Page 39 of Silent Lucidity

Her jaw muscle ticked. She kept her face turned away, chin raised in defiance, and eyes forward.

Tenthil’s frown deepened, and his brows fell low. He repeated her name louder.

She turned her head a little farther away.

Holding his breath to keep from growling, he altered their course wildly; they cut across the street, through the pedestrians, and entered one of the Undercity’s many dark alleys.

He shifted Abella to stand before him, caught her chin between his fingers, and angled her face toward his. “Abella!”

She fought his hold, attempting to turn her face away. Her lips were pressed into a tight, flat line, and her glaring eyes were focused on the nearby alley wall.

“Speak,” he said.

Somehow, she closed her lips together even tighter, creating patches of pale skin around her mouth as the blood was forced away from her lips.

Tenthil could not suppress a growl now—it rumbled up from his chest, vibrating like hot gravel in his throat, and flowed out through his bared fangs. “I will not be ignored.”

She swung her fiery gaze to meet his. “Doesn’t feel good, does it?”

It took a moment for her words to sink in, for him to understand.

This is what I have been doing to her.

He couldn’t argue her point, but it was only as she held his gaze, her anger unwavering, that something within him shifted and snuffed out the agitated fire in his gut.

Whatever his reasons—whether it had been result of his upbringing, his training, or his personality—he’d done this to her. This was how he’d made her feel by refusing to answer her questions. She would not like the answers he had to give, but if he wanted her trust, he needed to be honest. He needed to be open.

Could he do that? Was he fully capable of it, after so many years of the Master’s influence?

“It doesn’t,” he said through his teeth.

“Good. Now you understand one of the many reasons why I’m pissed at you.”

He drew back slightly, eyes widening.

She grasped his wrist and tugged it down, breaking his hold on her chin. “If I need to elaborate, you’re pretty damn oblivious to your own behavior.”

Tenthil was aware of his actions, even those motivated purely by instinct; everything he’d done since breaking into Cullion’s manor had been for her. “I’m protecting you.”

“You’re keeping me captive, Tenthil.”

“Protectingyou. From yourself.”

This time, she drew back, her brows falling low over her narrowed eyes. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t know Arthos. Don’t know the people. It is too dangerous.”

“I don’t see what’s dangerous about bringing me to my own people.”

“This is a city of infinite secrets, Abella.” He brushed the backs of his fingers over her hair. “I will tell you more. But not here.”

She stared at him silently for a moment, jaw ticking again, and nodded.

He extended his left arm and gestured for Abella to come closer. Her frown deepened, but she stepped forward and nestled herself against his side. Tenthil settled his arm over her shoulders.

“Can you at least tell me why we have to walk everywhere like this?” she asked as they turned and moved back to the street.

“To shield you from cameras,” he replied.

---