Page 40 of When Day Breaks

When I stand, we're so close that I can feel his heat; the warmth of his body radiates and settles over mine and I feel guarded by the way it smothers me. He presses a kiss to my head, and part of me wants to retract and leave him hanging, but there's always that part of me that's been drawn to Rivian and having him close is something I can't deny myself of no matter how irate I am with him. So I let his kiss linger for a few moments against my skin before I pull away, gasping for a silent breath simultaneously.

"Reading someone's mind, while an ability of ours, takes a lot of skill. There's a focus mechanism deep in our own brains that we have to manifest. But in order to come close to penetrating someone's mind, you have to clear your own." Rivian guides me to the ornate, gothic style mirror that is built into the wall and places us in front of it. Me in the center, and him right behind me. "During our wedding ceremony, when we were conversing back and forth, that was me allowing you to have my thoughts. That's different than you entering my mind without my permission," he states as he closes any space left behind me and fits his body against mine.

He uses his fingers to brush my hair away from one shoulder and sweeps it over the other. He doesn't shy away from allowinghis fingers to skate seductively over my skin as he does. The warmth between us shifts to a fiery feeling that tingles across my flesh.

"It's true, you and I can now read each other's thoughts and anyone else with even a sliver of Royal blood can participate in the same. It’s just not as clear for them if they're not full-blooded.”

"What's it mean to not be full-blooded?" I ask, not moving my head from staring straight into our reflections. I can see him gazing over my bare shoulder and skin, the silk sheet still wrapped tightly around me. The only thing between us otherwise is his sweatpants.

"Do you remember our conversation in the forest?" he asks without looking up at me.

"Yes," I whisper.

"It's like I said. The Twins and I were born from human mothers while our father Renard was Royal. However, we were born out of a Royal marriage, meaning at some point after our births, the blood binds were performed which generated our own Royal blood. So that would make us full-blooded Royals. Someone whose mother remained human or didn't become Royal would be considered a half-blood." I appreciate his explanation once more, seeing as there are so many working parts to this world, and surely, I can't be expected to keep all the information contained right away.

Just then, something that Rivian and I talked about in the forest that day comes to mind.

"About five years after I was born, my father met hisanima vinculum. They married immediately and she ended up pregnant with twins."

"Troian and Travois," I note.

"Correct. But she didn't end up blood-tying with my father. After she gave birth to the twins, she ran off in an attempt toescape, leaving her kids behind. It took my father eleven years to find her and bring her back to finish what they started. But she ran away again a few years later.”

"So, Travois and Troy were half-bloods?" I question in response to the memory.

"At first, yes. When my father found Ameliana, she performed her blood bind. Naturally, that affixed the twins' blood to then reflect the same. They became full-blooded Royals." He's not condescending or annoyed as he answers me and I'm grateful for it. But more questions form, and I worry that there won't be enough time to get answers to them all.

"So when my mother . . . I mean, Ameliana ran away the first time, after she gave birth to the twins, technically she was already married to your dad."

"Correct."

Everything in this moment feels normal to me. Like it did before I turned to a vampire. When I met him at the bookstore. The moment in my living room after the masquerade party. The time in the hallway downstairs when I first made my decision to join him. I was unsure then, and I might be a little unsure now. But I'm not scared.

Only now, my feelings for him are compellingly intense. More than they've ever been and part of me wonders if it's due to the lingering effects of the curse or if it's the heightened emotions from being a vampire in general or if . . . I simply have true, unrelenting, genuine feelings for him. Even with the knowledge of his betrayal still eating away in the back of my mind, I can't escape my desire for him.

I turn around to look at him, only turning my head over my shoulder and finally, he brings his eyes to mine. He searches for something, maybe he's hoping for forgiveness.

"Does that make us . . . step siblings?" My question comes out shy as I realize the dynamic we could be living in.

He closes his eyes and a crooked smirk forms against his lips as he scoffs gently. "I guess in the human world, it can be seen that way." Does his response do anything to reveal any doubts in my head? No. Does it mean anything different? No.

As it is, stranger things are at hand. I'm a vampire for crying out loud.

Rivian reaches for my chin with his other hand and forces my head straight, so that I'm looking back in our reflection in the mirror. I see the hunger that detonates in his eyes, likely the reason why he turned me away. But it's still there and I feel it down to my core.

"Whatever it is you're thinking, rid yourself of it. You have to create space for whatever you plan to pull from another's mind. Royal or not, you can take their thoughts." His direction is clear and I almost can't focus on it because the way his voice clings to my heart sends intense tremors of lust shattering inside me.

But I hunker down and do as he says. I close my eyes at first, thinking that would do the trick. But then suddenly the beat of his heart against my back starts to tease me and I can feel my own hunger take over.

"Lucynda." Rivian's tone is a warning and I open my eyes to find him deeply entranced with my reaction.

"I'm sorry, I…" I trail off, wanting to perform this task. But I can't not feel him everywhere.

"I think I need…" I fade again, my words seemingly scarce as I feel a dizziness start to berate me. My body tingles, but not out of pleasure this time.

"Fuck," I hear him say under his breath as he leaves myself for just a moment and comes back right as I fall to the ground.

My arms feel heavy, yet weightless.

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