Page 21 of Lady of Darkness

“Tell me about the dreams, Scarlett,” Ryker said, his voice low.

“They’re nothing. Maybe I do need to talk to Mora for something to help me sleep,” she mused, propping her chin on her fist.

“No,” Ryker said, his tone commanding. An order from a Captain.

Scarlett raised her eyebrows in surprise at him. “No? I didn’t realize you had any say in the matter.”

“Do you really think the answer isanothertonic in your body?What if it interferes with the one you’re already taking?” he asked. He was leaning forward now, his elbows resting on his knees with his hands clasped in front of him. His eyes were fixed on hers.

Scarlett didn’t say a word, just stared at him. He seemed to be struggling to keep his breathing even, to leash his emotions. This was new. She’d never seen him so…close to losing control. She sat back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Why do you have such an interest in my dreams?”

Ryker sat back in his own chair, trying to appear nonchalant and relaxed. She almost laughed at how unsuccessful he was. “I just thought it would be more information to pass along to the Healer where I am from. The more information she has, the more she may be able to help.”

“Liar,” Scarlett said. She stared at him expectantly, her lip curling. She watched as Ryker fought to control his rising temper. She’d learned a few ways to read him these last few weeks. Despite his seemingly immovable mask, he had other tells. His hands were balled into fists, and Scarlett felt oddly satisfied to have elicited such a reaction from the warrior who always controlled everyone around him.

“Tell me about the dreams, Scarlett,” he bit back through gritted teeth.

“We’re not in a sparring ring,” she answered flippantly. “You don’t get to tell me what to do outside of training.”

“Then maybe we will just be done training,” he retorted, glaring at her.

Scarlett huffed a laugh. “Don’t be stupid. We both know that won’t happen. You like seeing my pretty face too much.”

“You can be ridiculously vexing at times,” Ryker gritted out, his eyes flaring with anger.

“It must be incredibly annoying to have someone not care about that temper you appear to keep on a very tight leash,” she retorted with a smirk.

“We shall see how much you care in our next training session,” he answered, violence glittering in his eyes.

She answered with an apathetic smile as she leaned her head back against the chair once more and closed her eyes.

“How often do you have them?”

“Still none of your damn business,” she replied, not even opening her eyes to look at him.

“Should I ask Cassius then?”

Scarlett snorted in amusement. “Cassius will tell you nothing.”

“He has already told me plenty.”

“Liar,” Scarlett said once more. “Honestly, Captain, should you wish for me to ever share anything of value with you, perhaps the lies should cease.”

“You want a truth?” Something in his tone had changed, hardened. It caused Scarlett to open her eyes and look at him. He was studying her intently. A lock of his hair had fallen into his eyes, brushing his brow. He pointed to her lap. “That book is written in the language of lands I am from.”

“Do you know what the definition of truth is?”

“It is written in a different language, Scarlett. My home has thousands of books written in that language. It is not a language found here.”

“Whatever,” she sighed. “Even if that were true, that’s not a good enoughtruth.”

“Everything in that book is a truth.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “There is no way to know if the things in this book are true unless you have been to the Fae Courts. This is a book of theories and speculation.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because it is detailed information about the Courts. One would need to be close with one or more of the Court Royals to be able to confirm or deny the things in this book.”

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