Page 37 of Death and Desire

“Are you Anubis, god of the dead?”

“You already know the answer, Violet.” He searched her face, his own a mask of indifference. “I have shown you all you need to know.”

His evasive answer left her irritated and bitter. She couldn’t trust her own mind nor anyone around her. They would never believe her. She had no choice but to trust this stranger, this man who claimed to be the god of the dead.

But that was an imagined memory. It wasn’t real. Right?

Do you doubt me, little thief?

The words filtered through her mind in his voice. She blinked twice, certain his lips hadn’t moved.

“What?”

So you can hear me.A wicked smile curved his lips.

Violet’s eyes widened and her body tensed. “You...I...did you just...”

We have a bond now, Violet. We can converse mind-to-mind, without ever speaking a word.

She stumbled back, nearly tripping over the chair her father had occupied. “This cannot be real.”

Believe it or not. The bond is sealed.

“How?” She clutched her throat. “Because you saved me?”

Our bond goes back further than that, little one.

“I don’t understand.” She gripped the chair, digging her fingernails into fabric and wood.

One day you will.

“Get out,” Violet snapped, her restraint finally severed in irritation.

“Your father...”

“You can waitoutsidethe door.”

Khalid snapped his mouth closed, his jaw clenched, his plush lips pressed in a thin line. He grasped the handle and wrenched open the door.

Violet watched him retreat from the room, placing a solid barrier between them. Even alone, she found it hard to resist his draw, the desire to call him back, to keep him within arm’s reach.

This was madness. Bond? What bond?

Shoving the thoughts aside, Violet tore the nightgown over her head and stalked to the wardrobe to retrieve a dress for the day’s adventures.

What adventures?She snorted. Her father would never allow her to leave the hotel after the fiasco on the Nile. How could she possibly convince him she was in no peril?

Her father’s insistence that Khalid remain a vigilant watchman would certainly cause frustration in the long term, but there had to be a way around it. If only she could discover a plan to help her evade him?

You cannot hide from me, little thief.

“Get out of my head!” she shouted to the closed door.

A gentle brush against her mind eased her tension.

“Khalid?”

Nothing.

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