Page 36 of Heir of Illusion

Baylor’sominous words follow me into the hall, leaving me jittery and paranoid. I take deep breaths, praying no one notices the way my hands shake as I shove both papers into my back pocket.

Thorne stands outside the study, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His posture appears lazy, but the predatory glint in his eyes tells me he’s anything but relaxed. Amusement plays at the corners of his lips as the king’s guards glare at him.

His attention shifts to me, and the smug pretense momentarily drops. Concern flashes within those nearly translucent eyes, but it’s gone as quickly as it appeared. His expression smooths over, becoming unreadable. Clearly, I’m not the only one who can don a mask when necessary. He opens his mouth to say something, but I hurry past him, keeping my chin tucked down as I make my way through the hall.

“Are you coming or not?” I call without glancing back.

His footsteps echo behind me as he jogs to catch up.

“Finally speaking to me?” he asks, his eyes drilling a hole into the side of my face.

I scoff. “Excuse me?”

“You didn’t say a word the entire time I was in there.”

“That’s because you were speaking enough for both of us,” I lie, surprised he even noticed. The truth is that I’m smart enough to choose my words carefully in Baylor’s presence. The less I say, the better.

He tsks. “That was rude, but I’ll forgive you since I’m guessing your king agreed to my terms?”

“I’d call them demands,” I mutter. “And I wouldn’t be here with you if he hadn’t.”

Both of his hands clutch his chest, right over his heart. “You wound me, Angel.”

“Only your ego.” I roll my eyes. “You shouldn’t have pushed Baylor that way.”

“Hazard of the job.” He shrugs, but there’s something about the action that rings false. Since my life is one big performance, it’s easy to spot when someone else is putting on a show. Unfortunately, what he says next proves that recognition goes both ways.

“Have you been crying?”

My head whips in his direction. “No,” I say too quickly.

“My mistake.” His gaze lingers on my eyes, which are always bloodshot after Baylor uses the collar.

Does he suspect that Baylor took out his anger on me? As Killian’s ambassador, he’s likely searching for intel to report back. Either way, I’m not going to confirm his suspicions.

“You know, you aren’t acting very grateful,” Thorne announces, pulling my focus back to him as I arch a brow. “Here I thought you’d be thanking me for not revealing your charming little hobby to your king.”

“Thanking you?” I laugh. “I’d sooner throw another dagger at you.”

His eyes turn heated. “I don’t think that would have your intended effect, Angel.”

“Fuck you.” My pulse quickens as my voice turns breathy. Probably just a side effect of what happened earlier.

“There’s that impressive vocabulary again.” He cocks his head to the side. “You know, I’m sensing you might beslightlyupset about my little threat back there.”

I come to a dead stop in the middle of the hallway, my eyes narrowing into slits as I pin him with a glare. He takes a step back, lifting his hands in a placating gesture.

“But,” he continues, “I’d like to point out that I could have done a lot more than make a few threats. Personally, I think I showed impressive restraint.”

I take a step closer, eating up the distance between us as I lift my chin to hold his gaze. “You appear to be under the misguided impression that you have me at a disadvantage. You don’t.”

“Oh really?” One side of his mouth kicks up.

“I could have talked my way out of any tale you spun in there.”

His gaze falls to my lips. “My, what a talented tongue you have.”

“And even sharper teeth.” I smile, giving him the full view of them. My voice is sounding better with each word as the pain in my throat begins to ease.

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