Page 36 of Entranced By the Basilisks

“There’s no rush. I just missed you.” He lays the charm on thick, but for some reason it doesn’t sound insincere.

“I don’t know what you’re after.” The words slip out before I can stop them and are more to myself than to him. Ari’s eyes soften and he takes a step into the room and it’s as if the air is sucked from the space. He’s just somuch. A prowling tiger lulling its prey into complacency with its beauty before it strikes.

I need to take a step back, but my feet are frozen to the floor.

“You don’t feel anything when we’re together?” Ari strokes my cheek. “You don’t feel the connection between us?”

My inhale is shuddery, and his hand falls away, giving me space. The touch had been cool in temperature, but a sparking sensation tingles in its place. I feel something alright. Something with him and Jasper. Something so overwhelming that I can hardly make heads or tails of it. Something that I’ve been persistently ignoring.

“I can’t do this right now,” I whisper.One thing at a time.

“Okay,” he says and steps back. There’s no disappointment on his face, only acceptance and patience. “There’s no rush, but that’s what I’m after.”

I swallow.

“I’ll let you finish packing,” Ari says. He turns to leave and stops at the door. “Just know, Emilia, you have nothing to fear between us. We will do whatever it is you want to do. I will not push you. You and Jasper are under my protection, and I take my responsibility for your care very seriously.”

The intensity of his words weighs heavy on my chest, but not in a bad way.

“Okay,” I croak.

16

EMILIA

The driveto Ari’s passes in silence but it’s comfortable silence. Jasper had volunteered to drive me since Ma and I share a car and I don’t want to deal with public transportation tonight. Impossibly, I feel more comfortable around the director than Ari.

Maybe it’s from him calming me down earlier, maybe it’s just because Ari’s charisma is intimidating. I understand the type of intimidating the director is. He’s stern but shows me a depth of care hidden underneath at every turn. There’s something tempting about that underbelly, something that soothes the worst of my stress.

I must fall asleep because I wake to the gentle shaking of my elbow.

“We’re here,” he says.

“Sorry,” I say.

“You’ve had a busy day. It makes sense that you needed to crash.”

I rub my eyes. “I haven’t been sleeping well and I think it’s catching up to me.”

I look to where Ari is waiting next to the elevator in the underground parking lot. The man waves happily as if overjoyed Jasper and I are speaking instead of approaching.

I snort. “He has so much energy.”

“Yes, he does.” Jasper’s voice is a degree warmer than usual. “Don’t feel bad though, he’s not human.”

“But you’re more human?” I ask. I don’t know why I’m so interested in this, but I am.

Jasper pauses. “Yes. My mother was human, and my father isn’t completely serpent kin either.”

I take in the appearance of the man next to me. His dark hair is askew and the pale skin under his eyes looks dark.

“You look like you also need to crash,” I say.

“It has been a long day.” The curve of Jasper’s lips is slight, and he looks at his lover again. “Ari will push you, mentally, maybe physically, during training. It’s important to know the extent of your skills, but he is expecting you to push back. He needs you to push back so that he doesn’t run you too ragged.”

I suck in a breath. “Right, because I’m a fragile human.”

Jasper nods. “But that won’t be tonight. Tonight, you rest.”

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