Page 27 of Cruelly Fated
I blinked at him. “Um…no. It’s useless. You barely flinched. I kissed a door because I lost control of my body—”
Kyon growled again. “You’re discounting yourself too easily.” His chest vibrated with the sound.
Was I? I tucked a loose strand behind my ear. Maybe Ishouldtry before assuming I’d fail and disappointing both Kyon and Grandpa.
“I can try. Valor?” I turned to him because for some reason the vampire felt like the safer bet.
“No. Me,” Kyon said. “Try to accessmymemories.”
I hesitated, biting my lip. “Assuming this works, I may not have full control of what I see…”
“You have my permission,” he said, and somehow his voice calmed the panic broiling inside me.
I wiped my clammy hands on my shorts and summoned an illusion of myself with him. Maybe it wasn’t necessary, but it was all I knew. And it felt natural to be near him again.
This time, I perched sideways on his lap, one arm draped around his neck, the other threading through his tousled raven hair. I could feel the silk of each strand slipping between my fingers andI couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel for real. The touch helped anchor me inside the illusion. Kyon’s neck and temples thrummed with heat, and his dark eyes bore into mine. I gazed into the depths of his obsidian pupils.
Darkness swallowed everything. Only the feel of his body surrounding mine kept me tethered, reminding me I wasn’t lost. A pinpoint of light grew steadily brighter, swelling until it bloomed into a full scene. I squinted, trying to orient myself. The moment unfolded through Kyon’s eyes.
Five men tased him in tandem. They darted in and out like shadows, blades flashing like scalpel teeth. Kyon’s fists cracked out—one fae dropped instantly. What was I seeing? I focused on the setting. Grey-stained concrete walls. Orange jumpsuits…
“That was a few days ago…” Kyon’s mind-speak jolted me out of his head and from the illusion.
I gasped as I returned to my body. My breath hitched. I’d never reached that deep into someone’s mind before—I hadn’t even known I could. All this time, I’d been relying on cheap illusions, tricks that painted picture on the surface. But this…this was something else entirely. Still, that wasn’t the only thing that left me shaken. Those prisoners meant to kill him.
I swallowed. “What happened? To those men?”
Kyon rubbed a hand across his jaw, voice low. “I haven’t seen them since.”
Wait. Had he killed them? A tremor rippled through me. I’d made a deal with a killer—but what did I expect from an inmate locked inside the highest security prison in Avari? Besides, they’d attackedhim, and he’d defended himself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sitting here…
Valor cleared his throat again, and I blinked, pulling my eyes from Kyon’s.
“So it worked?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kyon said, his voice low but threaded with both relief and something that sounded like praise.
Warmth bloomed in my belly.
“Aragon was right. Her gift is unprecedented, rare for a low fae…” Kyon’s gaze swept over me again, lingering like he could peel back layers of my skin to uncover whatever truth lay hidden beneath. I didn’t feel different. And who the hell was Aragon?
“I don’t think she’s low fae,” Valor said. “Her mother was, but I found no information on her father. Whatever her bloodline is…her gift must remain hidden. In the wrong hands—”
What?
I stood abruptly, the legs of the stool shrieking across the floor. My chest heaved.They investigated my family?They were talking like I belonged to them now, like I was some powerful relic they’d unearthed and cataloged.
Both fae peered at me with questioning eyes.
“I’ll go to the party. Just keep my grandfather safe,” I said, swiveling on my heel.
Valor moved to rise, but I threw a quiet, urgent whisper over my shoulder. “No. I’ll take a cab.”
He didn’t follow. Kyon didn’t protest. But I could feel the dragon’s stare burning a trail down my spine as I slipped out of the room.
Thirteen
ALLIE
