t only the silence of prey.
There were changelings in this restaurant—leopards and wolves who’d clocked the mark on Soleil’s cheek the instant she entered, and inclined their heads in quiet welcome. All of those changelings watched him with the eyes of fellow predators. They knew he was dangerous, and though he might be permitted in the territory, they never forgot the threat of him.
“I apologize for interrupting,” he said on reaching them, his voice midnight that sank into your bones and his flawlessly fitted suit black on black. “But I must speak to you, Ivan.”
In front of her, Ivan had become a blank wall. If he saw Krychek as a threat, it was invisible to the room. No trace remained of the man who’d been so awkward about the blazer, or the one who hadn’t known how to deal with her calling him her sweetheart.
It hurt her to know that he was so used to shutting himself off that he could do it at will.
“Join us,” Ivan said, his tone flat, giving nothing away. “Soleil is an important part of this conversation.”
Krychek glanced at her with those eyes of starlight obsidian before taking a seat—on a chair that was suddenly there where it hadn’t been before. He was a teleport-capable telekinetic, that much was public knowledge. But she’d never seen such a seamless exhibition of telekinetic strength.
Wild Woman magazine was right in calling him “as hot as lava”—he was one of the best-looking men she’d ever seen. But like lava, he was better viewed from a safe distance. Which made her intrigued about the woman who was his mate. She’d picked up the news of his mating at some point, been befuddled by it. Who would want to sleep with a man who was the living embodiment of a cold and icy death?
Ahem, Soleil, whispered the part of Farah that would always live within her, your sweetheart is currently doing an excellent impression of a gorgeous statue carved out of black ice himself. Other women might possibly find him intimidating.
The echo of Farah had a point.
“To answer the question in your message,” Krychek said to Ivan, “no one knows what’s taking place on that island. No one, except, it appears, you.”
The silence that fell this time was between the three of them, as Soleil and Ivan processed the meaning of his statement.
Ivan spoke at last. “I realize that’s the Ruling Coalition’s public stance, but I find it hard to believe given the extent of your power.”